Rainy clouds covered the city of Yogyakarta that afternoon. Biennale Jogja XVI Equator #6 2021 Exhibition was still crowded. But this time it’s a little different. The exhibition halls were filled with students wearing casual clothes that are dominantly gray and black. Students from MA Ali Maksum Yogyakarta, came to visit the exhibition.
One by one they visited the art booths. The enthusiasm of the students was visible when listening to the explanation from the exhibition guide. It was later discovered that the 40 students were part of the extracurricular arts at Ali Maksum High School.
Ali Maksum High School stands under the Ali Maksum Islamic Boarding School Foundation, Krapyak, Yogyakarta. As an islamic boarding school, art is not its main concern, but students can get to know about art.
According to Naja and Yasmine, advisors and also tutors from graphic design extracurricular, this art visit is the first that they have done with various processes they had to go through before finally being able to come to visit.
“Ali Maksum is a very Islamic school, so it’s a bit difficult to get permission to leave. Especially to art exhibitions like this” Naja explained between her visits at the Jogja National Museum (JNM) on Monday (08/11) afternoon.
The arrival of the Islamic students to the Biennale Jogja was not only for visiting. The Islamic students are expected to be able to understand more about the art industry and the reality of art practice, especially in Jogja. After this visit, they are also expected to be able to explore more about art. Because so far, their art practice is often limited to painting or drawing, even though many things can be explored by art, such as installation art, photography, video, and others.
Their background as Islamic students, meaning they are not allowed to carry cellphones, made it difficult for them to access artwork or references on the internet and Pinterest. They also could not access social media.
In the process of teaching art, Naja and other tutors had difficulties due to the limited access to media outside of school.
“From here I also thought, what if I just take them to the Biennale Jogja so they can explore more about art. Learn about art that we have here first,” said Naja.
Not only letting them see and enjoy the artworks at the Biennale Jogja, but the tutors also gave assignments to students which is to make a poster for a solo exhibition. Between the tour given by the exhibition guide, the students also took lots of photos as assignment material. They didn’t waste any of the opportunities they were given.
