Arts

Subversive ‘underground’ voices in Indonesian rap Michael Bodden It’s Jakarta, June 2004 and the boom box is playing a hip-hop beat. It’s a far cry from the meditative gamelan music, saccharine love songs or even the sensual dangdut one expects to hear in Java. The rapper is Xaqhala and he spins a gritty, rhythmic poem of everyday youth experience.

Indonesia’s comic scene is in a golden age but the industry remains marginal and plagued by self-doubt

Confidence crisis for Bali’s women mask dancers

In Bali, a new all-female dance-drama troupe is flouting traditional gender roles

Women and marginalised groups seize new opportunities in the arts

Djenar Maesa Ayu – one of Indonesia’s exciting new female authors

Ignoring teen sexuality only increases health risks

Bandung’s outspoken rap group

No longer misfits, but far from gender warriors

Independent fashion moves from margins to mainstream

Australia: an alternative West in Asia?

Transforming rubbish into political art

Workers with soul take their message to the kampung

The ‘Gang’ approach to cross-cultural collaboration.

Pramoedya was an all-round revolutionary writer.

Female autonomy became a prominent theme in Pramoedya’s writing.

In his last interview, Pramoedya kept up his attack on elitism and corruption.

Pramoedya's reputation is still dogged by the cultural polemics of the Sukarno era

An Australian academic describes the personal impact of Pramoedya’s writing.