Dec 04, 2023 Last Updated 8:29 PM, Nov 27, 2023
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Arts

Semsar Siahaan (1952-2005)

An outsider to all establishments, even artistic ones, Semsar Siahaan is yet to be accorded his rightful place among the ranks of great Indonesian artists

Mochtar Lubis

Always controversial, Mochtar Lubis was one of Indonesia’s most respected journalists and best-known authors for over four decades.

Writing back

Local theatre in Makassar reveals a backlash against Java-centrism

Film revolution?

Women are now on both sides of the camera

Urban poetry

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.

Comic heyday!

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

Crossing male boundaries

Confidence crisis for Bali’s women mask dancers

Woman power

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

More voices

Women and marginalised groups seize new opportunities in the arts

Generation 98

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

Speaking of sex

Ignoring teen sexuality only increases health risks

Homicide and hip-hop

Bandung’s outspoken rap group

Girl culture on the big screen

No longer misfits, but far from gender warriors

Distro

Independent fashion moves from margins to mainstream

Rendra speaks

Rendra speaks
Australia: an alternative West in Asia?

Whimsical protest

Transforming rubbish into political art

We can do anything

Workers with soul take their message to the kampung

Alleyway revelry

The ‘Gang’ approach to cross-cultural collaboration.

Writing to the world

Pramoedya was an all-round revolutionary writer.

Strong women

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

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Lontar Modern Indonesia

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A selection of stories from the Indonesian classics and modern writers, periodically published free for Inside Indonesia readers, courtesy of Lontar

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