According to Jeong Ok Jeon, collective practice has deep cultural roots and long been central to Indonesian contemporary art. Although she is cautious in generalizing, in her experience working with artist groups, this tendency is often due to limited resources, educational opportunities, and access to technological tools. As a result, there is a strong movement for artists to support one another and work collectively, fostering a sense of community and shared ideology. This collaborative approach has become a common practice among art groups and collectives across the country. Prioritising sharing and acknowledging everyone’s contribution over personal acclaim, Indonesian artists emphasise collective effort over individual recognition.

Jeon studied fine art in the United States and completed an apprenticeship at the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York before becoming a curator at SSamzie Space in Seoul, one of the early alternative art spaces for experimental and emerging artists. Returning to the U.S., she married an Indonesian and relocated to Indonesia. Initially, she served as a bridge connecting artists from Korea and Indonesia through overseas exchange programmes. Over time, she expanded her efforts to foster communication and collaboration across other Southeast Asian regions, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and many others.

Jeon was invited to curate a solo exhibition for Krisna Murti in 2013, Indonesia’s new media art pioneer, which marked the beginning of her relationship with the Indonesian media art scene. Since then, Jeon established ARCOLABS, a media and contemporary art curator initiative, presenting numerous new media art projects across Indonesia. Some of her themes include eco-politics, post-human, big data, bio art, and space art. Her dedication to the local media art scene was recognised by the Indonesian government, and for three consecutive years, she co-curated the national media art festival, Media Art Community Festival (FKSM). 

By selecting to work with cities outside Java and recruiting participants from local art communities across Indonesia, FKSM decentralises the traditional focus on the major cities in Java Island, such as Jakarta, Bandung, and Yogyakarta. This approach aims to nurture, share, co-work, and co-create with local artist groups, fostering a more inclusive and regionally diverse artistic ecosystem. 

Through ARCOLABS, Jeon regularly invites local and overseas artists and curators to deliver online lectures on the most pressing issues in new media art. Guest speakers include curators from Ars Electronica Linz, Transmediale Berlin, and Asia Culture Center Gwangju. XPLORE: New Media Art Incubation, one of the ARCOLABS’s annual programs, builds a teaching, learning, and knowledge-sharing network that connects Indonesia with global artistic practices through a series of collaborative projects.

Jeon emphasises that while overseas guests bring valuable experiences to local participants, they also learn from Indonesia’s rich culture. The Indonesian government is highly aware of the country’s cultural identity and strategically integrates it into its broader tourism development plans. As a result, FKSM was held in locations that aligned with the government’s efforts to promote Indonesia’s artistic and cultural heritage on an international stage.

Regarding the current differentiation between media art and contemporary art, Jeon references media theorist Lev Manovich, noting the significant influence of Marcel Duchamp on contemporary art, as opposed to media art that is more focused on the computational aspects driven by technological advancements. This resonates with photography, which was once an emerging discipline. There was a time when most exhibitions were explicitly labeled as ‘photography’ exhibitions, set apart from other contemporary art projects. Today, photography is recognised under the broader umbrella of contemporary art. Jeon believes that the future will see a similar blending of media art and contemporary art, and in Indonesia, this distinction seems to be rather blurred. Nevertheless, Jeon emphasises the importance of differentiating these two terms, particularly in the context of Indonesia, where there is limited public knowledge of art, technology, and media. The idea of media art as a distinct art form is yet necessary for its recognition and development.

Audience exploring artwork at Cosmos Chronology: A Space Art Exhibition

(2023)

Exhibition view of Media Art Community Festival 

(2022)

Jeong Ok Jeon is a Jakarta-based Korean curator, educator, and researcher specializing in new media art, art and technology, and curator education. Her current project-led research includes a light art exhibition that explores the artistic and conceptual potential of light beyond mere illumination, as well as a Net art exhibition that examines the evolving curatorial processes of network-based presentation. Alongside these medium-focused projects, she is also committed to expanding access to art and technology for young Indonesians—especially those from regions beyond the cultural hubs—by creating initiatives that connect them with new media practices. She has presented her research and experiences at various academic and professional conferences, including RE:SOURCE – The 10th International Conference on the Histories of Media Art, Science, and Technology (2023) in Venice, Italy; Immersio: New Media Art Exhibition (2024) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Hello from the Global Creative Laboratories! (2023) in Tokyo, Japan. Jeon holds a PhD in Arts Education. She is a lecturer at Jakarta State University and serves as the director of ARCOLABS. www.arcolabs.org | IG: @arcolabs.id