Go Ahead Challenge ARTWARDING NIGHT 2016 Ends with Stellar Collaborations and Winners Announcement
Heavy rain and dark clouds had been hanging above Jakarta’s sky since that Sunday afternoon (11/20), but that did not stop Jakarta’s youth to gather at Gudang Sarinah to witness the Go Ahead Challenge Artwarding Night 2016. The usually empty warehouse was transformed into a nicely decorated space. We were welcomed by a tunnel-like entrance and people can paint on it with the available paint by the doorside which also made a very cool photo spot. There were food and beverage booths near the entrance decorated with lampoons and there was also a live mural happening. Inside the warehouse we could see the main stage as well as A Space, the place where the 12 finalists’ artworks were displayed in an exhibition called ARTOSPORA. Beside the main attractions, there were also a market place filled with records, clothing, and creative booths from Ruru Shop, Omuniuum, Syarikat Dagang and Kongsi Dagang.
The event started from 2 in the afternoon and opened by an indie rock band from Jakarta, L’alphalpha. It was then followed by a performance from The Trees and The Wild. The finalists from music department of Go Ahead Challenge 2016, Ocsila Purba, Piston, Morganostic, and Jimjack took the stage alternately with acts like Anomalyst and Deiga. During the break, the audience got to observe the ARTOSPORA on A Space and interact with the installations. On the evening, the crowd got livelier and they were eager to see a special collaboration between post-rock band from Bandung, Under The Big Bright Yellow Sun with Mini Orkestra, and daammn…. that performance blew us away. Who would have thought post rock could be fused with percussion or flute and resulted in a dazzling combination? Polka Wars followed suit with their indie rock charm and managed to get the crowd pumped up on Artwarding Night.
One of the special show that the audience has been waiting for was Bottlesmoker’s collaboration with Stars & Rabbit and Goodnight Electric. On the press conference before the show, Bottlesmoker said that they managed to cooperate with these two acts despite having a short amount of time and packed schedule. Bottlesmoker remixed Stars & Rabbit’s songs with their electronic approach, and Stars & Rabbit also wrote lyrics for one of Bottlesmoker’s song that is usually instrumental only. “The House” by Stars & Rabbit was re-arranged and performed beautifully and Elda’s captivating voice stunned us throughout their performance. Goodnight Electric entered the stage then, with their disco and dance affair, paired with Bottlesmoker’s electro heavy arrangement. We could see that they were having fun on stage and we enjoyed it till it lasted since it was only a one-time collaboration.
The MC proceeded to the main event of the night, which was the winner announcement of Go Ahead Challenge 2016. Eventually, since its start in April, the celebration ended in one defining moment. Each sub-culture was honored with one winner who will get the chance to go to Amsterdam, Netherland to learn about its culture and art. From visual art, Yogyakarta’s Iwe Ramadhan was chosen as the winner. He displayed his unique collage-art collaboration with Resatio which utilized animal toys combined with recycled appliances’ spare parts to symbolize nature. Photography department appointed Ridhwan Badar as the winner for his stunning work and collaboration with Agan Harahap on ARTOSPORA. John Martin was the winner in style/fashion department for his unique yet bold fashion pieces and his collaboration with Bryan Lie. Yulio Abdul Syafiq was the representative from music department with his band Piston. Rato Tanggela was also chosen as the favorite winner for his motion graphic work and collaboration with Jamal M.Aziz or lapantigatiga with their wooden house installation.
These winners would not only go to Amsterdam to go on vacation, but they will learn many things from there, starting on how to manage the creative ecosystem and learn from the curators from world class art institutions like Stedelijk Museum (visual art), Foam (fotografi), Tassenmuseum (style), and Melkweg (music). Afterward, they will once again exhibit their work in Indonesia from what they experienced and explored during the trip to Amsterdam. The Artwarding night ended in a spectacular collaboration from Morfem and The Brandals which got the audience crowd surf and dance like there was no tomorrow. We only wish that the music performances would go on longer and the collaboration from the musicians would be more, but alas it was still a night to remember. Congratulations to all the winners and hopefully other artists who were not chosen would still keep their heads up and keep doing what they do best!
