Taring Padi

The people’s cultural institute Taring Padi is an art collective based in Yogyakarta Indonesia that uses art as a tool for political expression and education for all. It was founded in 1998 by a group of cultural activists, students, artists, and self-taught artists. Its’ collective approach to art production is one part of a larger effort to overcome bourgeois ideas of the “artist genius” and the “work of art.” The artwork produced by Taring Padi is not credited to an “individual” creator. Most of it works are created collectively and can be divided into four categories: billboards or banners, posters, puppets and popular booklets Terompet Rakyat (The People’s Trumpet). Several members of Taring Padi have also joined the dangdut groups Soekar Madjoe and Dangdut Kampungan (DK), that perform songs speak to the condition of the local people.

The mission of Taring Padi Cultural Institute is to foster art and culture by channeling the people’s desires and needs and prioritizing openness, social prosperity, the sovereignty of the people, justice between generations, democracy, the appreciation of human rights without dismissing responsibilities, gender perspectives, the reformation of global relations and the preservation of a good environment.

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