Ketemu Project
Ketemu Project is a transnational art collective and social enterprise hybrid based in Indonesia and Singapore. We are made up of an ever-evolving collective of artists, cultural managers, designers, educators and curators, focused on developing socially conscious interactions in art. “Ketemu” in bahasa means to “meet” or “encounter”. This name brings out the spirit of connecting people and initiating conversations – activities that are at the heart of Ketemu’s initiatives.
“Schizofriends Art Movement” is dedicated to realizing the capacity of each person living with schizophrenia to be an active and creative being. This initiative seeks to produce a dynamic experience for participants, with the goal of supporting psycho-social rehabilitation for people with mental disabilities and psycho-education for the public.
Established by Ketemu’s artist, Budi Agung Kuswara (Kabul), this initiative harnesses both open-ended tasks and designed experiences as a form of collective empowerment, that is both critical and therapeutic. The movement first begun as a collaboration between Kabul and psychiatrist Dr Gst Rai Putra Wiguna sp.KJ, kickedstarted by a seed grant from the Mabesikan: Art for Social Change Project initiated by Search for Common Ground. Through a series of creative workshops held at Ketemu Project Space people with the condition from Bali were provided opportunities for expression and activities for them to develop a more vital relationship with reality. The workshops also enabled the community vocationally by providing skills for them to work and live more independently. After a series of public campaigns, Rumah Berdaya, a psychosocial rehabilitation centre was founded in 2016 with the support of the local government. This flagship creative space for people living with schizophrenia is now independently run by a team of psychiatrists and the members of Komunitas Peduli Skizofrenia Indonesia (KPSI) Bali.
" It all began when I had a need to seek psychiatric treatment for a psychosomatic disorder. I was visiting a psychiatric clinic with psychiatrist Dr Rai and I was talking to him about my community art practice. In the discussion, he shared about how he would gather his patients once a week in sessions where they will share stories about their condition with one another. I accompanied him along home visits to meet his patients. Through the interactions at the home visits, I had noticed that many with the condition have a huge potential for artistic creation.
People always describe creativity as the ability “to think out of the box”. When I observe someone living with schizophrenia, it seems that the “box” isn’t even there. That was when the idea of Schizofriends Art Movement came about. "
Budi Agung Kuswara aka Kabul, Founder
