Biography
Co-Artistic Director of ROUNDTABLE: The 9th Gwangju Biennale (Korea, 2012). As it has often throughout her career, Swastika's curatorial approach for the Gwangju Biennale continues an exploration of the transformative realities of mobility, namely on the impact of the simultaneous loosening / tightening of borders and geo-political notions and the increasing flows of goods, people and information as a result of globalization. In 2012 she curated Art Dubai’s 2012 Indonesian focused Marker Program. In 2011 she curated the Biennale Jogja XI with Suman Gopinath (India). The Biennale Jogja XI / Equator # 1, was the first in a series of five international biennales to take place in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, aimed at exploring Indonesia’s cultural engagement with the participating countries. Recent shows include: “The Past The Forgotten Time” (Amsterdam, Jakarta, Semarang, Shanghai, Singapore, 2007–2008); “Manifesto: The New Aesthetic of Seven Indonesian Artists” (Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore, 2010); and solo exhibitions for Eko Nugroho, Tintin Wulia, Wimo Ambala Bayang, and Jompet Kuswidananto. In 2000, she joined KUNCI Cultural Studies Center to promote and to emerge cultural studies discourses in Indonesia. Within 2000 - 2004, Alia was actively published her essays in academic journals and presented her research in seminars and workshop. From 2002 - 2004, Swastika was Associate Editor for SURAT and Artistic Manager at Cemeti Art House, one of Indonesia’s most reputable art spaces. Since 2008 she has curated exhibitions for Ark Galerie, Jakarta. In 2005, with a grant from Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), she joined staff exchange programme in UfaFabrik, Berlin, Germany. In 2006, she received a grant from Asian Cultural Council to conduct a research and internship at The Asia Society, New York. Swastika received additional study grants from the Art Hub (Shanghai, 2007) and the National Art Gallery (Singapore, 2010). She graduated from Communication Department Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.
