Decaramelism: On Sugar and Community

As part of Ode aan de Gemeenschap - an annual programme at De Poorthuisjes bringing together professional artists and local residents - Indonesian artist Arie Syarifuddin, member of Jatiwangi Art Factory (JAF), discusses community-engaged artistic practice with Lara Khaldi (De Appel), Marieke van Rooy (Ode aan de Gemeenschap) and Simon Kentgens (Clublokaal). The conversation takes place at Framer Framed in Amsterdam.

JAF is an art collective from Jatiwangi, West Java, working at the intersection of art and everyday life. For over two decades, the collective has developed projects together with local communities in response to the social, cultural and economic context of the region. The discussion explores JAF's approach to community-engaged artistic practice, drawing on Syarifuddin's six-week residency at De Poorthuisjes and his presentation IN DE KOST, part of Ode aan de Gemeenschap/Klazien-o-theek. The practices of Club Lokaal in Breda and De Appel in Amsterdam are also discussed.

The second part of the conversation focuses on Syarifuddin's ongoing research into sugar production in Jatiwangi. Sugar plays a central role in the region's history, connecting questions of colonialism, land and labour with the lives of local communities. Syarifuddin examines this history and the ways people in Jatiwangi continue to relate to - and make claims on - the land shaped by the sugar industry.