Koalisi Seni Launches Artistic Freedom Monitoring System for Indonesian Public

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An Indonesian non-profit organization that focuses on arts advocacy, Koalisi Seni, on Wednesday, launched an artistic freedom monitoring system at Taman Ismail Marzuki or TIM, Central Jakarta. The system that can be accessed on kebebasanberkesenian.id was Koalisi Seni's consistent contribution to supporting the rights in creating and enjoying arts in the country.

“We hope that this initiative could trigger the public to contribute in recording information regarding violations in artistic freedom,” Koalisi Seni head of management, Kusen Alipah Hadi, said after the launching event at TIM, on May 10.

Violations of artistic freedom could only be monitored via mass media and documentation of several human rights organizations. Some data was getting recorded but the real number was still unknown. “Therefore, the site of kebebasanberkesenian.id is expected to be a database in the enforcement of artistic freedom in Indonesia,” said Koalisi Seni manager of advocacy Hafez Gumay during the event as stated in a press release received by Tempo on Thursday, May 11.

The Indonesian public could record information about artistic freedom violations by accessing the complaint form on kebebasanberkesenian.id. They could describe in brief the acts of violation in the form and are free to request if they want the report to be followed up or not. If the informant wishes for their case to be formally handled, Koalisi Seni will forward the report to relevant parties, such as Legal Aid (LBH).

The Indonesian Government welcomed the initiative by Koalisi Seni. Director General of Culture at the Education and Cultural Ministry, Hilmar Farid, said that kebebasanberkesenian.id can be used as a reference for upholding artistic freedom which is part of human rights. The data could also be used as part of a four-year report regarding the implementation of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

In addition, Koalisi Seni said in its statement that the collected data could become the indicators for democracy enforcement. Head of Legal Aid Indonesia Muhamad Isnur said that the indicators are not only important for advocacy institutions but also for the Government as the policymaker. “Art is the gate of democracy,” Isnur remarked.

The launching of kebebasanberkesenian.id website is part of the series of advocacy works by Koalisi Seni for artistic freedom supported by the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) program. The program strengthens the advocacy for the freedom of art of Koalisi Seni which has launched regular monitoring reports on freedom of art since 2020. There were 107 cases of violations against freedom of art recorded in 2010-2021 from various artistic disciplines such as dance, music, theater, and film.

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