Medan gallery opens exhibit of street kids' art

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, N. Sumatra

A 14-year-old boy is scribbling with his pencil across a piece of blank paper. Squatting in a corner of a terrace at Galeri Tondi, the boy in the dark-hued shirt continues to scribble until he comes up with a picture of an anak funk (punk).

"Many of my friends are anak funk, so it's easy for me to draw them, because I can quickly picture in my head what they look like," said Leo during the Dec. 1 opening of an exhibition that features the artwork of street children, held at Galeri Tondi in Medan.

Leo is a street child from Nias regency, North Sumatra. He has been living on the streets for three years now, ever since he decided to stop going to school and try his luck in the capital Medan, determined to leave his parents behind on Nias.

Leo spends his days with other children in a shelter for street kids called the Music House, located on Jl. Luku I Medan. Here, Leo is making an effort to be self-reliant, taking on several jobs. His current "work" includes wiping car windows at traffic intersections.

He did not hesitate when his friends urged him to join the art exhibit with them.

Although he is not particularly skilled at drawing, the first-born son of Anutona and Gule has contributed 10 pieces to the exhibit, which will run through Dec. 30. Much of Leo's pieces tell stories about his life.

Aside from Leo, many other street children have provided more than one piece of their artwork to the exhibit.

For example, Dede Suryadi, who works as a street musician in Medan, has submitted six pieces. Dede said his paintings were based on whatever he saw during his days. One such work is his painting Rumah (House), which he drew from experience, as he is constantly walking the streets and busking on the roadside.

"When I'm busking, I see lots of big houses. So I was inspired to paint a house," said the 17-year-old, who admitted that he dreamed of one day owning a house like those he had painted.

More than 70 paintings by 40 children from various street communities are on display at Tondi, a relatively new gallery which has already established itself as a community art space. The gallery also conducts student-oriented activities to promote art as an integral part of education.

The street children's artwork are all painted on either paper or cloth, and run from abstract to minimalist, and to contemporary art styles.

Alley Atmawidjaya, who founded the exhibit along with the other participating street children, said the theme of the month-long exhibit was Coretan Merdeka, meaning "sketches of freedom".

He explained that "sketch" was chosen because the featured artists were not recognized artists, nor were they skilled at choosing colors or drawing textured lines; the pieces were mere sketches in this sense.

Sketches, he added, also identified with the dynamic world of children.

At the same time, Alley said "freedom" was a space for independent, free expression without limits, as well as a space for speaking on their surrounding environment, social environment and on what they had heard, observed and felt.

"Here, we display 70 paintings by street children as a group and as individuals. But as before, their works are independent sketches," said Alley while pointing to several pieces on exhibit.

Coretan Merdeka, the first-ever exhibit in Medan to feature art by street children, has met with public acclaim, including from art lovers of foreign backgrounds, many of whom attended the opening.

Aside from enjoying the children's work in the exhibit, guests and invitees to the opening were entertained by a street children's music group, The Bamboes. The band presented several well-known songs, among them Doa (Prayer) and Hujan (Rain).

One art lover, Suzanne from Switzerland, said she was extremely moved by the street children who played. Suzanne said these children were full of talent, as aside from their musical abilities, they also possessed artistic skills.

"I'm happy that so much talent exists among these street children. Their art exhibit is very good, as is the music they played, which was wonderful to listen to," she said.

Galeri Tondi owner Grace Siregar said all the artwork by street children were for sale at Rp 100,000 each, and that proceeds from the sale would be given directly to the respective artist.

Grace said that she was merely providing a place where the street children could hold an exhibition. She added that, for the two years of Tondi's existence, the gallery has been used continually as an exhibition space.

"We've held several different kinds of exhibits here already, from sculpture to photography to poetry. Each exhibit runs for a full month," she said.

Coretan Merdeka
A group exhibit of Medan street children
Galeri Tondi
Jl. Keladi Buntu No.6
Medan, North Sumatra 20153