Creative Insights
THE THIRD JAKARTA INTERNATIONAL PHOTO FESTIVAL (JIPFEST) BRINGS TOGETHER PERSPECTIVES FROM PHOTOGRAPHERS ACROSS THE GLOBE
As Indonesia’s first international photography festival, Jakarta International Photo Festival (JIPFest) has become a platform for photographers and the public to meet, engage and exchange insights, as well as a space for impactful photography projects to reach wider audiences. In short, JIPFest aims to foster and propel Indonesian photographers onto the international stage.
Following successful editions at Taman Ismail Marzuki in 2019 with 299 works from 31 countries and Kota Tua in 2021 with 398 works from 47 countries, the third Jakarta International Photo Festival—which has “Revival” as its curatorial theme—recently brought together perspectives from photographers all over the world through a schedule of exhibitions, workshops and a photo fair spread across six walkable locations at the center of the buzzing Blok M area.
Over the course of the 17-day festival from September 9-25, 2022, JIPFest showcased 55 events with 59 guest stars from nine nations, including workshops, public lectures and conversations from Indonesia, Singapore, India, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, Norway and
Belgium. Furthermore, the open-call curating process, with a curatorial team consisting of Asep Topan, Ayos Purwoaji and Ng Swan Ti, resulted in the selection of 26 photo stories from 19 different nations for the photo exhibition.
“We welcome photographic works that critique, embrace, imagine, rethink and expose our attempt to restore and strengthen our communities in times of climate, cultural and socio-economic crises,” the team noted in a statement.
As the aforementioned main theme of JIPFest 2022, “Revival” was picked in order to highlight how human beings or ideas rise from hardship, find momentum, gain support and drive movements. If anything, the theme was selected to reflect the spirit of our times when the world is trying to recover from the pandemic.
Interestingly, there’s a new addition to this year’s line-up through the photo fair. In a nutshell, this new program gives Indonesian photographers more exposure and gives photo book publishers a chance to connect with potential buyers, with a focus on showcasing prints by Indonesian photographers.
All in all, this year’s JIPFest showcased a full exhibition that brought attention to pressing topics, sparked conversations and broadened perspectives.