Medi(t)ation rites/routes: Cultural knowledge exchange in Indonesia’s media art community festival (FKSM)

As one of the curators of Medi(t)ation Rites/Routes I have been preoccupied with a series of questions: how does a media art festival showcase the cultural values of Indonesia, and how does it provide opportunities for learning traditional knowledge beyond an aesthetic experience, to benefit the community? To seek some answers to these questions I will review the Festival Komunitas Seni Media (FKSM, or Media Art Community Festival), an annual media art festival organised by the Indonesian government. My approach is rooted in the field of ethno-pedagogy, which posits that traditional culture and indigenous knowledge can be sources of innovation and skills that contribute to the overall well-being of society. I will show how the values of locality, continuity, equality, and mutual cooperation, which are the essential part of the Indonesian government’s mission of promoting local culture are reflected in the curatorial process of the FKSM festival.