Portrait by Eva Roefs for Amsterdam Museum
Ratu Rizkitasari Saraswati
born in Jakarta, Indonesia
based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Ratu Rizkitasari Saraswati, (b. 1990) uses storytelling, performance and photography to engage with people as she aims to nurture empathetic relationships. Saras obtained her BFA from the Faculty of Art and Design’s Institut Teknologi Bandung in 2013. In 2015, she was a resident at Sàn Art, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She performed her performance piece with her mother and her sister in JIWA: Jakarta Biennale 2017. In 2019, she conducted the gathering “Optik-Optik Kecil” in Rumah Tangga Depok, a participatory performance collecting morning dew. In the same year, she performed at Biennale Jogja XV EQUATOR #5 in Jogja National Museum.
She was a resident at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam, The Netherlands from 2020 - 2022, where she wrote and published the collection of parables “Route of Flowers”. From the performance art gathering Temu Seni Performans Indonesia Bertutur 2022 in South Sulawesi, she wrote “Parable of the Tongue”. In late 2022, this was compiled with other stories and proverbs, based on her interactions in the neighbourhood of Molenwijk during her art residency with Framer Framed, into “A rising flower makes a garden”. Saras completed a long duration fellowship in Hotel Maria Kapel, Hoorn and working period in Plaatsmaken, Arnhem, in 2024.
In summer 2023, Saras received a stipendium grant from Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst that will support her Amsterdam based projects until 2025.
EDUCATION
2008 – 2013 Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia, Faculty of Art and Design, Fine Arts Department, Cum Laude
RESIDENCIES AND FELLOWSHIPS
2024 Plaatsmaken, Arnhem (the Netherlands)
Hotel Maria Kapel, Hoorn (NL)
2022 Framer Framed Werkplaats Molenwijk, Amsterdam (NL)
2020 – 2022 Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam (NL)
2015 Sàn Art Laboratory #7, Sàn Art, Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)
2014 Router Art Project, Rumah Seni Cemeti, Yogyakarta (ID)
GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIP
2023 Artist publication grant, Stichting Stokroos (NL)
Stipendium Grant Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst (NL)
2022 Artist publication grant, Stichting Hinderrust Fonds (NL)
British Council Unlimited Micro Awards (UK)
2021 Artist publication grant, Stichting Hinderrust Fonds (NL)
2020 Travel grant, Sidharta Aboejono Martoredjo (SAM) Fund for Art and Ecology (ID)
2019 Research grant, ‘Religions, Beliefs and Personal Values’, Manila, the Philippines, Yogyakarta Biennale Foundation (ID)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
2024 Porosity of Parables, Hotel Maria Kapel, Hoorn (NL)
Calling my waterfall to return, Jendela, Maastricht (NL)
2022 A rising flower makes a garden, Framer Framed Werkplaats Molenwijk, Amsterdam (NL)
2019 Optik-Optik Kecil, Rumah Tangga, Depok, Indonesia
2013 Laif, Griya Gerilya, Bandung, Indonesia
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
2024 The Living Prints, Plaatsmaken, Hoorn (NL)
RE_NATURE Festival, Amsterdam (NL)
Vurige Tongen Festival, Amsterdam (NL)
Titicara: Meruah, Selasar Sunaryo Art Space, Bandung (ID)
2023 Refresh Amsterdam #2 War and Conflict, Amsterdam Museum (NL)
Among the Glimmers, Gemaal op Zuid, Rotterdam (NL)
Global Dialogues, Bradwolff Projects (NL)
Present to Precence: Performance Art Lab, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, (UK)
2022 Between Four Walls, PrintRoom, Rotterdam (NL)
Re-Vision Performing Arts Festival, Belfast (UK)
there, there, Greylight Project, Heerlen (NL)
Indonesia Bertutur, Performance Art Gathering, Makassar (ID)
Rijksakademie Open Studios 2022, Amsterdam (NL)
2021 Layangan Jatuh, Langit Terbang: Folk in the Present, Rumah Tangga, Depok (ID)
KAUM: Indonesian Alternative Performance and Film Festival, Volkspark Hasenheide and Treptower Park, Berlin (DE)
Rijksakademie Open Studios 2021, Amsterdam (NL)
2019 Biennale Jogja XV EQUATOR #5, Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta (ID)
2018 Sirkuit Seni Performans, Gudskul, Jakarta (ID)
Baligh, Rewind Art #17, Universitas Negeri Jakarta - Jalan Pemuda, Jakarta (ID)
We Are What We Eat, Undisclosed Territory #11, Studio Plesungan, Solo (ID)
Yang Tersingkap, Proyek Seni Perupa Perempuan Dewan Kesenian Jakarta, Galeri Cipta II, Jakarta (ID)
House of the Unsilenced, Galeri Cemara 6, Jakarta (ID)
Medium at Play, Gajah Gallery, Yogyakarta (ID)
2017 Exi(s)t 2017: Tomorrow as We Know It, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta (ID)
Bandung Contemporary Art Awards #5, Lawangwangi Creative Space, Bandung (ID)
JIWA: Jakarta Biennale 2017, Museum Sejarah Jakarta, (ID)
2016 Ring Road Project: Interkonektivitas, Galeri Serrum, Jakarta (ID)
Art with Purpose, Museum Nasional, Jakarta (ID)
Undisclosed Territory #10, Studio Plesungan, Solo (ID)
2015 Respublica, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta (ID)
Tracing, Saigon Domaine, Ho Chi Minh City (VN)
Router Art Project, Rumah Seni Cemeti, Yogyakarta (ID)
2014 It Is Not a Trap, Asbestos Art Space, Bandung (ID)
ARTE Indonesia Arts Festival, Assembly Hall Jakarta Convention Center, Jakarta (ID)
MANIFESTO No. 4: Keseharian, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta (ID)
LOOP Festival, La Virreina Centre de la Imatge, Barcelona (ES)
When in Bali Do Like the Balinese Do, Kendra Artspace, Bali (ID)
PADJAK #3, Manggarai Watergate, Jakarta (ID)
PADJAK #4, Pasar Rebo Flyover, Jakarta (ID)
PADJAK #6, Jakarta Old Town, Jakarta (ID)
2013 Bandung Contemporary: Disposition, Selasar Sunaryo Art Space, Bandung (ID)
Post Medium, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta (ID)
SPOT ART, Singapore ARTrium, Singapore (SG)
Exi(s)t #2: Instruksi”, Dia.Lo.Gue. Artspace, Jakarta (ID)
PUBLICATIONS (AS AUTHOR)
2022 On Burying, Notes of Hapticity (contributor)
Route of Flowers: A Collection of Parables, editor: Hannah Dawn Henderson, Ivan Mous
2021 Tales of Two Flowers Photographs, editor: Taylor Le Melle, We Had Plans, 150th year of the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten
2019 Heavenly Garden: Creating Intimacy, Developing Empathy, editor: Urmila Mohan, The Jugaad Project, Digital Journal
BOOKS (FEATURED)
2024 Ruah dalam Lima Padanan, Titicara: Meruah, writer: Ibrahim Soetomo
2021 Mengolah Temuan: Seni Berbasis Arsip, Spektrum 2021: Enam Perspektif Seni Rupa Kontemporer Indonesia, writer: Sally Texania,
Dewan Kesenian Jakarta (Jakarta Arts Council) in collaboration with Jakarta Biennale
PRESS
2023 The Garden as Material, Map, Metaphor, State of Mind, Megan Hoetger, feature, Framer Framed digital magazine
14/07/2021 Jejaring Dalam dan Luar Negeri #1, interview, rururadio
20/12/2020 ‘Art has the ability to repair damaged social bonds between humans’ -taking a hike with artist Ratu Saraswati, features,
Metropolis digital magazine
11/11/2019 Centering the Equator in Global Conversations About Art, Hyperallergic
20/10/2018 Menyingkap Jilbab, Koran Tempo
21/11/2017 Systems, Agency and Other Guises: JIWA Jakarta Biennale 2017, The Artling
13/11/2017 17th Jakarta Biennale, “Jiwa”, Art Agenda
02/09/2015 Inspirasi Karya IAA 2015: dari Media Sosial hingga Kiamat, CNN Indonesia
27/09/2015 Seni yang Berakar di Ladang Publik, Koran Harian Kompas
11/11/2013 New Generation of Contemporary Bandung, Sarasvati Magazine
TEACHING EXPERIENCES
2023 Workshop, Writing, Belonging, Daily Writing, intercurricular programme, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam (NL)
2016 – 2018 Art teacher, Elementary Program, Sekolah Highscope Indonesia TB. Simatupang, Jakarta (ID)
2013 – 2015 Drawing teacher, Pre-University of Art, Design, and Architecture, Villa Merah Jakarta (ID)
2011 – 2012 Lecturer assistant, Basic Drawing, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ID)