Samstag Museum to Premiere Two New Exhibits for 2014 OzAsia Festival, 31 July

For the Adelaide Festival Centre's 2014 OzAsia Festival, the Samstag Museum premieres two new exhibitions - Mooi Indie - Beautiful Indies, Indonesian Art Now and In-Habit: Project Another Country, opening Thursday 31 July 2014 from 5pm.

Mooi Indie - Beautiful Indies celebrates the culturally aware and socially engaged art that is the product of an energetic art scene that thrives in the cities of Australia's nearest neighbour ? Indonesia.

Works of art emerge from this dynamic milieu that defy solitary interpretations; works, for example, that address human rights, the environment, gender, identity and culture, across all genres of making. The exhibition features new works created by established and emerging artists from across the generations including Jumaldi Alfi, Arin Dwihartanto Sunaryo, Eko Nugroho, Wedhar Riyadi, Tromorama, and Entang Wiharso.

In-Habit: Project Another Country, commissioned by Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, is a contemporary art project by Filipino-born, Brisbane-based artists, Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan. Considering the idea of 'place', the Aquilizans present a participatory exhibition that addresses themes of journey and diaspora; settlement and resettlement; home and land; plight and displacement.

Collaborating with local schools and the community to construct small dwellings using recycled cardboard boxes and found materials, the Aquilizans create the remarkably imaginative In-Habit exhibition - a growing community of dwellings that is continuously evolving and always in transition.

For the opening of these two exhibitions, Adelaide-based musical group Adelindo Angklung will present a selection of traditional Indonesian and contemporary music performed on the bamboo Angklung.

These exhibitions provide an exciting window into the diversity and power of contemporary art practice undertaken by artists from our near neighbours. "Regardless of their cultural origins the artists in these exhibitions have created works of art that speak a universal language that can be understood across generations and cultures", says Ms Erica Green, Director, Samstag Museum of Art.

During the exhibitions the Museum is hosting a series of talks and workshops. For details and bookings www.unisa.edu.au/samstagmusuem/.

Mooi Indie - Beautiful Indies, Indonesian Art Now and In-Habit: Project Another Country opens 1 August and continues until 3 October 2014. Opening hours are Tuesday to Friday 11-5pm, Thursdays to 7pm and Saturday 2-5pm. The Samstag Museum of Art is located at 55 North Terrace, City West Campus, University of South Australia.

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