Marker is Art Dubai’s curated programme of galleries and artspaces, which focuses each year on a particular theme or geography. This section aims to exemplify the fair’s role as a site of discovery and cross-cultural exchange, and is a feature of Art Dubai’s extensive not-for-profit programming.
In 2012, Marker highlighted the dynamic Indonesian arts scene. Yogyakarta-born curator Alia Swastika selected the five participating galleries – Ark Galerie, Biasa Artspace, Galeri Canna, D Gallerie and Jogja Contemporary – and worked with them and their artists on a series of booths which addressed the theme of ‘Self/Faith’. Home to the world’s largest Muslim population, the marriage of culture and religion in Indonesia has revealed a unique tension between ideas of collectivism and individualism. Marker 2012 also drew on “the intersections of private and public, citizenship and state, and the grey areas between possibility and current realities.”
Curator and writer Alia Swastika (born in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 1980), was co-curator of the Biennale Jogja XI, and is a member of the 2012 Gwangju Biennale curatorial team. Based in Jakarta, she is the recipient of grants to study curatorship in Berlin (funded by Asia Europe Foundation), New York (sponsored by the Asian Cultural Council) and Shanghai (supported by Art Hub) and recently completed an Art Associate program with the National Art Gallery, Singapore. Between 2002 and 2004, she was an associate editor for SURAT, a visual arts magazine published by the Cemeti Art Foundation, and was Artistic Manager at Cemeti Art House, 2004–2009. Since 2008, Swastika has been curating exhibitions for Ark Galerie in Jakarta. Recent shows include ‘Wall Street Arts: a Jakarta Paris Graffiti Exhibition’ as well as solo exhibitions of work by Eko Nugroho, Wimo Ambala Bayang and Tintin Wulia.
