Jatiwangi art Factory (“JaF”)

Established in 2005, Jatiwangi art Factory (JaF) is a community created to cultivate and platform local contemporary arts, and to circulate the importance of these arts and cultural artifacts in ongoing, living discourse in the rural area of Jatiwangi in West Java. Their manifold activities, always involving the local public, include a video festival, a music festival, a residency program, a discussion series, a TV station, and a radio station. For further context about the local conditions, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Jatiwangi’s clay industry made the region the biggest roof-tile producing region in Southeast Asia, peaking in the 1980s. However, in the 1990s, alternative roofing materials like ceramic and metal became popular, leading to the closure of many traditional factories in Jatawangi, and creating economic decline and hardship. Thus, JaF’s 2019 project, Kota Terakota, (or “Terracotta City”) marked the beginning of a new clay culture for Jatiwangi— a massive remodeling of the city based on its people’s desires and their collective vision for it. In this sense, Kota Terakota speaks to “terra” (land) not only as a material, but also as foundation, territory, or idea.