Music at events is a huge part of the attendee experience- live music especially just takes the moment to another level.
With the Elami Boxes we wanted to make sure the experience was amazing from the first minute you see the box being delivered, to every layer you unearth and every piece you unwrap. So of course we decided to create a Spotify playlist for every box!
Curated by Dayu Ajeng, each playlist is guaranteed to bring you something new.
Listen here: Elami’s Spotify
We caught up with our dear friend Summa Durie recently to ask her what’s new in 2020, what she thinks about everything that’s happening in the event space, and to tell us what’s going on in her world of art, events, curation and more.
Photo by Roberto Aria Putra. of Summa durie with Roa
We recently moved back up to Ubud to what I can only describe as a little smurf village. Our balcony looks out over a jungle garden and rice fields—a view normally saturated in greens, sky blues & pops of tropical colours. Today started with a rainy, misty morning but suddenly through all the greys and blues the most brilliant, eery orange appeared on the horizon as the sun tried to peek through. I am kind of obsessed with colours at the moment so this stuck with me.
And which one has your heart right now? I am the International Curator for an art space here in Bali called Rumah Sanur - Creative Hub. In 'normal' times this is a bustling place that hosts art, live music, festivals, markets—last year alone we welcomed 32,000 people through our doors, held 450 events/concerts/art exhibitions, and held workshops for over 6,000 participants. I am also the Co-Curator of TEDxUbud (working with the awesome folks at Elami & Co) and a freelance curator. In the crazy times we are living through right now a lot of this curatorial work has come to a standstill as gathering people has become slightly tricky. So this has become a time of reflection and resilience—looking at how models can change and how art and artists can still connect in different ways. With that in mind, we've been cooking up some new projects which are still in the very early stages. Without saying too much at this point one of them involves some of my favourite things—art, monsters, myth & history—so I am very excited to see how it unfolds.
Photo by Neyna Rahamdani for TEDxUBUD
I originally trained as a theatre designer but realised I'd never learnt how to paint. So a couple of years ago I found some classes to learn the basics and mucked around now and then. But it has only been since this lockdown that I have established a regular practice and have felt myself developing as a painter. I have been working on a series of studies to explore different styles and colours—it been wonderful seeing what works and what doesn't. If you want to have at my look at my experiments see my IG @summa_. It has also been a great time for exploring other artists’ work and making connections online. I have found a lot of forums for artists gathering together and learning from each other which has been brilliant. A special shout out to Nicolás Uribe (@nicolasuribe) for his insanely brilliant art and daily videos. At the moment I'm totally fangirling over the works of Colleen Barry (@colleenbarryart). If I ever get a chance to attend a workshop with either of these artists I'll be one happy woman!
I started curating in non-traditional spaces—clubs, bars, restaurants—in my early 20s. My focus back then was on emerging and street artists*, and I'll always be grateful to the people who allowed me to take over their spaces. I believe art can and should exist outside white cubes, that art should be where people are. But alternative spaces don't work for all art forms, so these early exhibitions led to me curate exhibitions for major festivals and in more traditional gallery spaces over time. My curatorial work in the visual arts morphed into programming music, performing arts and even a writers festival—I programmed the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival programs 2013-15, which is how I landed in Bali. What I am most excited by is the intersection between different art forms and how when they come together they can create little moments of magic.
*Side note: after working with street artists in Australia, a dream came true here in Bali when Belgium street artist ROA came to Rumah Sanur and did a piece on our walls. I had stalked ROA's work all over Europe so I’m still pinching myself one of his works is on our walls.
Curating is all about connections, most importantly the connection with artists—it is still the thing I adore most about it, working with and watching artists grow.
Curators need to have an understanding and respect for artists—their background, art form and the stories they are telling. If an artist in return trusts the curator's vision for their work and the exhibition, good things can happen.
Curating groups show can also be about understanding how different artists' can work together, how to create a cohesive exhibition that doesn't feel disjointed visually or thematically. Again, this comes back to understanding an artist's style and voice. But curating is also about connections to communities, spaces, festivals, buyers, sponsors, funding agencies, media, and arts writers. A lot goes into making an exhibition successful, far more than simply hanging works on walls. A good curator knows how to make all these connections work or can bring in the right people to make them happen.
Photo by Suki Zoe, Gelombang by Made griyawan Exhibition for john Hardy Jewelry
I am stealing some advice a mentor once passed onto me, but I think it is still relevant for all curators and they are the three Rs.
Relationships – know the artists, art spaces, and galleries you want to work with and develop those relationships. Go to artist studios, attend art exhibitions and artists talks. Remember relationships take time, but if you show up they will happen.
Research – a curator must always be researching—new artists, new works, and ways of presenting contemporary ideas that will resonate with an audience. But equally important is knowing your art history—limitless resources exist online so there is no excuse not to do your research.
Relentless – the final ‘R’. Curators must be relentless. Being a curator is not a 9-5 job, it’s a way of being—constantly searching, piecing art, and works together.
To be a good curator you have to be part-composer, part-mad scientist and above all be a relentless collector of people, ideas and things.
This is a big question that I think everyone is still trying to work out. There is no issue in creating connections and ideas for exhibitions at the moment. We are all connecting via Zoom, IG Live, or whatever platform you like to use. I think the big question comes in the delivery of these ideas. Online exhibitions and digitally generated walkthroughs can go so far, but there is nothing like seeing the artwork in real life. For me something is still lost in the digital realm—I love to walk around sculptures and get up close to paintings to see the texture. Also missing from online is the other people. Art is about an individual's experience in the artwork, but it is also about a collective experience—when people gather in RL to appreciate art.
Again I don't think anyone quite knows the answer to this as none of us knows how long this pandemic will go on for. But for the time being, I think we'll see more experiments with online viewings or exhibitions and events with restricted numbers. For galleries, this is not such a hard thing, but for a lot of other art forms like music and performing arts it is hard to create sustainable events with only a fraction of the ticket-buying audience. I think we are all hoping there is a magic bullet that will solve this crisis but no one knows if and when this will happen. What I do know is that humans are creative and resilient beings and whatever happens I am sure we will continue to make art and share it, although I can't wait for the day we can all do that together again.
Thank you, Summa!
It’s been really interesting to watch the huge amount of posters, billboards, signs, and graphics pop up in the wake of COVID 19. From simple commands, to Mr Bean cameos, to mask education, and stern threats. The graphics, and different styles have been flooding our eyes and brains for the last 5 months.
So many questions about who the posters are for, who decides what gets printed, font choice, and more… Definitely makes us think about effective design and messaging, and how communication actually works on a human level vs how government/bureaucracy thinks it happens.
Here are a few of our favorites. Special thanks to Suki Zoe for collecting most of the pictures on her travels.
1. Wear a mask 2. Don’t panic 3. Exercise
Petulu village really has the best messaging we’ve seen. Positive and to the point.
Other terms also apply…. that’s a lot of logos and text, Ubud. Points for being bilingual!
Balinese speakers only. At the Ubud wantilan.
All the official stuff.
Lots of points being made here.
Go Kopernik and Alam Santi for a clear message on masks.
Another one from Petulu
Balinese language and Mr Bean- amazing.
Targeting office workers?
Red is definitely eye catching against Bali’s green.
Health and safety - two in one
How to wash hands- popular in the first month. Replaced by masks now
We've wanted to create a game for years and thanks to this pandemic downtime, we've finally done it! Maya Kerthyasa lent us her amazing line drawing skills to create a board filled with Balinese myths... Snakes and Ladders, known as Ular Tangga in Bahasa Indonesia, has its origins in second century India.
“This version of Snakes and Ladders is inspired by Balinese life and mythology. At the bottom, we have Bedawang Nala—the turtle that carries the world—accompanied by the two dragons Basuki and Anantaboga. Spiritual nirvana is represented by Mount Agung and the heavenly realm above. The other illustrations are symbols of fertility, creation, enlightenment, abundance, death, disease, disaster and knowledge. Many of these symbolic drawings are inspired by life in and around the Balinese kitchen.”
—Maya Kerthyasa
More about the history of the game:
The game was popular in ancient India by the name Moksha Patam. It was also associated with traditional Hindu philosophy contrasting karma and kama, or destiny and desire. It emphasized destiny, as opposed to games such as pachisi, which focused on life as a mixture of skill (free will) and luck. The underlying ideals of the game inspired a version introduced in Victorian England in 1892. The game has also been interpreted and used as a tool for teaching the effects of good deeds versus bad. The board was covered with symbolic images, the top featuring gods, angels, and majestic beings, while the rest of the board was covered with pictures of animals, flowers and people. The ladders represented virtues such as generosity, faith, and humility, while the snakes represented vices such as lust, anger, murder, and theft. The morality lesson of the game was that a person can attain salvation (Moksha) through doing good, whereas by doing evil one will be reborn as lower forms of life. The number of ladders was less than the number of snakes as a reminder that a path of good is much more difficult to tread than a path of sins. Presumably, reaching the last square (number 100) represented the attainment of Moksha (spiritual liberation).
The specs:
» 50cmx50cm fabric board—screen printed on 100% cotton
» 2 wooden dice
» 4 stone tokens
Shipped in a handmade paper box.
With our new world molded by Covid 19, we’ve had to come to terms with the fact that our whole reason for being (a.k.a bringing people together for events) is no longer possible while this virus runs amok.
We really missed having that connection with people and watching their faces light up at learning new things, or trying something different for the first time. So we decided to send a new experience to our people: the Elami Box!
Welcome to Elami's new monthly Subscription Boxes. Order every month, or just once. For you, or as a gift. We have carefully curated a little surprise to brighten your day, something to look forward to. Maybe you'll like it so much that you'll get it the next month. We have selected unique products from the best Indonesia makers. We want them to keep creating the incredible things they are known for—and introduce you to people and brands you may not know. Give it a try.
We were lucky enough to have one of our favorite photographers Neyna Rahmadani come and document packing day for our latest edition. Please enjoy moments of wrapping and packing below.
For the first time in 70 plus days, the four of us came together in one room to create a little experience for Room4Dessert's Blindsided dinner guests.
”Together but apart. The menu is meant to be a surprise and won’t be too complicated—you will have to boil some water and slice some things. We will leave a little space for your magic touch. At least for the dessert portion, where we will invite you to plate one of our signature desserts.”
—Chef Will Goldfarb
Inspired by the pass the parcel game, we created an interactive experience where guests got a wrapped gift that had a connection to the course they were about to enjoy. All the products came from Room4Dessert's new range of Pasar products, including sourdough panko, lemon kosho, a tisane, and seeds.
Individually wrapped and hand-lettered parcels with the names of the corresponding courses.
For some beautiful shots of the plated food created by one guest, head to over to R4D's instagram. You can also add the playlist for the night to your Spotify account. It was lovely to be back in the realm of creativity and events, even if it was ‘new normal‘.
Designing for the Made Griyawan exhibition at John Hardy Seminyak was an honor. Bringing together a classic Bali brand celebrating modern heritage, and a young artist cognizant of 900 years of history and the need for renewal going forward made for great design inspiration.
We created a number of print, including flyers, postcards, and booklets, and digital materials. We also designed and produced a beautiful paper fan featuring Made Griyawan’s work in honor of the occasion. Handmade and finished with naturally dyed indigo thread tassels.
Long postcard.
Exhibition flyers.
We first met Will Goldfarb all the way back in 2017 when he agreed to step on the TEDxUbud stage. Luckily it didn't seem to put him off us and we found ourselves reunited with him and his team in 2020 for a very exciting project- 20/20:Hindsight. Part one involved Elami and Co matching 6 of our favorite artists to 6 trail-blazing chefs from around the world, invited to Bali by Room4Dessert for a series of dinners all in aid of raising funds for the amazing KIM Woman's Center in Ubud. We created the posters for each Chef after pairing them with a specific artwork from the Bali-based artists.
Will mentioned he liked the idea of each dinner have its own artwork and all of them together looking like a collection of record covers. The typefaces were chosen to live up to the standard of the Room4Dessert brand, modern but classic, and suitable for both print and digital. We went to two of our favorite type foundries, Colophon and Sharp Type and proceeded to geek out as usual over the custom typefaces. The choice of typeface really gives a personality to a piece. Even if you’re not into design, it subconsciously conveys a huge part of the story.
Part two is being led by Maya Kerthyasa, who will be crafting some incredible experiences and itineraries for each Chef in the lead up to the final dinner. We're looking forward to seeing what unfolds!
About the event:
"Hindsight is our way of showing how clear our vision is, looking backwards of course. Selecting six of our favorite chefs to interact with Balinese culture, producers, artists, musicians, and of course ingredients. Each menu will be a custom experience based on the Chef’s itineraries.
First up on April 5 is Dave Pynt from Burnt Ends in Singapore, currently one of the toughest tables to book in the world, and our good friend. Having plied his trade at the estimable Etxebarri, Chef Dave was our first guest chef, and we did our best not to burn the house down. Burnt Ends is currently #59 in the World’s 50 Best List, and showcases Chef Pynt’s vision of the magic of cooking with wood.
Next up, the king of “no such thing as a byproduct, just another product,” and we suspect, secret leader of an underground Danish supergroup, on 24 May, Matt Orlando of Amass, Copenhagen. Having recently expanded to an epic brewery operation (Broaden and Build), Chef Orlando comes to Bali to explore, to revive, and to excite.
Leading our all female kitchen brigade next is Garima Arora of GAA, Bangkok on 21 June. Chef Garima has wowed critics globally with her personal take on traditional Indian and South Asian flavors, and provided us with one of our most memorable recent meals. (She was also recently named as Best Female Chef in Asia via the San Pellegrino juggernaut.)
Another powerhouse 19 July when Bo and Dylan of Bo-lan arrive to reinterpret traditional Thai food through the R4D pantry. You have likely seen Chef Bo recently on Chef’s Table, but we have been most impressed by the care she and her team take to prepare a basic family meal.
Following Kadek Catri Diah Wardani’s stage, we were blessed to invite Namae-San of Effervescence in Tokyo, to cook with us 16 August. Chef Namae’s poetic style and outlook have inspired us for years, and this is a special chance to explore Balinese culture and community.
Lastly, but certainly not least, Chef Dan Hunter of Brae, will arrive for 20 September. At Brae, Chef Hunter produces over 90 percent of his ingredients from his surrounding farm, prepared in a signature refined style, that literally needs seeing to believe. His Phaidon book is a new classic, and the elegantly understated rooms at Brae provide a unique window into his all encompassing vision."
Our 5th year was by far our most intense and creative year to date. We had the pleasure of working with incredible clients (new and old) and producing a variety of events, from 10 people dinners to over 500 attendee experiences, from product launches to employee appreciation, and everything in between.
Each of us remembered a different highlight of 2019, so we’ll work our way down the list of our top ten moments, in no particular order.
Putting together The Artists Dinner and Arta Derau creating a one-off set of ceramics in response to the theme, food and location of the event.
The first Open Studio at Threads of Life Natural Dye Studio and Garden, which also launched their new line of Farmer to Fabric products.
The incredible projection mapping by Agung Prabowo on Carina Hardy’s Back to the Breast installation at The Artists Dinner.
Not an event that happened in 2019, but the excitement of brainstorming and programming for the new John Hardy Jewelry space in Seminyak in 2020 was a highlight of the year. Also seeing Make a Scene’s installation for the store.
Reuniting again with Room4Dessert for a series of posters for the 2020 event series entitled Hindsight: 2020- a cultural and gastronomic exploration of Bali featuring guest chefs, artists, media types, and artisan food producers.
It takes a lot of people to do events. Even a small dinner has a supporting cast of over 25 people.
The details of The Elementals Dinner, including the edible landscape table centerpiece, the hand-lettered menu on the candle-lit lanterns, and the place names made of rice grains.
The collaboration between Cosa and Make a Scene! at the beginning of the year for a special event.
Going back to Setia Darma and having our TEDxUbud stage under the stars, framed by the rice-field and coconut trees once again.
Being able to bring The Creative Refresh into being in such wonderful spaces and with amazing collaborators.
The details of our 2019 TEDxUbud bag and badge design
Read MoreOur 8th edition was an incredible experience, possibly our strongest ever in terms of production and program. For an event that takes so much time and so many people to put together, often memories of those 12 hours can just seem like a blur of noise and light. Watching the photos come in from the phenomenal photographers can be a whole new experience and slightly surreal as we see things that as producers we didn’t get to witness in person (backstage doesn’t have great views), but only in our minds’s eye as we dreamed them up many months ago.
From over 1,300 official photos, it’s pretty hard to pick favorites. So we decided to ask each other what were our most loved images and memories of the night.
Prehistoric Body Theater performs. Photo by Shayna Pitch.
Julia blowing bubbles. Photo by Suki Zoe.
Making up the dinosaur dancers with natural clay pigment. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.
Standing ovations always make our heart sing. Photo by Suki Zoe.
Azhar at work.
Under the X at night. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.
With photographer Bang Dzoel. Photo by Suki Zoe.
Speaker Louise in deep concentration before going on stage. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.
Joy and relief. Photo by Herry Santosa.
Powerful portrait of Jonny Miller by Bang Dzoel.
Food that moves! Cotton candy by Neyna Rahmadani.
The X from above. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.
Our pop up name badge. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.
We have the privilege of working with a group of amazing people every year. Thousands of people hours over months and months go into this one night. Every year we ask ourselves why we do this and every year the answer comes back the same: it’s because of the people we get to work with. From the technical crews, to the core team of volunteers, to sponsors, speakers, performers, on-the-day volunteers, creatives, it’s over 100 people who work on their small part of the magic.
Here are some of the less glamorous (but always satisfying) parts of the day before and day of TEDxUbud.
Wrestling the red dot. Photo by Suki Zoe.
X men at work. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.
One of the most challenging days we’ve ever had because of the heat of the sun. Just incredibly hard on speakers and team. Photo by Suki Zoe.
Replacing a piece of the screen. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.
Out go the cushions. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani
Waste management strategy in place. Photo by Herry Santosa.
A very focused jimmy jib operator. Photo by Suki Zoe.
The super team. Photo by Suki Zoe.
With Bang Dzoel, one of our official photographers.
Behind the stage. Photo by Bang Dzoel.
Photo by Neyna rahmadani.
Photo by Suki Zoe.
One of our favorite times of year is when the UWRF and all the amazing writers and speakers come to town. Every year we buy tickets for the team, close up shop and spend 4 days soaking everything in.
Everybody had a different panel they loved and brand new writers to google madly. We asked (some) of the team what their highlights were and they answered immediately.
Michellina
BRILLIANT SESSION, BEST TANDEM. A short feast for my whys!
One good tip from his festival club session with his wife on interfaith marriage:
Beautiful narrative too. Every line draws people in deeper.
Archana was raised to get the highest education her family could pay for and stay out of the kitchen and chores. So when she decided to quit her job and write a cooking book, judgment came from every corner.
The way that she balances her reasoning while respecting family values held so much poise and understanding.
Megan raised a compelling point along the line of:
Women authors who write around domestic space are often given lots of skepticism to voice and write their stories while men get their freedom and benefit of the doubt. (lots of classic lits by male authors have domestic space as the story background).
Ajeng
The Peripheral Vision session:
A critical session where the panelists from eastern Indonesia questioned what is peripheral vision and who measures the mainstream-peripheral perspective. As they believe that every experience has its own story, valid and primary to those who believe in humanity.
- Faisal Oddang, a writer who comes from Makassar, South Sulawesi.
- Theoresia Rumthe, a poet who had to move to Bandung after the civil war broke out in Ambon, Maluku.
- Setyawan Samad, a poet from Banda Neira, Maluku.
3 new book/writings I’d like to read after UWRF:
Now I am reading Claire G. Coleman’s writing about land and ancestors at ‘Meanjin’, a website containing essays, fiction, memoir, poetry, podcast and book reviews.
She has my respect for her views at the Speculative Fiction panel. One of the things she said was,
I definitely started to read Faisal Oddang’s writings. His background is Indonesian literature and proudly defines himself by speaking daily in the Bugis language. Saras Dewi also recommended him when she talked at the Precious Peatlands panel.
Pitchaya Sudbanthad’s book. I am interested in his view about the indelibility of memory (both individual and collective) and how to reconcile with what has happened; which also leads to a discussion around dreams and karma.
Mila
I wasn’t quite as organized in my note-taking…. So I wound up with a list of quotes and ideas from 4 days with no sources. Very lax of me…
These came from the amazing Lemn Sissay. A huge amount of energy to come out of one person- he had no problem making everyone squirm.
The joy of listening to Yottam Ottolenghi surprised me!
Reza Aslan was a revelation. I expected something else completely but loved the archaeological/historical lens he used to explain religion as we know it today.
Jono Lineen also had a similar style to Reza Aslan, but on the subject of walking. A fascinating flood of facts and ideas.
And finally Akala, who dropped this amazing fact among a 1,000 others.
Less than a month to go until TEDxUbud, gulp! Every year we feel a rush of gratitude for being able to put this event together and work with Bali's brightest and best. And while the challenges of wrangling these many people and moving parts may have us pulling our hair out right around this time, we love doing it. After all, there would be no Elami and Co without TEDx.
We'd like to give a big thanks to Ria and Skyler of Utama Spice, who have been so generous with their time and support for this event for so many years. We are very grateful to this amazing hometown brand that has taken their incredible message and brand around the world!
1// The 2019 TEDxUbud lineup is out!
We are very excited about this year's speakers and performers. Our theme of Movement has led us to curate talks about migration, emotional upheavals, changing the way we travel, dancing with dinosaurs, seismic activity, trade that feeds our hunger for the new, and how we can think more with our hands. We've been rehearsing with speakers for several weeks and they're better than ever.
2// A snippet that inspired us
3// Fill your bellies
To whet your appetites, we have some of Bali's best culinary creatives coming back to feed attendees this year; including Locavore, Pasti Enak, Moksa, Coffeenatics, Mia Chia, Gelato Secrets, Albens Cider, Stark Craft Beer, Krakakoa, Balipop, and Happy Kombucha! We're nearly sold out, book your tickets if you haven't done so yet.
4// Partner-in-art
We have the amazing Kanoko Takaya as our TEDxUbud artist for 2019! Kanoko is a Japanese artist who lives in Bali. Her work is filled with movement and popped into our minds when we started thinking of how we wanted this edition to look. Kanoko created portraits of each speaker and also a dreamy being filled with thoughts and ideas for our limited-edition volunteer t-shirts.
5// Our TEDxUbud space
So many of our attendees fell in love with Setia Darma’s incredible space when we held our first night event there in 2017, so we're very happy to be heading back there for our 8th edition. This museum opened in 2006 and its collection includes more than 1,300 masks and 5,700 puppets from around Indonesia and the world. It's a wonderful place to head to on the weekend, or the next time you have no idea what to do in Ubud with guests. Did we mention it's free?
Elami Productions creates and designs events in Bali. Producers of Ubud Open Studios and TEDxUbud.
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hello@elami.co
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