Welcome to URAKAN. Indonesia’s art scene is moving faster than the writing that reads it, and we want to help close that gap: with writing that analyzes rather than promotes, written from here, in our own language.
Our mission is to shed light on movements in the art world, look more closely at its trends, and spark discussion about the issues around them. We criticize work and ideas, not people. We always pay our writers. We read seriously, because work that is read seriously raises the stakes for anyone who makes and exhibits it.
urakan /uˈrakan/
1 tidak mengikuti aturan dan bertingkah laku seenaknya
not following the rules and behaving as one pleases
We chose it as a name, and as a stance rather than a style: we refuse to write about art timidly. Ironically, for a name that won’t be ruled, we try to work systematically, tidily, and solidly: a clear editing process, a well-kept layout, written ground rules. For us, breaking with old habits takes a strong foundation.
Before publishing a single piece, we opened the Urakan Magazine Writers Lab in Yogyakarta on December 7–8, 2024. Ten people from different backgrounds were selected and then mentored by our editorial team and advisors. The first challenge for an art magazine is finding its writers, so we chose to help grow them. Some of the participants now write for us. This magazine is digital, but it began in a room with ten people, not on a website. The lab was supported by Ace House Collective and Langgeng Art Foundation.
We put Indonesian first because we believe our art should be read within our own frameworks, not always through a Western lens, and so that writers and readers here can come in without barriers. But we want to reach as many people as possible, hence English. German is here for a more honest reason: one of us speaks it, and it’s one more door.
Everything we’ve published, starting with this letter, is in the Collection.
If there’s something you’d like to write or respond to, the door is open through our contribution guidelines and contact page. Follow us on Instagram, or subscribe to the newsletter using the form at the bottom of this page.
Warm regards,
the URAKAN editorial team