Thoughts on Collective Practice The Eye

“Our curatorial approach strives for a different kind of collaborative model of resource use?—?in economic terms but also with regard to ideas, knowledge, programs and innovations.” – ruangrupa The documenta fifteen will be curated by a collective for the first time in its history. Another first: the artistic directors comefrom Asia. ruangrupa is an association of nine friends who unconditionallycombine art with their everyday lives as a practice of living and survivingtogether under the socioeconomic conditions of their native Indonesia. Fourteenother collectives, so-called lumbung members, have been invited to join ruangrupa in transforming Kassel into a new, sustainable ekosistem. Lumbung, the Indonesian term for a communal rice barn, is the starting point for alltheir activities and also this documenta.In this volume of the book series Thoughts on Collective Practice ruangrupa talks about their beginnings, the harsh struggle for survival under the Suharto regime in Indonesia, thepost-dictatorship euphoria, student protests, punk, and video culture. Abouttheir first art projects, maintaining solidary social relationships, theIndonesian tradition of sharing, and their unusual approach to resources. The autobiographical conversations are supplemented by five exemplary glimpses into ruangrupa'sprojects since 2003 and unpublished archival material.