Decaramelism: On Sugar and Community

On 19 September 2026, Indonesian artist Arie Syarifuddin (a member of Jatiwangi Art Factory), joins Lara Khaldi (director of De Appel), Marieke van Rooy (initiator Ode aan de Gemeenschap) and Simon Kentgens (initiator Clublokaal) for a conversation on JAF’s approach to community-based artistic practice and Syarifuddin’s long-term research into sugar production in Jatiwangi. This event is part of Ode aan de Gemeenschap, a year-long programme at De Poorthuisjes bringing together professional artists and local residents.

Based in Jatiwangi, West Java, Jatiwangi Art Factory (JAF) is an art collective working at the intersection of art and everyday life. For more than two decades, the collective has developed projects in collaboration with local communities, responding to the social, cultural and economic context of the area. The conversation explores JAF’s approach to community-based artistic practice, drawing on Syarifuddin’s six-week residency at De Poorthuisjes and his presentation IN DE KOST, part of Ode aan de Gemeenschap/Klazien-o-theek, alongside the practices of Clublokaal in Breda and De Appel in Amsterdam.

The second part of the conversation focuses on Syarifuddin’s long-term research into sugar production in Jatiwangi. Sugar has played a central role in the history of the region and connects questions of colonialism, land and labour with the lives of local communities. Syarifuddin’s research examines these histories and the ways in which people in Jatiwangi continue to relate to and reclaim the land shaped by the sugar industry.

The conversation brings together perspectives from Jatiwangi and Amsterdam and considers the role of artistic research, local knowledge and community-based practice in engaging with histories that continue to shape the present.

After the conversation, visitors are invited to a shared meal at De Poorthuisjes. Please register here.

Info & Credits

Framer Framed
Oranje-Vrijstaatkade 71
1093KS, Amsterdam