On Saturday, June 8 2024, the North Plaza area of Tebet Eco Park, South Jakarta was busy with people painting totebags.. They were participants in the Komunikreasi event, an event initiated by students of the Faculty of Communication Sciences, Tarumanagara University. Carrying the theme “Pour Your Heart into Art,” Komunikreasi invites the public to get to know more about open spaces and try together Art Therapy directly in the garden area.
The event started with a Mini Talkshow which presented the Sobat Air Jakarta community, represented by John William Candra, as well as Adi Chandra from the Rupa Swara Jiwa community. Here, participants are invited to learn about the benefits of open space, both for physical and mental health. Participants were also invited to get to know the types of open spaces in Jakarta, starting from Green Open Spaces, Blue Open Spaces, and Non-Green Open Spaces.
Komunikreasi, Students’ Initiatives on SDGs Agenda
This year, Komunikreasi, which is part of CommWeek 2024, Faculty of Communication Sciences, Tarumanagara University, raised the topic of Sustainable Cities and Settlements, one part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).PBB. Through this Mini Talkshow, it is hoped that participants will become more familiar with open space as an element of sustainable city development.
Afterwards, participants were given information about types of Art Therapy that will be practiced together. The session of Art Therapy was guided directly by the Rupa Swara Jiwa community which is part of the Indonesian Foundation for Hearts for Souls. With the method of Mandala Drawing, participants are given instructions to make a circle and draw anything inside the circle they make according to their intuition and conscience. The participants looked very enthusiastic about painting on their totebags.
Feeling Interpretation through Art Paintings
In between the painting sessions, Adi from the Rupa Swara Jiwa community went around to see and try to interpret the participants’ paintings. One of the participants, Ken, expressed what he saw in his painting. Ken said “The painting I drew symbolizes happiness, but also sadness through the shape of a tear in the middle of the circle.” Then Adi explained that Art Therapy is not the ability to read minds, but to interpret feelings through painting.
Finally, a plaque was handed over as a form of appreciation to representatives of Sobat Air Jakarta and Rupa Swara Jiwa. By holding this event, it is hoped that people will become more familiar with the various activities that can be done in open spaces, especially parks. Not only exercise and getting fresh air, open spaces in Jakarta can be used for other positive activities. Komunikreasi also invites people to become more aware of types of therapy through art, in particular Art Therapy with the Mandala Drawing method. Don’t let us be fooled by individuals who sell the name Art Therapy without knowing its true essence.
The event closed with a band performance which entertained the participants, singing songs from Indonesian musicians such as Dere and Nadin Amizah. This appearance also led the participants to leave the event location. Participants were welcome to bring totebag that they have painted, they are also given additional instructions if they are interested in continuing their painting at home.
The success of Komunikreasi certainly cannot be separated from the resources of the collaborators, Sobat Air Jakarta and Rupa Swara Jiwa, as well as assistance from all parties who have supported this event. We hope that Komunikreasi can provide a good impression and useful knowledge, as well as being a trigger for more collaboration to activate the third space. (RA/LI)
