By Feng Ho, Artist, Fusion Arts

02 July 2025 - 16:21

The Fusion Arts team and Soboman Artspace pose together in front of the mural for the exhibition Hear the Seeds Sing, 2024.
Image description: The Fusion Arts team and Soboman Artspace pose together in front of the mural for the exhibition Hear the Seeds Sing, 2024. 

Since 1977, Fusion Arts has connected artists with the community. The organisation promotes creative projects that encourage social justice and celebrate diversity through participatory artistic activities in Oxford and the surrounding areas. 

Fast forward to 2024, Fusion Arts collaborated with Yogyakarta-based Soboman Artspace Collective on a joint project for the Great Big Green Week 2024 (8–16 June 2024). This project aimed to bring a unique Indonesian cultural practice to a wider international audience.

Relearning the Wisdom of Tradition

This project explored the tradition of cowongan through an immersive art exhibition titled Tetiten Swarane Tandur or Hear the Seeds Sing. Cowongan is a rain-calling ritual performed by the people of Banyumas (Central Java, Indonesia), especially by farmers who are experiencing a long drought. The Banyumas believe that Dewi Sri, also known as the Goddess of Rice and a symbol of prosperity, is the one who sends down rain and grows rice.

The phrase Tetiten Swarane Tandur, which literally translates as “Listen to the Sound of Planting,” is a sign for farmers to start cultivating the land and planting crops. However, farming communities now face the irony of having no land to cultivate. 

Addressing these environmental concerns, the Tetiten Swarane Tandur or Hear the Seeds Sing exhibition aimed to highlight climate change, food security and land justice from the perspective of Indonesian farmers. Fusion Arts’ Marketing Manager, Feng Ho, and Soboman Artspace’s Production Manager, Alya Gunara, have worked as representatives of both collectives to realise this project.

Looking back on the preparation process for this collaboration, Feng Ho shared something personal. “The journey of ‘Hear the Seeds Sing’ is very personal to me,” he said. “I connected with Munir (Soboman Artspace) through Instagram more than two years ago. I was intrigued by his artwork and our shared passion for activism and art.”

As a result of this connection, six members of the Soboman Artspace Collective undertook residencies in Oxford, including artists Munir Al Sachroni, Clesia Christine, Sarjono, writer Ribka Barus, and documenter Deden Ardiansyah.

Mural as the Centre of Exhibition

The exhibition features a 10-metre long mural as its centrepiece. At the opening, Soboman Artspace left it half-finished so that it can be completed collaboratively with visitors, fostering dialogue between locals and Indonesian artists. This participation emphasises the importance of shared responsibility towards the Earth. 

In addition to the mural, there is also a sculpture installation of Dewi Sri and sound elements that enhance the immersive nature of the exhibition.

Fusion Arts and Soboman Artspace also co-organised several other programmes, including a panel discussion. Harvesting Change: Art, Activism, and Food Security in the Climate Crisis featured writers, artists, and activists from Oxford and Yogyakarta. This discussion explored ways to nurture relationships between Global South and Global North initiatives and highlighted the importance of cultural exchange in the face of pressing environmental issues.

Celebrating Across Cultures and Communities

There were also workshops. Clesia Christine (Soboman Artspace) led an Indonesian batik workshop where participants learned traditional batik techniques to understand its cultural significance. 

Supporting the exhibition, there were several workshops that introduced local culture. Khairani Barokka led the workshop in Indonesian and English to highlight the power of language in expressing environmental and cultural themes, resulting in a collection of poems.

Artists from Soboman Artspace are painting a mural as the centrepiece of the exhibition.
Image description: Artists from Soboman Artspace are painting a mural as the centrepiece of the exhibition.
Clesia Christine (Soboman Artspace) led a workshop on Indonesian batik.
Image description: Clesia Christine (Soboman Artspace) led a workshop on Indonesian batik.
Soboman Artspace took a group photo in front of Fusion Arts’ office.
Image description: Soboman Artspace took a group photo in front of Fusion Arts’ office.

Gatherings to Address Climate Crisis

Beyond workshops, the project also included artist and community gatherings. The Green Arts Oxfordshire Network, an initiative formed in January 2021 to bring together artists and arts and cultural programme managers in Oxfordshire to address the climate and ecological emergency, facilitated an artist networking event to foster connections and platforms for discussion and potential future collaborations. 

There was also the Land Justice Oxfordshire collective who brought the community together to share food, stories, and ideas about “home.” This event was the most well-attended and was seen to cultivate a sense of unity and shared purpose among participants.

The series of events then concluded with speeches and performances as an effort to celebrate the project’s achievements. Additionally, this provided a space to reflect on the impact of the exhibition and collaboration, as well as the importance of cultural and environmental advocacy.

Local Root, Global Impact

The project attracted many visitors, even some from London and Manchester. Approximately 70% of visitors were from the Global Majority, and many had never visited a Fusion Arts exhibition before. Visitors were able to see both the differences and similarities in land justice issues in the UK and Indonesia. One visitor commented that the project was “Locally rooted, globally impactful.”

While the participatory artwork remains in Oxford, Fusion Arts aims to further engage the local community by hosting follow-up workshops and panel discussions based on feedback and insights gathered from the exhibition. Although the members of the Soboman Artspace collective have dispersed, Fusion Arts remains committed to maintaining contact with all the artists involved and exploring opportunities for future collaboration. 

Fusion Arts also seeks to facilitate reciprocal residencies for Oxford-based artists in Yogyakarta to encourage cultural exchange. This could include discussions with artists, joint exhibitions, and community-based art projects.

Future International Collaborations

Through the aforementioned efforts, Fusion Arts strives to build a sustainable model for international artistic collaboration that highlights cultural heritage, promotes compassion, and addresses global challenges such as climate change and social justice. 

To date, the Fusion Arts and Soboman Artspace initiative has involved other parties, organisations, collectives, and initiatives such as Green Arts Oxfordshire, Land Justice Oxfordshire, Mandala Theatre, Nine Arches Press, Atlantic Institute, Ovada Gallery, Arts at the Old Fire Station Oxford, 8 Randolph Hotel, Indonesian Oxford Student Association, as well as the Indonesian Ambassador to the UK, and Kelas Bebas Collective and Studio Mawar Bebas (Indonesia). This engagement demonstrates the importance of collaborating to create strong and sustainable programmes.

Reflecting back, Fusion Arts believes that Tetiten Swarane Tandur or Hear the Seeds Sing was an effort to bring communities together and make issues on climate crisis resonate locally. By sparking conversations, sharing meals, and creating poetry inspired by the artwork, Fusion Arts aimed to create genuine emotional connections in facing pressing issues.