The 18 Things They Did This Year: An Interview


2017 has been... wild. Good and bad things happened, and all I can think about right now is how fast this year has gone by! It's times like these I realise how fast life goes, and sometimes I don't think I'm making the most of it. And I'm pretty sure most people feel so too! But let's not feel regret. Let's feel grateful for the amazing things that has happened this year. To see the things other people did, I decided to ask six university students with an interest in art, all in different majors, about a how art plays an important role in their lives, how their 2017 went and the 18 things they did this year.


Paulina Arumsari (Olin)  - 21 Years old - Fashion Design - Newcastle, UK
I'm pretty much dumb academically. I've always been struggling with school subjects, except for art class. I have zero interest on becoming scientist, doctor, engineer or any other jobs that require highly supreme IQ.

Until... I fell in love with ballet. Yup, this big ass kid was a ballerina for seven solid years. I fell in love with art since primary, even if it's only winning a drawing competition in my housing area or my class. Without realising, I've actually had a dream of being a fashion designer since then, where I wrote fashion designer as my dreams in my primary yearbook. That's only because I love drawing girls and I love using my mum's kain to make it into some clothing and take pictures (until now).

Long story short, I went to fashion school in 2014 and it feels right. Until now, I have no other plans for myself in the future but to be an artist. Well, there's a 90 percent chance of being in the fashion industry, and a 10 percent chance of being a chef. (Olin's cooking is amazing, by the way!!!)

Back to the question. I'm currently in a point in my life where if there's no art, I'd die. Being in the creative industry means I can finally accept my flaws and express it through art. The creative process makes everything into balance. Well, that's because I'm not a person who depends on subjectivity. Oh that's cool, but for who? For us or for someone else? I'm the type of person who believes that in every piece of beauty, there's some kind of correlation between that thing and something else. I'm proud and happy to be an artist, and thank God I did (choose to be an artist). Artists are truly the only profession that celebrate what it means to live a life.

b 2017 hasn't been so easy. In fact this year has been the most challenging year I’ve ever experienced. However, I’ve always been blessed for any kind of circumstances. So yeah, I did strive to survive 2017.


All art works above are created by Olin. I've known her since junior high, and she definitely is one of the most creative and motivated person I know.



Shafira Balqish - 20 Years old - Landscape Architecture - Bali
If I were given a scale from 1 - 10, on how important art for me, it would be a 10. Why is it that important? When talking about art, it's wide, it's a variety. For instance, politics is considered as art, the art of organising  policies. When art is seen from my field of study, it definitely plays a role. And it definitely plays a role when you see it from my hobby's perspective.

I used to make new year's resolutions, but they failed. But not this year. I mean, I made no new year's resolutions, so I taste no failure. I have nothing to complain about.



All drawings above are created by Balqish herself. I met her mid last year I think, and I instantly fell in love with her and the 70s flare pants she wears to campus. Balqish's blog here.



Adiguna Palinrungi (Ugi) - 20 Years old - Film - Jakarta
Art is the re-expression of an idea, a feeling or an atmosphere that relates to the economical and social conditions during an era. It is expressed through a medium that involve our senses.... Art is freedom with a reason. It works two ways, the creator doesn’t merely create, the enjoyer doesn’t merely enjoy... Art is very important. There’s this feeling of relieved in every enjoyer and creator. When you express something inside you, breathing gets a lot easier.

It was the same as the years before, both the likes and dislikes. But it feels slightly lighter, probably because this year I was more sincere haha.





All drawings and music are by Ugi himself. I met Ugi in junior high, and even then, he really was (and still) one of the most artistic person I know. Click the picture above to listen to Ugi's music!


Farah Ayu - 20 Years old - German Literature - Jakarta
Art is like a part of me. It acts as a stress reliever, in any form, whether it's theatre, music, paintings... During times of trouble I usually visit places with artistic morals. I can't imagine what life would be like if there weren't any art. My life would be monotone stagnant super boring, and just colourless.

2017 has not been really great. I made tons of mistakes this year, but it gave me so much things to learn from.

Click here for Farah's extraordinarily written poem.

Drawing drawn beautifully by Farah herself. We met in junior high but were actually friends in high school. She is one of the funnest and coolest person I know. Farah's blog here & makeup account here.





Nurul Aulia (Nubul) - 20 Years old - Visual Arts (Ceramic Arts Studio) - Bandung
This might sound cliche, but I've always been into art since I was young. And when asked how important it is for me, well it's definitely a passion and I do art not only because I like it, but because I need it. There's always this feeling of self-achievement when I'm creating.

2017 has been great, with its ups and downs, but Alhamdullilah all the ups and downs are all well-balanced. So far, so great!



All very colourful and sweet artworks by Nurul herself. We met in primary, and even then she already looked like an artist. Nurul's art account here.


Karima Duhita - 20 Years old - Medical Sciences - Bali
Have you ever feel like you're thirsty of the things you're fond of? As if you can't live without it. Well, although I am not in the art major, that's basically what art is to me. Art can be represented in so many ways and to me, it fills in my thirst. For example, I take pictures for campus events, watch random movie screenings around Denpasar or watch commercial movies in the theatres, go photo hunting and make videos for fun, until finally going to exhibitions and performances all around.

For me, art is very important. I realise how important it is when I started going to med school. How come? Well in med school, I am actually studying and I started to lack of creating. From that moment, there's this state during my first year, that I need to keep myself hydrated (with art) to keep me sane.

To be honest, 2017 has been a roller coaster. Feels like I kept getting beat up, too. Of course, beaten up to get up and realise to do the things that I love, for me. Not just to go with the flow, and 'yasudahlah'. Some days I feel like the world is against me, but some days I also feel like the world loves me very much. Sadly though in my opinion, 2017 isn't that memorable. It went really fast and I feel like I haven't achieved anything. Is it just me, or does everyone feel the same thing too?




All pictures above by Karima herself. We met due to friends of friends, and ever since I got to her instagram page, I fell in love with her photography. Karima's blog here.



I am no good when it comes to translating beautiful words. Click here to view the original text by these talented people in our beautiful mother tongue, Indonesian.

I decided to choose young art appreciators because art appreciators have unique perspectives on things, and (as far as I know) they have interesting experiences. It's amazing how six different people with the same general interest can have very different moments of 2017. So anyway, that was them. How about you? Out of all the things you did this year, what are the eighteen things you cherished most?

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If you're asking... I do have a list! But I'll talk about it later. In the next post. Soon.

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