Yogyakarta, April 14, 2026 – The role of academics from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta has once again stood out on the national cultural stage. Dr. Suwarno Wisetrotomo, M.Hum., a lecturer and fine arts curator at ISI Yogyakarta, has been entrusted as one of the curators for the TATAH 2026 Exhibition titled “Suluk–Sulur–Jepara.” This research-based exhibition will be held at the National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta, from April 20 to July 5, 2026. The exhibition is a significant endeavor to reintroduce Jepara wood carving as a cultural heritage born from a long history, creative work, and a vibrant ecosystem of knowledge.
Dr. Suwarno Wisetrotomo, M.Hum's involvement in TATAH 2026 underscores the capacity of academics at ISI Yogyakarta not only to teach in the classroom but also to drive discourse, interpret culture, and formulate directions for the meaning of art in public spaces. Within the curatorial team, Dr. Suwarno Wisetrotomo, M.Hum, alongside fellow curators Nano Warsono, M.Sn., and Nurrohmad, S.Sn., guided an exhibition that went beyond a mere visual presentation of carved works. Instead, it evolved into an interpretation of Jepara as a cultural space, a historical space, and a living space for the carving tradition passed down through generations.
The affirmation was evident in the performance of Dr. Suwarno Wisetrotomo, M.Hum. as a resource person in a Metro TV talk show on Saturday, April 11, 2026, which carried the theme of reviving the glory of Jepara's carving art through the TATAH 2026 Exhibition. In the prevailing narrative, this exhibition was positioned not merely as a product promotion event, but as a space to restore carving art to its dignity as a cultural practice. Through this forum, the presented ideas demonstrated that Jepara carving art must be understood as the result of a long process: a blend of skill, material experience, depth of meaning, work ethic, and tenacious spirit that are not born instantly. Within that framework, he placed TATAH 2026 as an exhibition with a strong conceptual foundation. The theme "Suluk–Liana–Jepara" read as a unified perspective. “Suluk” refers to the dimension of practice, understanding, and ethics in artistic work; “Sulur” represents growth, continuity, and the development of visual language; while “Jepara” presents a cultural identity built from historical traces, collective skills, and the resilience of an artistic ecosystem.
Through this reading, Dr. Suwarno Wisetrotomo, M.Hum. presents the perspective that Jepara wood carving is not merely a craft tradition, but a product of knowledge that grows from a mature culture. The narrative that emerged in the Metro TV talkshow also reinforces one fundamental point: Jepara carving cannot be understood solely from its final product. What is actually important is the process behind it, starting from the carvers, artisans, researchers, curators, local government, material suppliers, to the movers who maintain the continuity of its ecosystem.
This perspective makes the role of Dr. Suwarno Wisetrotomo, M.Hum. as an academic at ISI Yogyakarta very strategic. He brings an intellectual and cultural approach to the curatorial arena, ensuring that exhibitions are not merely aesthetic spectacles but evolve into mediums for public reflection on how art is born, inherited, and reinterpreted within the context of present-day Indonesia.
For ISI Yogyakarta, the curators' roles in TATAH 2026 emphasize the contribution of art higher education institutions in building cultural discourse at the national level. The presence of ISI Yogyakarta academics in such a significant curatorial project demonstrates that art campuses play a vital role in preserving cultural heritage while also bringing it to a broader, more scientific, and more relevant horizon of interpretation in keeping with the times.
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