Navigating both high art and popular art in Indonesia, I’ve experienced firsthand the gap between contemporary art and technology. Technology’s integration into art often lags behind its commercial or industrial applications, where brands and events use it for visually striking but philosophically shallow displays. However, a shift is underway. Artists are expanding traditional mediums into media art to explore new subject matter, and younger artists leverage technology to critique contemporary media issues. Galleries and collectors are increasingly embracing media works despite technical challenges. Meanwhile, creators from commercial multimedia industries are pursuing independent projects driven by personal vision, exhibiting in galleries, biennales, and art fairs.

Initially, I expected the SATA Meetup to be a group show featuring Asian and Hong Kong artists, with opportunities to learn informally through conversations while researching for a final exhibition. Mid-program, it felt like an experimental participatory art project by Foreseen Agency, testing a novel method for co-creating a manifesto with strangers in a short timeframe. Ultimately, the program surpassed my expectations, particularly through the workshops, where I gained deeper insights from participants, including local Hong Kong artists, than I anticipated from casual exchanges or observing their work.

The Toolkit Workshops were remarkably effective due to their concise one-hour format, which compelled facilitators to distill the core of their practice. This brevity challenged the assumption that media and technology art workshops require extended time or technical prerequisites, resulting in a fundamental, humanist approach. Unlike traditional introductions, the workshops demanded active participation, ensuring participants engaged deeply with the facilitator’s practice. This approach fostered meaningful connections and a richer understanding of art and technology’s interplay, inspiring me to explore more experimental, participatory methods in my own work.