Sang gunung menyerahkan jejaknya ke laut | The mountain gives way to the sea

This discussion unpacked the collaborative processes behind Balinese-Australian artist Leyla Stevens’ works in the exhibition Sang Gunung Menyerahkan Jejaknya ke Laut (The mountain gives way to the sea). Together they shared the intricate processes of developing a visual language, translation, and non-linear storytelling in making video art. They also reflected on the power of video art to reimagine and reinterpret untold stories and histories in Bali and beyond.
 
Speakers: Leyla Stevens (artist), Wayan Martino (filmmaker and founder of Niskala Studio), and Savitri Sastrawan (curator and writer)
Moderator: Bianca Winataputri

This event invited participants to collectively reflect on Bali’s past, present, and visions for the future. With rapid urban developments, the onset of climate change, and changing social, cultural, and environmental structures, the discussion centers on the question: how can we foster a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive future for Bali? The discussion was led by local artist Made Bayak and anthropologist Ngurah Surwayan who shared their knowledge of Bali’s changing history, its evolving culture, and the profound impacts of modern changes and tourism on its landscapes.

Speakers: Made Bayak (artist) and Ngurah Suryawan (anthropologist)
Moderator: Bianca Winataputri

This discussion centered on undocumented histories of violence and oppression in Bali, and the collective efforts by younger generations of artists, historians, and writers to retrieve them. The panel emphasised the importance of remembering and healing as a community drawing on examples from Juli Sastrawan’s google maps project and Sidhi Vhisatya’s work with the Indonesian Queer Archives. This event fostered intergenerational dialogue and invited different generations of community members to exchange stories and experiences of historical injustices in Bali and beyond. The discussion also collectively explored ways to promote more inclusive storytelling of history that respects diverse voices and perspectives through literature, archives, and artmaking.
 
Speakers: Juli Sastrawan (author and researcher) and Sidhi Vhisatya (curator)
Moderator: Bianca Winataputri

This event took participants on a guided historical walk of Sanur with urban historian Gede Maha Putra. Together we discovered the changing landscapes, architectures, and communities in Sanur and unraveled the ways in which social and cultural structures have adapted to the currents of time.

This full-day workshop and live reading performance invited young writers of fiction and non-fiction, poets, artists, and storytellers to respond to featured artworks by Leyla Stevens in the exhibition Sang Gunung Menyerahkan Jejaknya ke Laut.

The works featured in the exhibition offer a transcultural perspective on south Bali’s histories and landscapes, and how they have been reshaped by global tourism and sustained colonial imaginations. This program encouraged participants to think, feel, imagine, and write with artworks through collective reflections and discussions. At the end of the workshop, each participant produced new, original writings including poems and short stories and presented them live to a public audience.