Asep Topan

Asep Topan (b. Indonesia, 1989) is a curator and educator based in Jakarta. His teaching, curatorial and research practices showed a strong interest in the particular facet of the relationship between art, politics, and activism. He achieved an MA in Curatorship from The Faculty of Visual Art and Design, Bandung Institute of Technology (FSRD-ITB) in 2017 with a research thesis on the Jakarta Biennale and artistic practice of Indonesian artist Moelyono (b. 1957). In 2011, he received a BFA from the Jakarta Institute of Arts (FSRD-IKJ). As a lecturer, he has been working at FSRD-IKJ for 10 years and is responsible for teaching subjects such as History of Indonesian Art, Exhibition Studies as well as Art Activism subject together with Dolorosa Sinaga. Formerly, he participated in the de Appel Curatorial Programme, Amsterdam (2015-16). In 2015 he curated the Jakarta Biennale with 6 Indonesian colleagues, Charles Esche and Galit Eilat; and in 2016, he was a co-curator of the project ‘Young Must Make Your Death Public’ at de Appel arts centre, Amsterdam, with a team of three. He worked as Vice-director of the Jakarta Biennale for its 17th edition titled ‘JIWA’ (2016-18). Recently he worked as curator and Head of the Curatorial and Collection department at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN), Jakarta (2018-21). He published his first anthology of art writings in 2014 titled Sketsa dan Sebuah Kesalahan (Sketch and A Mistake). Currently, he works independently as a curator and teaches at FSRD-IKJ. He has been invited by a number of institutions as a visiting lecturer and speaker on Indonesian art and curatorial practices.