Tio Meng Samantha (Mintio)
Mintio's (b. 1986, Singapore) art practice focuses on lens and time-based medias. She is based between Singapore and Indonesia. Trained in the foundations of photography and cinematography, Mintio uses these two mediums to condense space and time, constructing fantastical spaces and other-worlds in her artworks. Her first publicly exhibited series "Concrete Euphoria", uses the large format photography medium and an almost-performative methodology to create mandalas with light from urban landscapes. Mintio then went on to explore virtual realities and capture the psychological states of internet gamers in her subsequent series "~T.H.O.H.Y~ (aka The Hall of Hyperdelic Youths). Mintio has exhibited extensively across Asia. She has presented work on international platforms like the Noorderlicht Photo Festival, Asian Triennial Manchester and at the San Fransisco Art Institute. Her works have been acquired by the Singapore Art Museum, American Embassy and National University Museum of Singapore. In 2016, Mintio is invited to be International Residency artist at Bamboo Curtain Studio for 42days since 1st of October.
Ketemu Project Space
Ketemu aims to facilitate socially conscious interactions with communities through art and creativity. As a platform for conversations in creative exchanges with society,
Ketemu provides the perfect environment for creators and researchers to connect with the culture, landscape, materials, social practices and communities of Bali.
Ketemu was conceived in 2011 by artists Budi Agung Kuswara (Kabul) & Samantha Tio (Mintio). Kabul from Indonesia and Mintio from Singapore have been formally trained in painting and photography respectively. Lamenting about how their works and practice only extends to the audience in the commercial art market, the duo teamed up with the goal of developing projects with the participation of community members to address social issues and harness creativity for social empowerment. In 2012, Mintio and Kabul completed a chapter in their co-creation initiative with batik craft-makers of Klaten in central Java. The project titled “Malam di Jari Kita / The Wax on Our Fingers” was a collaboration to address the marginalized status of batik-workers in the craft and rural industries of Indonesia. In 2016, Mintio is invited to be International Residency artist at Bamboo Curtain Studio for 42days since 1st of October.
After two years of developing workshops and participatory activities for students and audiences to access the research of their projects, Mintio & Kabul established Ketemu Project Space at the beginning of 2015 as a platform for projects and the residency programs in Bali. “Danau Imaginasi Kami / Our Lake of Imagination” was a pilot project of the space, collaborating with students from Kintamani in an art and environmental education project. The space has programmed several workshops and dialogue session in its course and the team has grown to include two new members, Ruth Onduko and Dewi Mayun. Currently, Ketemu is developing a program for 2016, gathering artists locally and from abroad to address issues in gender equality, reproductive health and labor in a project titled “Merayakan Murni / Celebrating Murni” based on the legacy of the late Balinese artist I GAK Murniasih.