From Wild School to Wild Food: Struggles for Food Sovereignty in Indonesian Research-based Art

Abstract: This article focuses on the pioneering Yogyakarta-based food study group Bakudapan (est. 2015), which integrates artistic creativity, community engagement and activism in its collective research projects. I examine both the creative and political contexts that have shaped the when, why and how of Bakudapan's experimental research practices. The food study group critically engages with the dynamics of Indonesia's new democracy, while also seeking to study and test historical intellectual traditions and local forms of agricultural wisdom. I demonstrate that the group not only politicises and historicises food production and consumption, but also proposes 'food sovereignty' as a critical counterpoint to former President Joko Widodo's (2014–24) food security ambitions. This includes the exploration of the concept and practice of 'wild food' as a provocative alternative to the 'food estates', or monoculture plantations, promoted by the Widodo government.