Shaping Place Identity in Urban Village through R-V-S-T Participatory Art model

Abstract

For over a decade, urban villages across Java Indonesia that were used to be slum areas were transformed into colorful villages and have become tourist destinations. Artists together with local residents paint the village with colorful murals, thus the name Kampung Pelangi or Rainbow Village become synonymous with the creative movement. This study was conducted in Kampung Pelangi of Semarang city, in central Java Indonesia. Kampung Pelangi of Semarang City is visually unique it is located on a hill slope and the expansive paintings of the village created colorful terraced settlement. However, to ensure its sustainability as a tourist destination and a good dwelling place, residents’ creativity is the key factor to perform continual improvements. Kampung Pelangi in Semarang City is surrounded by historical sites, which intersects with the city’s geographical history. Hence rediscovering its historical narrative is an important effort to strengthened its place identity. This study explores how art and design are incorporated in participatory action model to shape place identity in the urban village. The participatory art modeled based on study of traditional heritage, existing vernacular creativity, place history and territorial narration. The culmination of these factors regarded as collective identity expression and modeled as Relational, Vernacular, Symbolical, Territorial (R-V-S-T) expressions for participatory art practices. This study uses qualitative approach. The participatory art model is developed based on research data gathered from in depth interviews, focus group discussions, participant observations, literature study on participatory models. The practical aim of this study is to model a new form of tourism by enriching local values which can lead towards place sustainability. As contribution to art and design research literature, this study proposed R-V-S-T as a model for meaning creation in collaborative artistic process specifically in shaping place identity in urban villages.

Keywords: Participatory Art Model, Urban Villages, Place Identity

DOI: 10.7176/ADS/95-04

Publication date:September 30^th 2021