Aug
“Blossoming Through Life”
The slogan resonates Ruang Dini, a communal space spotted in the heart of the city, close to many cafes and coffee shops in Bandung. I arrived with my laptop on my left and smartphone on the other. I registered for one of the events this month, Gelar Wicara which in Bahasa means talk show.
Although (once called) Paris Van Java was known as a place for artists to incite their journey, communal space is still pretty uncommon in Bandung. The word communal is vaguely misunderstood, and I for one was also one of those lost people.
Anggrek street number 46, the building was crowded with people who parked their car. Facade by the word ‘Morgy’, I was welcomed with a “professional” coffee place. Charcoal walls and golden lamps surround the cafe giving a sense of “business” here, most of the people sitting on the wooden chair and leaf green sofa were around my age. To say it bluntly, the habitue of Morgy is mostly young people dressed in semi-formal outfits hankering creative industries.
I went on to the back of the cafe and found myself a smaller outdoor space. Although it was small, the intimate freshness of cream and gray concrete opened my mind and I was suddenly ready to take in new ideas. The left wing of the outdoor space was striking and there it was the destination that I look forward to, Ruang Dini’s official spot where the event will be held.
The space was small but the way Ruang Dini’s art director arrange the spatial gave me the sense of a serene place to learn.
I re-registered my name and was greeted by Miranti, the Contact Person of Ruang Dini. The event started around 4.30 pm and went gracious with minor hiccups coming from a sudden shut off from the electricity but overall the event was held very well.
Soon after the talk show, I went further on my interview with Tri Dewanti, Ruang Dini’s Manager. She told me that Ruang Dini was actually the whole unity of Monk, Morgy, and Epilog a photo studio on the upper side of the building, many were misunderstood because Morgy, the coffee shop were established the earliest from the other.
“Ruang Dini is a communal space, where people could learn about art in its many forms. The event would be fully consulted and supervised by our managerial team, we curate the brands, art exhibitions, and events, we would have a long discussion before we say ‘Yes’ to the event, we want the event to be relevant to Ruang Dini’s slogan. ‘Blossoming through life'” Tri dewanti ‘Riri’ explains the elegance of Ruang Dini’s idealistic vision.
‘Blossoming through life’ as imposed on their instagram post @diruangdini on July 16, 2020 was pinned from the idea of helping and educating the community and people on the creative industry and arts to explore and expose them to their maximum capabilities. ‘Dini’ in bahasa stands for early, Ms. Riri invigorate the slogan with a statement “We want to help people to explore their ideas and embrace their creativity from dini” but the word ‘Dini’ itself might be a referral for the woman behind the curtains, Mrs. Dini Triani H.
I haven’t got the chance to talk to the woman herself, but I saw her from afar, wearing white linen and her hair clasped on the air, briefing her team. I can tell that she’s a bold person, her walk shows graceful attitude and her vision for the young people is equally poise.
Maybe on another interview? 🙂
Written by: Regina Virza
