We had the good fortune of connecting with Ari Bayuaji and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ari, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
Being disciplined

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I graduated as civil engineer in Indonesia in 1998. Then I did some design architecture projects in Bali until 2005 when I moved to Montreal to study fine art (undergrad) at Concordia University.
Just 2 classes left to graduate from my fine art study, I decided to leave the university. It’s not that I was giving up art but I wanted to create my own story as an artist. I decided to travel the world, joined some artist residency programs in some different countries, just to see how my art can actually on the same path with my life’s journey. The world out of school has really inspire my works. The environment, people, cultures, and my responses to the contemporary challenges in our society have been great teachers to me. That makes me realize that my art is not just for me or just to benefit myself. As an artist I have the power to give back to my community and hopefully the world.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I always take my friends to visit the nature, the beach and the mountain. Those places are the best!

This would be the itinerary in Bali :

The 1st-3rd first day would be great to be spent in the beach area in Sanur, Bali. Morning walk along the beach and visit the mangrove forest not far from Sanur is a great experience to see the nature, daily life of the locals, the temples by the beach, and traditional local food. Swimming and relaxing is the best to do at Sanur beach.

The 4th-6th day is the tile to stay at the mountain area to stay near the rice terraces and river as both of them are the main resources of life in Bali. Hiking and tracking are really fun to do in Bali.
The 7th day (last day). We can visit my studio back in Sanur area to show how my works are inspired by the good and bad parts of Bali.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to give my gratitudes to the community in Sanur, Bali for being such a great partners with ‘Weaving the Ocean’ project since the beginning of 2020. Desak Nyoman Rai is the only weaver colaborator in this project is one of the most important person since when we started the project.

Website: https://www.aribayuaji.com

Instagram: @aribayuaji

Linkedin: Ari Bayuaji

Twitter: @aribayuaji

Facebook: Ari Bayuaji

Youtube: Ari Bayuaji

Image Credits
Ari Bayuaji

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