A theatre performance can visualise coastal communities lived experiences, injustices that they face daily (e.g. lack of access to a clean and healthy environment), and their aspirations for positive change. We are working with 20 young people from Cilincing small-scale fishing community and our partners in Indonesia including the Indonesian Government Research and Innovation Agency (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional); a local NGO, Yayasan Segara Nusa Nawasena; an art collective, Insani Teater Cilincing; a small-scale fisher cooperative, Koperasi Nelayan Kalibaru Timur, Cilincing; and a community led recycling initiative, Kelompok Kerajinan Tangan Cangkring Utara to co-develop a theatre play titled “Laut Kita, Masa Depan Kita” (Our Ocean, Our Future).
Drawing from the Leverhulme funded “Ocean justice and the blue economy” research project findings and our expertise in creative methods the performance will visualise challenges that the small-scale fishing (SSF) community in Cilincing face and their aspirations to address the issue of justice and sustainability in the blue economy. The theatre performance is intended to (1) create a participation space for youth that are often sidelined in the blue economy processes; (2) harness creativity and empower youth to enhance their ocean literacy and ability to engage with decision makers; and (3) support the growth of creative economy in the area where education and job opportunities for youth are scarce. It will weave in art, traditional culture with key findings from the ‘Ocean justice and the blue economy’ project that emphasise the pressing need to integrate local knowledge, cultural heritage, and communities’ lived experiences to achieve just blue economy. Empirically, the theatre performance is important due to the unprecedented challenges faced by youth from the SSF community in Cilincing due to recurrent tidal floods and limited access to education and job. Scholarly, arts‐based research approaches continue to remain on the periphery of ocean research (McKinley et al., 2024). We explore the use of theatre to create an original performance piece that can spark dialogue and build solidarity for SSF community among policy makers, practitioners and researchers (McGarry, 2024; Febrica and Morgera, 2022). It will also provide a platform to translate and communicate research which traditional methods cannot convey.
The co-development of “Laut Kita, Masa Depan Kita” (Our Ocean, Our Future) play is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) grant. Details of the theatre performance are listed below.
When: 23 July 2026 at 13:00-15:00 (Jakarta time) and 19:15-21:15 (Jakarta time)
Venue: Gedung Kesenian Miss Tjitjih, Jl. Cempaka Baru Timur, RT.9/RW.2, Cemp. Baru, Kec. Kemayoran, Kota Jakarta Pusat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 10640, Indonesia