ACM CONVERSATIONS

The Five Names of Jane Hendromartono:
The Evolving Art and Identity of a Batik Maker

Thursday, 20 March 2024, 7–8pm
ACM Ngee Ann Auditorium

This talk is free. Registration (with $10 refundable deposit) required.
Click here to register: https://fivenamesofjanehendromartono.peatix.com/view

Anchored in the rich traditions of Javanese batik making, Jane Hendromartono’s work vividly responded to major social changes of the twentieth century, from the constraints of Dutch colonialism and the Second World War to the new challenges of an independent Indonesia.

The batiks she produced over her nearly 50-year career are a testament to both her resourcefulness and her extraordinary artistry. In this talk, Naomi Wang explores Jane’s life, art, and business through more than 60 batiks donated to the Peranakan Museum in 2017 and 2024.

Speaker

Naomi Wang is curator for Southeast Asia at the Asian Civilisations Museum and Peranakan Museum. She curated the jewellery galleries at both museums and has co-curated the exhibitions Port Cities: Multicultural Emporiums in Asia, Raffles in Southeast Asia: Revisiting the Scholar and Statesman and Batik Nyonyas: Three Generations of Art and Entrepreneurship. She holds an MA in Art History and Archaeology from SOAS University of London.

Moderator

Alan Chong is an art historian interested in the intersections between cultures, including hybridity, complexity, and contested ownership. He has curated exhibitions including Bellini and the East; Christianity in Asia: Sacred Art and Visual Splendour; Port Cities: Multicultural Emporiums of Asia; and Gondola Days: Isabella Stewart Gardner and the Palazzo Barbaro Circle. He wrote “17th-century Chinese ivory sculptures from the Philippines” for Across the Pacific: Art and the Manila Galleons and edited the catalogue Batik Nyonyas: Three Generations of Art and Entrepreneurship (both 2024). He received a PhD from Yale University and has served as director of the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, and as curator of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.


This talk is organised in conjunction with the special exhibition Batik Nyonyas: Three Generations of Art and Entrepreneurship at the Peranakan Museum until 31 Aug 2025

The ACM Conversations Lecture Series is generously supported by Dalio Philanthropies