The Weight of Return
The Weight of Return
October 10 @ 9:00 am – 2:00 pm IST
Multidisciplinary Art Piece featuring Installation and Monologue
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Admission free, no booking necessary
Artists
Costan Fakrian Raharusun, Artist and Teacher
Samuel Yohanes Glenn, Artist
Full Event Details
Peace Bridges International and Udeido Collective present this multidisciplinary art piece featuring an installation and live monologue performance as part of the Irish Arts and Human Rights Festival. The installation and monologue commemorate the 120,000 internally displaced people in the highlands of West Papua. They have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict between the independence movement and Indonesian government. The government does not allow humanitarian aid into the region and has refused to engage in peace talks. These international displace people have no clean water, no food, no shelter, no healthcare, no education and many have died while waiting to return home.
The installation is freely available to view on Saturday 10 October 2026, from 9am-2pm, with the live monologue performance taking place at 12pm.
This event is presented by Peace Bridges International and the Udeido Collective
Udeido Collective was founded in Yogyakarta in 2018 as a platform for young artists from across Papua to initiate an artistic movement in their homeland. Udeido Collective’s works visually articulate the situation of the West Papuan people. Their practice touches on the use of conceptual elements from socio-cultural construction that exist in their own society. Reconstruction of these elements is placed as a method for analysing and discussing social issues within society caused by prolonged social-political conflict. Udeido takes its name from the ude leaf, which is used on the island to treat wounds, and aims to heal and reconstruct the collective memory of the Papuan people.
Human rights defenders are at the heart of all we do at Peace Bridges International.
We provide protection, support and recognition to local human rights defenders who work in areas of repression and conflict and have requested our support. We believe that lasting transformation of conflicts cannot come from outside, but must be based on the capacity and desires of local people. We avoid imposing, interfering or getting directly involved in the work of the people we accompany. Our work is effective because we take an integrated approach, combining a presence alongside human rights defenders on the ground with an extensive network of international support.
Founded in 1981, PBI has many years of experience working alongside human rights defenders, opening and protecting space for peace, conflict transformation and the defence of human rights in 14 countries. We are a life-saving international presence in areas of conflict and repression, and a powerful global advocacy network protecting those on the ground. We have worked in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Sri Lanka, North America, Haiti, Nepal and the Balkans as well as our current field projects in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico and Nepal.
Speaker Biographies:
Costan Fakrian Raharusun is an artist and teacher, working a lot with painting, sculpture, installations and also theatrical production. He is also an art teacher who challenges the national education system by stressing the importance of indigenous knowledge. To support the preservation of West Papuan art and culture, he is introducing Mambesak, Black Brothers, senior West Papuan artists, etc in his teaching curriculum. Through his art, he depicts the current situation experienced by West Papuan’s, from present injustice to preservation of culture and identity. He is part of the West Papuan art collective, Udeido Collective and one of the founders of Labirin Art, an art collective in Fakfak.
Samuel Yohanes Glenn is active in refining and revisiting the “sounds of Papua” that breathes life into his work. ‘Amidst the wave of modernization, I have taken on a crucial role as a craftsman and preserver of Papuan cultural artifacts—objects that might be fading from the interest of my generation, but find their soul once again in my hands. I am not merely making art; I am preserving memories and keeping the spirit of Papua alive, even when I am far from home.’
Organisations Involved / Partner Organisation(s):
