APRIL SOETARMAN - PRESS KIT
April Soetarman
Short Bio:
April Soetarman is an Indonesian-American interdisciplinary artist and writer who makes public art, interactive installations, immersive theater, games, and designed objects. Her practice focuses on creating moments of delight, which she defines as the intersection of positive and unexpected. More info at AprilSoetarman.comLong Bio:
April Soetarman (b.1990) is an Indonesian-American interdisciplinary artist and writer based in New York. Her practice focuses on creating moments of delight, which she defines as the intersection of positive and unexpected. This narrative, participatory work draws directly from her lived experiences and takes various forms depending on the underlying emotional inquiry it explores—public art, interactive installations, immersive theater, games, or objects. Her work often directly addresses the viewer, prompting reflection and leaving space for them to insert themselves into the narrative.Her work has been exhibited by institutions such as the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, and Boombox Chicago, as well as anonymously installed in public spaces across the country. Her latest major public art installation, The End of the Day, was an IxDA Interaction Design 2021 Finalist, and remounted by CultureHub NY/LA in 2022. April also creates short-form experiments under the name Weird Side Projects (WeirdSideProjects.com), using humor and familiar forms to engage a broader internet audience, which serves as research for her longer-form work. She has spoken at EYEO, Carnegie Mellon, and Narrascope, among others. April holds a BA in architecture and music from UC Berkeley, was an Experiential Design Founding Fellow at Experience Institute, and currently teaches at the School of Visual Arts and the School for Poetic Computation. More info at AprilSoetarman.com
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Contact:
press[at] aprilsoetarman.comInstagram: @AprilSoetarman / @WeirdSideProjects
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Select Previous Reviews:
“The End of the Day is an oasis of much-needed quietness in the middle of a crazy season, in the city that never sleeps.“
- Enjoy A Quiet Moment of Contemplation with ‘The End of the Day’ (Review), NoProscenium
“In this midst of a year filled with chaos and screens, this gentle phone play was a soothing and much needed quiet meditation. Specifically designed to be “found” and played at sunset, this piece encouraged this stressed out teacher to simply sit and be at peace, acknowledging the present, but looking forward to the many sunsets that will be in the future. The End of the Day was simple, but effective, and so very needed.“
- NoPro Critic’s Picks for 2020, NoProscenium
“Artist and designer April Soetarman’s work puts bureaucracy – and fantasy – into the emotional landscape of what we remember, what we do for each other, and what never was. “
- A museum of almost-real pasts, presents, and futures, KUOW Seattle