The annual art exhibition titled Guyub Rupa was held by students of the Fine Arts Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Semarang State University on 12-20 May 2023 at Gallery B9 FBS UNNES. The 10th Rupa Guyub carries the theme Re-Planning as an attitude of being involved in rearranging the situation as it should. Even after a decade, the exhibition was held again after being canceled for the last two years due to the pandemic.
Guyub Rupa is not only in the form of exhibitions, but also art festivals in the form of art performances, workshops & sharing sessions, Exhibition Tour for Kids, cosplayers, and The Art Of Beads activities. Zulfa Muhammadi, a student of the 2018 Fine Arts Department who is the head of the 10th Fine Arts Association, said that the background to the formation of the Fine Arts Department started from anxiety to accommodate the potential of Fine Arts students. Guyub Rupa tries to create a place to unite works.
Zulfa called the exhibition “the Eid of Fine Arts students”. However, visitors to the exhibition were not only Fine Arts students, but also students from other majors and general public. Some of the works on display are the works of senior artists who were invited to the exhibition, including Kokoh Nugroho, Arief Hadinata, Danni Febriana, Gindring Wasted, and Sirin Farid Stevy. The invited artists are expected to be able to educate young artists.
In addition, 49 open submission artists were selected from various universities such as ISI Yogyakarta, Semarang State University, Brawijaya University, Padang State University, UIN Sunan Gunung Djati, Ganesha University of Education, Eleven March University, Mercu Buana University, Indonesian Education University, UIN Walisongo , ISI Surakarta, Tamansiswa Bachelor Wiyata University, and State University of Malang as well as general public from Bekasi, Purwokerto, Klaten, Yogyakarta, Kendal, Tulungagung, Semarang, and Surakarta. The works displayed are works of choice among the hundreds of works registered. After going through a series of rigorous selection to be considered worthy.
The enthusiasm of the visitors exploded beyond the predicted expectations. The exhibition, which had been prepared for about five months, succeeded in attracting the interest of visitors from all walks of life. In fact, seeing the enthusiasm of the visitors, the exhibition was extended until May 22.
Cahya Indah Apriliyana from the Department of Javanese Language and Literature at UNNES, said that the exhibition was a good place for students to develop their creativity, talents and interests as well as a learning tool for visitors. He hopes that the Guyub Rupa exhibition will continue to be held in the coming years.
Zulfa said that each work on display conveys a moral message in line with the purpose of the Re-Planning themed exhibition. “Hopefully the guyub visual will continue and invite all groups more broadly. Art education for anyone and it will be more interesting in the following years,” he said.
