Diyan Achjadi is a Vancouver-based

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

, drawer and animator whose practice explores themes of cross-culture imaginings, influences and contaminations. She was born in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

to a West-Javanese father and English-Canadian mother.

Early life and education

As a child and teen Achjadi lived in Hong Kong, London, Jakarta and Washington, DC before moving to New York for ten years. Her formative years involved navigating different educational, political and cultural systems, which influenced her art work. She received a BFA from the

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

(New York, NY) and an MFA from

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

(Montreal, QC). After teaching at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, she moved to Vancouver in 2005. She has exhibited her work in galleries and film festivals across Canada and beyond.

Career

Diyan Achjadi is currently an Associate Professor of Print Media at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, BC.

Art

Achjadi's work explores cross-cultural narratives through printmaking, drawing and animation. The following are some examples of her work:

Girl

In this series of animations; web projects; large-scale, ink-jet prints; and multimedia installations, a cartoon girl depicted in bright colours plays in war-torn areas and environmental disaster sites, or parachutes into cities. The works investigate the impacts of militarism and war on children, and consider gender roles and violence in children's media. In ''Further Adventures with Girl,'' the character Girl is transposed into scenes of environmental disaster.

Coming Soon

''Coming Soon'' is a public art project that consists of a series of prints published each month from 2018 to 2019. The prints were installed monthly on buildings and fences around Vancouver, BC. The prints depict construction sites with pylons, construction netting and other construction materials to explore the impact of rapid urban development on residents and visitors to the city.

How Far Do You Travel

Achjadi's artwork, ''NonSerie (In Commute),'' which reconfigures historical Indonesian illustrations, covered a Vancouver

TransLink Translink (or TransLink) may refer to: * TransLink (British Columbia), the public transport operator in Vancouver, Canada * Translink (Northern Ireland) Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a ...

bus as part of a year-long project curated by the

Contemporary Art Gallery A contemporary art gallery is normally a commercial art gallery operated by an art dealer which specializes in displaying for sale contemporary art, usually new works of art by living artists. This approach has been called the "Castelli Method" ...

Selected exhibitions

;2006 * See Girl (March, Girl, March!), Access Artist Run Centre,

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, BC. ;2009 * Sugar Bombs: Diyan Achjadi and Brendan Tang, Kamloops Art Gallery,

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

, BC. ;2010 * Construction Site: Identity and Place, Kamloops Art Gallery,

, BC ;2011 * Further Adventures of Girl, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, BC ;2015 * Residue: Tracing the Lore: Diyan Achjadi and Brendan Tang, Malaspina Printmakers,

, BC ;2016 * Cultural Conflation: Diyan Achjadi and Shawn Hunt, Richmond Art Gallery,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, BC. *Residue: Tracing the Lore: Diyan Achjadi and Brendan Tang, Open Studio,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, ON. *Pattern Migration, Art Gallery of

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

, ON. ;2017 * Animate: Diyan Achjadi and Alisi Telengut,

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

Art Gallery,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, ON. * Façade Festival, Vancouver Art Gallery,

, BC. ;2018 * Memories of the Future III: Diyan Achjadi and Cindy Mochizuki,

Roedde House Museum The Roedde House Museum is a late-Victorian home located at 1415 Barclay Street in Vancouver, Canada. It was the home of Gustav Roedde and his family. The house was built in 1893 and was allegedly designed by architect Francis Rattenbury in the Q ...

, BC. * Surface Handling: Diyan Achjadi and Brendan Tang,

Dunlop Art Gallery The Regina Public Library is the citywide public library system of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Services *Information and reference services *Access to full text databases *Community information *Internet access *Reader's advisory services ...

, Regina, SK.

Awards and grants

* 2017 Public Art Commission from the City of Vancouver

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Achjadi, Diyan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Concordia University alumni Cooper Union alumni Emily Carr University of Art and Design faculty Women printmakers Indonesian animators