Visitor poses at National Monument (Monas) Park in Central Jakarta

How much does it cost to place art at public spaces? The committee of this year Jakarta Biennale’s Battle Zone has the answer: Hundreds of millions of rupiah, dozens of official letters, several trips to the city hall and a lot of headaches. The cost was incurred even though the event was organized by the city’s own Jakarta Arts Council and was included in the city budget and program. One of the artists commissioned for the international art event, Ari Dina Krestyawan, wanted to run text around a crossing bridge on Jl. Thamrin about the people who used the space every day. The bridge has equipment to display text for advertising.