“Yayasan Tonjo Foundation” was initiated by four people with various interests and artistic disciplines. This initiative was formed in 2020 in response to an open call for a “Karya Normal Baru” grant for Jogja Biennale. Tonjo is not an art group that only focuses on research or education.

Because it does not have a specific focus, Tonjo tries to practice all possibilities in today’s art and culture in a way that is fun and can be felt by all entities.

Before transforming into a group, Tonjo is an Instagram based work of art selected as a grant recipient along with nine other works in the “Karya Normal Baru” Jogja Biennale. In that scheme, Tonjo redistributes grant funds through various contests and quizzes. To continue the spirit of being happy together and “together to advance creativity without limits” Tonjo set aside 10% to be managed independently to continue Tonjo’s creative process.

From October 2021 to July 2022, we participated in “nongkrong” (hanging out) at the Gudskul Study Collective #4. The Gudskul Study Collective is a learning and sharing program open to various communities in the arts and beyond. The online meeting managed by Gudskul brought us together with collectives across regions and countries, such as Omnispace from Bandung (Indonesia), Pangrok Sulap (Malaysia), Load Na Dito (Philippines), Salikhain Kolektib (Philippines), ba-bau AIR (Vietnam), Scutoid Coop (Taiwan), and Bishkek School of Contemporary Art (Kyrgyzstan). Together with our collective friends, we built a “collective of collectives” network called La Tabebh. We had the opportunity to present the results of learning and work from our online meetings at Documenta 15. At the Fridericianum Museum, Kassel, Gudskul built dormitory rooms for participants and other artists’ networks to live in, a social kitchen behind the museum, and a Gudspace inside the museum for our exhibitions, discussions, playing games, and other fun activities.