“[The book] proves to be a key instrument in understanding the Indonesian art scene’s rich collectivity.”

ArtAsiaPacific

"Elly Kent’s new book Artists and the People: Ideologies of Art in Indonesia adopts a sociological approach to understanding the practice of art in, specifically, Indonesia and its history and tradition."

Asian Review of Books

“Artists and the People examines important art practices today that have escaped critical readings. In this way, [both] the books are distinguished from previous Indonesian art discussions that do not have a strong contextual ground in Indonesian cultural phenomena… Collectively, the books invite Indonesian scholars to theorise the overlooked social or humanities thinking of Indonesia’s public intellectuals or art intelligentsia.”

ArtLink

“I picture Elly Kent’s Artists and the People: Ideologies of Art in Indonesia as a collection of tightly woven braids, skilfully crafted by bonding art histories, ethnographic observation, and contemporary discourse that chart interaction as well as distinct paths of artistic ideologies related to the kinds of relational, participatory, and socially engaged art practices in Indonesia…. [Overall, this] is a significant scholarly contribution to socially engaged art discourse within and beyond Indonesia…. Kent’s intellectual achievement attests to her rigorous labour of reading, translating, and contextualizing primary texts from Indonesia’s prominent art thinkers across time, not to mention her sustained and empathetic engagement (or entanglement!) with the many facets of Indonesian contemporary art scenes.”

Southeast of Now: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia