Fay Darmawi is a social practice artist who focuses on cities, storytelling, and media. She is the Founder and Executive Producer of the SF Urban Film Fest, a film festival focused on civic engagement inspired by great storytelling. Fay is an immigrant from Jakarta, Indonesia but calls San Francisco, where she raised her now college-aged twin sons, her hometown.
Artist Statement
I am interested in how power imbalance is reflected in urban space, media, and historical accounts. Through the creative acts of curation and public assembly, I offer alternative interpretations of existing film, archival documents, and commemorative memorabilia. My aim is to tip the power imbalance by making these artifacts more accessible in their physical form as well as their relevance to everyday life; as such, there is a possibility of social enterprise and business models underpinning all my projects, making them self-sustaining and readily available instead of rarified. I work in multi-disciplinary teams with filmmakers, architects, graphic designers, urban planners, historians and activists. I am deeply grateful for my collaborators.
Awards & Acknowledgements
SOCIAL PRACTICE ART
2019
The Berlage (Delft, Netherlands)
National Archives of Dutch Colonialism in Indonesia Master Class
Named YBCA100 for SF Urban Film Fest
National Arts Strategies
Creative Community Fellow
2018
Forward/Slash Story Residency (Lamu Island, Kenya)
2017
City of San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC)
Media Projects Grants Panel Juror
2016
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA)
Equity Cohort Fellow
BUILT ENVIRONMENT
2018 –– 2019
City of SF Mayor’s Office of Economic & Workforce Development
Non-Profit Sustainability Initiative: Investment Commitee Member
2017
New America #Rise Local Symposium
Presenter
2016
American Institute of Architects, SF Chapter
Board Member
San Francisco Housing Action Coalition (SFHAC)
Spring Symposium Guest Speaker
2012 –– PRESENT
Chinatown Community Development Center
Past Board Member; Current Housing Dev. Committee Chair
Background
EDUCATION
2018 –– Valleta (Malta): Curatorial Certificate
sponsored by EU Cultural Capital
2010 –– UCLA Extension: Screenwriting Certificate
1990 –– MIT: Masters in City Planning
1988 –– University of Penn:
Bachelor of Arts, BA