A New Way to Celebrate FAD’s Anniversary

Do you remember how did the Faculty of Arts and Design at Maranatha Christian University celebrate its birthday in the past years? Let’s see… scholarly speeches were always the centerpiece of the events. This time, the FAD celebrated its birthday with a fresh, new concept. The main event was not a scientific speech, but a relaxed talk show!

The talk show was not just for gags. In line with this year’s theme, “Creating for the Country”, the show was FAD’s way of appreciating the successes of its academic community in making their nation and alma mater proud.

“The FAD has been getting more and more mature. We’re focusing our curriculum, the contents of both our academic and non-academic activities, so that our students and teachers can make an impact in the society. Hence the theme for this year’s celebration: ‘Creating for the Country’. It’s not just cliché,” explained Irena Vanessa Gunawan, S.T., M.Kom., the dean of the FAD at Maranatha

“We’re revising our final project system. Students’ final projects won’t be mere, fictitious assignments anymore: their work will be of use for the community.”

Sure enough, the audience was astonished by such stories during the talk show. Each of the departments at the FAD was represented by at least one speaker, including the newly opened Bachelor’s Program in Architecture. Thanks to the education they got at the FAD, every speaker had their own stories to tell.

Take, for example, Omar Mohammad from the Diploma’s Program in Visual Arts & Design. He told how arduous it was to create in the midst of the pandemic. However, as conditions grew better, Omar did a comeback at a large-scale fashion event: Indonesia Fashion Week 2023. All of his work were done with sustainability in mind: he had to find ways to attract clients while also doing his part to preserve nature.

After narrating the story of their achievements, the twin sisters Graciela and Gabriela Jovanka Susanto admitted to feeling grateful that classes at the Department of Interior Design were only composed of around 10 students, allowing lecturers to guide each student with their undivided attention. Additionally, they also felt delighted to take up Indonesian culture in their projects. It made them “realize the problems that the country is currently facing.”

Keeping the nation’s problems in mind is important indeed because it allows us to come up with the right solutions. Mohamad Nurfian Rachmat and Garry Virgian from Architecture’s class of 2020 designed several projects with the exact purpose of helping the lives of the Indonesian people. Just see their design of emergency restrooms for the victims of the Cianjur earthquake.

From the Department of Fine Arts, more feats came from yet another pair of twin sisters: Sekar Ayu and Sari Dewi Kuncoroputri. One of the paintings they submitted to the UOB Painting of the Year contest made it to the finals. It’s all thanks to an innovation: making a smartphone as the painting’s object. “One effect of the pandemic was that we were confined to our homes,” said Sari, “but we could overcome it with our gadgets.”

Peter Nugroho Hendrik, an alumnus from Visual Communication Design’s class of 2005, ended the talk show. Quite differently from the previous speakers, not only does Peter have endeavors in the country, but internationally as well. His design and branding consultant firm, Peter & Co., has a branch in Singapore!

“I became who I am today because of my support system at Maranatha’s FAD,” told Peter. He also reminded us to keep our diligence and tenacity, and to love the process of developing ourselves.

As usual, the FAD at Maranatha involved partners, students, and parents as its commitment to keep growing and catering to the people’s needs. Thus, same as before, the celebration ended with focus group discussions and a student project exhibition.

Congratulations on reaching your adulthood, FAD! Let’s keep Creating for the Country together. (sj)