NorthSite Contemporary Arts and PSBK are proud to present a special screening of Sitting with the Sea (Dialog Lensa #6) — an immersive experience through image and sound storytelling.

Photographer Vickram Sombu’s images, captured during his time with the people of Lamalera, tell the story of their deep connection to Mother Sea (Ina Lefa). Curator Kurniadi Widodo collaborated with Vickram to bring this story to life, traversing the oceans from East Nusa Tenggara to Yogyakarta. Artists Melania Jack and Patty Preece (The Ironing Maidens) create a space with live, immersive sound design, where layers of sound can be experienced from multiple perspectives.

The performance seeks to break down the boundaries between stage, performer, and audience. Sit together as a community. Absorb the story through the images. It is about feeling, and finding empathy and connection.

Dialog Lensa by NorthSite and PSBK at the Tanks Art Centre is an event that celebrates an ongoing cross-cultural exchange between Far North Queensland and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This partnership, strengthened through Artslink’s Regional // Regional initiative, continues to build space for artistic dialogue, experimentation, and shared learning between Australia and Indonesia. This special live performance marks an important moment in this growing relationship, offering audiences an opportunity to experience the most recent works of the Dialog Lensa platform and the creative voices emerging from PSBK and NorthSite’s dynamic artistic communities.

Rooted in PSBK’s long-standing commitment to cultural preservation, collaboration, and boundary-pushing artistic practice — from its architecturally designed campus in Kembaran, Yogyakarta, to its cross-disciplinary programs — Dialog Lensa brings photography, performance, sound, and moving image into powerful conversation.

About PSBK

PSBK (Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja) is a place-based arts centre that champions the arts as a vital necessity for humanity and the advancement of culture. Established in 1978 to support a curriculum-driven residency program for Indonesian creative practitioners, PSBK continues the late Bagong Kussudiardja’s commitment to artistic innovation, creative learning, access to the arts, and pushing strategies in new directions. Since 2009, significant physical transformations have transpired to ensure high-quality, accessible spaces that nurture the relational development between the arts, artists, and communities through creative learning and art appreciation activities.

PSBK was founded with the DNA of education—both education in the arts and education through the arts. Recognising art as essential for humanity and cultural advancement, PSBK strives to ensure quality and accessibility to art venues as essential resource centres. It seeks to enhance human capacity by developing professional growth within the art ecosystem and beyond, and to foster the art appreciation process by consistently implementing annual programs that cultivate deeper relationships among art, artists, and audiences.

Valuing human connectivity, PSBK also strives to nurture cultural exchanges that nourish growth, shared objectives, and collective purpose. The organisation seeks collaborations with people who genuinely align with its mission and are open to mutual discovery, understanding, and inspiration.

About Dialog Lensa

Performing captivating visual narratives through lens-based technology.

Dialog Lensa is a performance platform that showcases photography-based works through multimedia projections.

Since its inception in 2020, this expressive space has brought together photographers and other creators, including musicians, choreographers, and video editors, fostering a cross-disciplinary creative process facilitated by PSBK.

This platform aims to connect visually driven and technology-based works with a diverse audience interested in both visual and performing arts.