Shortly after 7 pm on 24 October, the exhibition Occupying Modernism: Impressions on Indonesian Modernist Spaces was officially opened at Kopi Manyar in Jakarta.

After an introduction by the curators Avianti Armand and Setiadi Sopandi and a big thank you to all those involved, Sally Below, Christian Hiller, and Moritz Henning reported on the overall framework of Encounters with Southeast Asian Modernism. Afterwards Lyno Vuth, co-curator of Folding Concrete, the SEAM Space Phnom Penh, gave insight into the first exhibition of the project, which had already opened on 10 October in Phnom Penh. Finally, Nikhil Joshi provided a promising preview of the SEAM Space in Singapore.

Kopi Manyar, which normally attracts more of an architectural audience, was visited by far more than a hundred guests from different backgrounds that evening. Also present was the From, by, and for whom? curatorial team of ruangrupa and Grace Samboh, as well as many of the Gudskul students. In lively conversations, the artists and project participants involved in Occupying Modernism offered personal insight into their work. Setiadi Sopandi guided the audience through the exhibition. The many guests from the fields of architecture, art, and culture visibly enjoyed the evening (and the excellent buffet) and intensively discussed the contents of the exhibition.