The Pleiades Project
Enriching and empowering the work of Australian and Indonesian female and femme artists is central to The Pleiades Project. This is actualised by creating opportunities for connections through international residencies and performance, with support from Creative Australia’s International Engagement Fund.
Juliet Widyasari Burnett and Karina Utomo, Kasekten. Photo Daniel Boud
The Pleiades Project is named after the constellation, which inspired the Indigenous dreaming story of the Seven Sisters and a similar telling of Seven Princesses in Java. This project seeks new ways to engage female and femme artists between Australia and Indonesia, amplifying unique and shared stories and cultivating sustained connections through their work.
Ishvara Devati, Cairan (working title). Photo Liz Ham
Central to this project is Kasekten: a dance theatre, live music and performance art work collaboration between Javanese-Australian dancer and choreographer Juliet Widyasari Burnett, Javanese metal vocalist Karina Utomo and Australian visual artist Michaela Gleave.
The vision at the heart of Kasekten is a spirit of crossing bridges between Indonesian and Australian cultures and inverting patriarchal histories; that vision is extended to cultivate similar opportunities for other female and femme artists who are questioning similar themes in their work.
In the cross-cultural, feminist spirit of The Pleiades Project, Australian female/femme artists will be afforded the opportunity to travel to Indonesia to engage with local artists through a residency, with the intention of developing new work. Likewise, Indonesian female/femme artists will travel to Australia to engage with local artists there. For artist development, cross-cultural exchange can be vital.
Pleiades Project Team
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Ratri Anindyajati
producer
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Juliet Widyasari Burnett
founder and artist
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Michaela Coventry
producer
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Ishvara Devati
artist
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Michaela Gleave
artist
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Karina Utomo
artist
Activities
March 2025
Initial creative development for new collaborative dance/performance art work (working title: Cairan), including a cultural sharing workshop and a development showing. Juliet Widyasari Burnett and Ishvara Devati were the recipients of the prestigious Experimental Choreographic Residency hosted by Performance Space and Critical Path, Warrane (Sydney) which augmented the Pleiades Project’s support from Creative Australia to enable this residency.
July 2025
Residency for Kasekten artists for creative development, workshops and development showing at Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja, Jogjakarta.
Pleiades Project/Kasekten artists at the Jogjakarta Kraton
Juliet Widyasari Burnett and Karina Utomo, Kasekten. Photo Daniel Boud
Impact
Despite a female/female-identifying majority of artists across dance, music, visual arts and theatre, a gender power imbalance remains, permeating industry culture and compromising opportunities for female/femme voices. This is particularly prevalent in Indonesia, where outdated patriarchal everyday practices adversely impact Indonesian women and queer people. Kasekten as a work seeks to rewrite patriarchal histories to recreate ancient stories and mantras about men, for women, using the spiritual concept of ‘kasekten’ and the archetype of the volcano to articulate a purity of power untouched by societal ideals. The Pleiades Project seeks to elevate other female/femme artists to augment this message, in an ambitious broadening of the project outside of the artwork itself.
