Ida Lawrence Indonesian–Australian, b. 1988

Ida Lawrence is a visual artist who mixes storytelling and painting, mostly. She is based in Berlin, but often wanders to Indonesia and Australia via her painted stories. Her tallest tale was painted on the eight-by-fifteen metre wall at Urban Spree, Berlin, in 2020. Recent solo exhibitions include Karsten doesn’t drink coffee, Retramp Gallery, Berlin (2024); Reality Check, Purga Artspace during the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (2024); and Basa-Basi/Chit-Chat, at ArtSG with ISA Art Gallery (2023). 

Lawrence graduated in 2009 with a painting major from the National Art School, Sydney (former gaol), completed Honours at Sydney College of the Arts (former mental asylum), studied traditional Indonesian dance with the Darmasiswa Scholarship at Institut Seni Indonesia, Yogyakarta (former rice paddy), and continues to learn (informally). She was a 2022-2023 participant in the mentoring program, BPA// Berlin Program for Artists and a recipient of the Marten Bequest Scholarship for Painting between 2022-2024.

She works collaboratively too — with musicians, artists, filmmakers and writers — most frequently with Woven Kolektif, a group of artists brought together by their shared connections to Indonesia.

In 2023 and 2024 she participated in group exhibitions at: 

KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin; Urban Nation Museum for Urban Contemporary Art, Berlin; Raum für drastische Maßnahmen, Berlin; 16albermarle, Sydney; sweet pea, Perth; Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Sydney; Cemeti Institute for Art and Society, Yogyakarta in collaboration with Woven Kolektif; and Art Jakarta and Art Moments represented by ISA Art Gallery.