Nottingham Contemporary

Ariel William Orah is a musician,sound artist, and cultural practitioner. He was born in Bandung, Indonesia and has been living and working in Berlin, Germany for the past 13 years. As part of his artistic practice, Orah works with various sound constellations,media,techniques and formats. After regularly composing music for theater, dance, and film, Orah also began to conceptualize, compose and direct his own experimental theater music pieces in 2021 with GAUNG, (Ballhaus Naunynstrasse,2021,2022), and follow up by ARYATI (Hauptstadtkulturfonds,Uferstudios, 2022), KIAMAT (Musikfonds e.V.,2022), SCAR-CITY (Ballhaus Naunynstraße,Berliner Projektfonds Kulturelle Bildung,2023), and the ongoing piece “Melancholic melody of the new economic” (Ballhaus Naunynstraße, 2024). Orah has released numerous solo albums and performed under the pseudonym ravenative and is actively involved in various sound constellations such as grau&,soydivision ensemble, böseblick ensemble, RANGKĄ,and OKNUM.In addition to his work as an artist, he is also active as a curator and artistic researcher, especially in the field of performing art and sound.

For the last six years, Orah’s work centered on a collaborative platform and artist group sōydivsion, which he founded in 2017 and the platform has been curating, organizing and involved in more than 180 artistic formats to date - ranging from event series, performances, workshops to residencies and festivals in Berlin and all over the globe. He also co-founded and actively involved in Mutating Kinship Lab (Think Tank Lab for Asian Diaspora Artist-led, supported by Fonds Dastellende Künste since 2022 and 2023) and L-KW (empathy driven sonic syndicate focus on sonic activism and diaspora).

Sōydivision is a collaborative platform and artist group predominantly composed of Indonesian diaspora artists based in Berlin. Positioned at the intersection of art and activism, sōydivision creates and curates various art forms, including performances, workshops, culinary art activities, film screenings, and discussions. The strategies employed focus on fostering socially engaged art creation, such as cathartic experiences, re-questioning, and therapeutic healing, which become prominent themes in their artistic output and activities. Their diasporic perspective offers an alternative approach to contemporary issues through art, inviting a new kind of dialogue and engagement.