Bantul, November 21–23, 2025 — The Visual Communication Design (DKV) Study Program of the Faculty of Fine Arts & Design at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta is once again presenting Diskomfest, a biennial creative festival that has become a space for exploration and celebration of creativity for students, creative industry practitioners, and the wider community. Entering its 9th iteration since its first event in 2004, Diskomfest 9 will take place from November 21–23, 2025, on the ISI Yogyakarta campus grounds, centered at Concert Hall and the Multipurpose Building.
As a festival that grows with the development of design in Indonesia, Diskomfest continues to be a platform for students to showcase their work while building creative networks across campuses and disciplines. This year, Diskomfest 9 carries the theme “Re-Creation,” an invitation to re-examine and internalize the creative process, as well as to re-understand the role of design in people's lives. This theme emphasizes that design is not just about visuals, but also about messages, narratives, and meanings that can be understood by anyone.
This spirit is packaged through the #marimeresapi social media campaign, a call for the creative community to take time to reflect on their work, ideas, and creative processes. In the context of design education, this invitation becomes an important foundation for encouraging reflection, design literacy, and more conscious creativity.
As a multidisciplinary festival, Diskomfest 9 presents a more varied agenda compared to previous editions. For three days, visitors can participate in student work exhibitions, creative bazaars, workshop, talkshow, discussions, and music performances. This year, the committee presents the following daily schedule of activities:
Day One (November 21, 2025):
Diskomfest 9's opening will be filled with a number of programs celebrating cross-medium creativity:
Screening and a discussion with the KAMISINEMA film community, showcasing selected short films that will then be discussed with the young filmmakers. Graffiti Jamming, an open collaborative session for street artist and visitors to create together in the campus area, highlighting the freedom of visual expression in public spaces. The student and alumni music stage showcases talents from the DKV ISI Yogyakarta community. The evening concluded with a special performance by FSTVLST, a rock band from Yogyakarta that is one of the icons of the Indonesian independent music scene. The presence of FSTVLST reaffirms Diskomfest's commitment to celebrating music as an inseparable part of the creative ecosystem.
Day Two (November 22, 2025):
The second day's focus is on strengthening design literacy, creative networking, and dialogue among industry players: Talk Show Project AGNI, exploring the creative process and design research developed by students and professionals.
Srawung Desain is a knowledge-sharing forum featuring three main speakers: Dimas Nurcahyo from Lokakola, Amar Leina Chindany, a lecturer at DKV ISI Yogyakarta, and Sabiq Rusydi from the Indonesian Graphic Designers Association (ADGI).
This session becomes an interaction space that opens up opportunities for collaboration, broadens students' perspectives on the industry, and deepens their understanding of the challenges faced by today's designers.
Day Three (November 23, 2025):
The peak of Diskomfest 9 was filled with international-level activities: Talkshow and workshop digital coloring with Bryan Valenza, Exclusive Colorist Marvel Comics who has worked on many well-known comic titles. Bryan's presence provides firsthand experience of global industry standards, professional workflows, and the dynamics of the international comic industry.
The closing music performance, designed as a celebration of the Diskomfest 9 event series.
Diskomfest 9 not only involved students from ISI Yogyakarta, but also invited delegates from various other DKV (Visual Communication Design) campuses in Indonesia, creating an inter-institutional meeting forum that strengthens the national design education ecosystem. This meeting opens space for dialogue, enriches insights, and strengthens creative networks across generations and regions.
On the other hand, the presence of international creative practitioners like Bryan Valenza is proof of the committee's commitment to providing a learning experience that is relevant to global industry standards. Interactions like these provide students with the opportunity to understand how local competencies can compete and contribute in the international landscape.
Through the theme “Re-Creation,” Diskomfest 9 aims to encourage the creative community to re-examine the process, not just the result. With the rapid production of visual content in the digital era, design literacy has become an urgent necessity for the public to understand the value, context, and messages of various forms of visual communication.
By uniting exhibitions, discussions, workshop, collaboration, and artistic performances in a single inclusive festival, Diskomfest 9 is expected to be a space for celebration and reflection – a place where ideas are exchanged, networks are built, and creativity grows sustainably.
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