Irwan Ahmett and Tita Salina are artist and designer duo live in Jakarta the capital city of Indonesia that becomes the center of everything in the country. This condition has led Jakarta encouraged to continue to grow. In addition to the emergence of development, the citizens are faced with difficult choices, they have to live with any bitterness or leave the city. The duo chooses to live in and creates some activities which stimulate awareness of reality about their city and involves public as part of their plan. Since Jakarta is not only belongs to the ruler who ‘plays’ the law and the people only, but the essence of the city has the right belongs to every individual in it to give meaning to the space of the city.

Urban Play focuses on the ‘stress’ city of Jakarta – with its population of 15 millions people and high social problems aggravated by the weakness of the state in overcoming the problem of uncontrolled urban growth that far exceeding the capacity of its maximum capacity and lack of awareness of citizens to preserve their city properly and its inhabitants as participants in a series of games aiming to explore new sensitivities experienced by the wider public, by way of interaction through playfulness and improvisation. In short, it aims to unravel the playful side of the city. These aims are pursued through video, photography, performance, utilizing the situation and condition of sites specific and the main media employed for each campaign preceding the games.

This form of play is chosen precisely for the ability to record and cultivate collective memory, thus facilitating its transformation into a series of games, which citizens are invited to observe, take part into and interpret in new ways so that they can play the games again in person or even with their communities.