Indonesia
Indonesia
Kai Mata is an Indonesian musician with a mission of pride as protest, celebration as rebellion, and joy as resistance. Kai Mata’s position as one of Indonesia’s leading voices on queer liberation solidified in February 2020 with their public protest of a proposed bill that would mandate conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ Indonesians. Through the public declaration of their name, nationality, and sexual orientation, their plea and original song “Her” reached over 500,000 people and led to over 19,000 signatures petitioning against the bill. This burst of attention propelled her onto public stages worldwide.
They have celebrated queer culture at festivals and events in Indonesia (Ubud Readers & Writers Festival, Jakarta Feminist Festival, Women’s March Jakarta, Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Indonesia) and internationally (Nokia EQUAL!, RightsCon, ILGA Asia, Netherlands Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City).
Today, beyond their live performances, Kai Mata is releasing their newest album Nasib, and is in Venice, Italy as the 2024-2025 Joint Annual Engaged Artivist Award Winner for their work in creatively confronting identity-based violence.
