Deputy Minister Highlights Photography’s Role in Cultural Exchange

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Deputy Minister of Culture Giring Ganesha says photography has the power to bring people from different countries together through the stories and perspectives conveyed in each work. He made the statement while attending the second Latin American photography exhibition, “Constelaciones Vivas,” at the National Gallery of Indonesia in Jakarta, on Thursday, 17 September 2026.

Giring said a single photograph can convey different meanings because people have different ways of viewing and interpreting an image. He said photography’s ability to tell a story through a captured moment makes it a powerful medium for fostering understanding among communities.

“This medium is very, very powerful because a single frame, a single captured moment, can be depicted and perceived in different ways and interpreted differently depending on who is looking at it,” Giring said.

At the exhibition, ambassadors from participating countries also helped explain the works and exhibition areas representing the cultural identity of their respective countries. Giring said their involvement demonstrated how photography can serve as an entry point for introducing culture, nature, traditional clothing, and community life to visitors.

According to Giring, the approach reflects the importance of people-to-people connections in Indonesia’s relations with partner countries. Direct interaction through cultural activities can provide opportunities for communities to learn about one another through shared experiences and stories.

“And this is indeed the people-to-people connection that President Prabowo Subianto has always believed in and always told us about: that we must always be good to all our friendly nations,” Giring said.

Giring added that the Ministry of Culture can help strengthen interpersonal diplomacy through cultural activities that bring Indonesians together with people from other countries. He said exhibitions such as this provide opportunities for participants to learn about and appreciate one another’s cultures.

The “Constelaciones Vivas” exhibition, which brings together photographers from Indonesia and Latin America, is expected to serve as a space for cultural learning while expanding direct community interaction. Through photography, Indonesia and Latin American countries can continue building relations that extend beyond institutional ties and reach communities at the grassroots level.