- September 24, 2019

Expansion into Asia and its many countries is always a part of our business DNA.. The idea was simple – to provide authentic Asian content and build Asia’s global visual community and marketplace through events, collaboration and community engagement. Therefore, when Indonesian tech-giant, GOJEK, came knocking on our doors for a partnership, the decision was easy.

Being the only company in Southeast Asia to be included in Fortune’s “50 Companies That Changed the World”, and also Indonesia’s first unicorn and “decacorn”, GOJEK had definitely made its mark in Southeast Asia. Its emphasis on localisation and speaking to its audience in their own language is in line with PIXERF’s own mission to provide brands with authentic content from Asia.

This year, in line with their Cerdikiawan “#pastiadajalan” online contest that looked for entries centered around life hacks, GOJEK launched the Museum of Hacks Mission using PIXERF’s platform as a way to evolve entries by tapping on photography communities within PIXERF and in Indonesia.

Top 30 entries and winners from Museum of Hacks mission.

Within the span of merely just 3 weeks, the Mission garnered over 700 entries. With hacks ranging from use of hangers as a book stand to using fishing net as a hammock, these ingenious tips and tricks were captured through the lens of these aspiring photographers and uploaded onto our platform. Our platform provided a seamless process for photographers to upload their photos and for the judges to critic, evaluate and shortlist these submissions.

Entry to Museum of Hacks at GoWork Jakarta

Photographers at registration

The highlight of this partnership was an exhibition cum live judging for the top three winners that was held at Go Work in Jakarta. Printing was provided by our print partner, EPSON Indonesia.  It showcased the works of the top 30 winners, all of whom bagged home attractive prizes. Needless-to-say, narrowing the winners to determine the top 3 was not an easy task as all the entries were all truly stunning.

Museum of Hacks physical exhibition at GoWork, Jakarta

PIXERF CMO Sa’ad Hussein and GOJEK’s VP of Digital Strategy Aaron Gomez look at the exhibition.

The judges involved were none other than PIXERF ambassador – Silva Sandiarini, professional photographers – Gathot Subroto, Nicky Gunawan and Niky Tanjung, our very own CEO – Sa’at Ismail and Bahari Chandra from GOJEK.

The judges had a dilemma – who will be the overall winner?

Judges giving their score!

Photographer Nicky Gunawan giving comments on one of the entries during judging

PIXERF Ambassador Silva Sandiarini critiquing an entry

After a round of meticulous judging, the top three winners emerged.

Winners

  1. Budoyo Santoso

1st prize cheque with (from left) PIXERF CMO Sa’ad Hussein, GOJEK’s Aaron Gomez and Bahari Chandra and PIXERF CEO Sa’at Ismail

Have you ever thought of using a bicycle to transport bricks? It may sound impossible but it’s not. This one amazing hack that won Budoyo the grand prize.

2. M Jeffry Hanafiah

2nd prize cheque with (from left) Photographer and Judge Gathot Subroto and Sa’at Ismail

With the abundance of lobsters in the region, lobster fishing has become a very good source of income for locals. Off the coast of Pulau Timang, lobster fisherman set lobster traps to catch these beautiful creatures. They do so by constructing a traditional gondola to transport themselves to the island without having to take a boat. This saves them time and money as the petrol for boats can be saved.

3. Muhammad Andre

3rd prize cheque with (from left) Sa’ad Hussein and Judge Bahari Chandra

Dread having to wait and fight for a table at a busy coffeeshop?  Look at how these Indonesian locals got creative and took a chair as their table. This is actually quite a common scene in Indonesia and you can often see such a sight along the pavements –  a testament to the #pastiadajalan attitude locals have in everyday life.

During the event, we also officially launched our Definer and Under Exposed Series that is aimed to target professional as well as potential photographers by providing them with a platform to spread awareness and showcase their works to the world.

Definer Series is a web series that traces these influential creators telling their stories of the moment they found power to define their selves through the process of creation. It is part of our mission to look for Asia’s most inspiring and powerful creators so that we can document and amplify their stories to the world.

The “Under/Exposed” is a platform where PIXERF actively seeks out budding or emerging photographers who have unquestionable talent. Chosen photographers from each country will be mentored and given Missions or projects to work on. 

Photographers can either nominate themselves or others as Definers here and Under/Exposed here.

We also talked about PIXERF’s own platform and how it can benefit local photographers, and our future plans to further engage the community in all parts of the country.

CEO Sa’at Ismail and CMO Sa’ad Hussein presenting PIXERF to the Indonesian Photographers

Our host engaging with the crowd during Q&A

As we bid farewell to this event, thank you to the Indonesian community for your participation and this may be our first, but it will certainly not be our last engagement here. Stay tune to our channels as we will be back for more!

Chill session and chat with Indonesian photographers

And its a wrap! Thanks Jakarta!