Marten Schmidt

Marten Schmidt is an Austrian–Indonesian actor and Founder of Art Calls Indonesia, the country’s leading independent arts media platform. Since his teenage years, Marten has been eager to explore his Indonesian roots and embrace his dual Austrian–Indonesian identity. As an adolescent, he discovered a space for self-expression through writing, and at the age of 18 was nominated as the youngest-ever delegate of the pan-European InterPlay Europe Playwrights Festival. As an actor, he has performed at theatre festivals across Austria and at venues such as Dschungel Vienna and Next Liberty in Graz. For Marten, art served as an introspective path that prepared him for his eventual move to Indonesia, where he immersed himself in his mother’s culture. There, he worked as a TV and digital-media journalist before expanding into corporate work across Southeast Asia. Alongside his professional endeavours, he founded and continues to nurture Art Calls Indonesia, a passion project dedicated to connecting art practitioners across classes and islands. It has since become the most renowned independent arts media platform in the Indonesian archipelago.

Marten Schmidt adalah aktor Austria-Indonesia sekaligus pendiri Art Calls Indonesia, platform media seni independen terkemuka di Indonesia. Sejak remaja, ia bersemangat menelusuri akar Indonesianya dan merangkul identitas gandanya sebagai Austria-Indonesia. Pada masa itu, ia menemukan ruang ekspresi diri melalui menulis, dan pada usia 18 tahun dinominasikan sebagai delegasi termuda sepanjang sejarah Festival Penulis Naskah Pan-Eropa, InterPlay Europe. Sebagai aktor, Marten telah tampil di berbagai festival teater di Austria, termasuk di Dschungel Vienna dan Next Liberty di Graz. Baginya, seni menjadi jalur introspektif yang mempersiapkannya untuk akhirnya pindah ke Indonesia, tempat ia mendalami budaya ibunya. Di sini, ia sempat bekerja sebagai jurnalis TV dan media digital sebelum merambah ke dunia korporasi di berbagai negara Asia Tenggara. Sejalan dengan perjalanan profesionalnya, Marten mendirikan dan terus mengembangkan Art Calls Indonesia, sebuah proyek yang didedikasikan untuk menghubungkan para praktisi seni lintas kelas dan wilayah. Kini, Art Calls Indonesia telah berkembang menjadi salah satu platform media seni independen paling berpengaruh di Indonesia.