AMP’s 13th Cohort Steps Forward with “AARO”
Running from April 17th to May 11th 2026, Atreyu Moniaga Project (AMP) celebrates its 13th iteration, with the opening of an exhibition entitled “AARO” at CAN’S Gallery. The name is an abbreviation of the four artists — Ada Khansa, Ansn Martin, Red Maerra and Oddyendry — who successfully completed the 13th batch of the AMP programme that ran from September 2024.
Established in 2013, the AMP Project is an intensive incubation program to train young artists, such as expanding their portfolio, network, producing their exhibitions, whilst receiving guidance and mentorship to further their careers.
Initiator and Chief Mentor Atreyu Moniaga established the programme to directly immerse their participants in the art world, exposing them to the holistic (and challenging) processes of survival in the creative industry: “We often forget that being an artist is a purely glamorous and carefree life - creating art passionately, partying, and attending cool events, wearing stylish outfits all the time. We often forget and overlook the other side of the coin, the boring, exhausting and even painful parts - revisions, deadlines, harsh conflicts with our own team, and all the ups and downs of exhibition production.”
Atreyu continued to describe her pride towards AARO, as they’ve stuck together, and were resilient throughout the programme. The artists themselves manifest their shared ethos into the exhibition’s title, claiming that AARO also represented a term that means ‘the strength of a mountain’. Their hard work amounted to an extensive body of work, with each artist presenting a series of 10-15 paintings that answers to a coming-of-age theme, as they place their rumination about identity, and youth onto canvas.
Ada Khansa presents ‘Sandbox’, where she vulnerably depicts her childhood struggles, and their continuous imprint onto her adult life. Ansn Martin, on the other hand, reflects on the fragilities of the self through ‘WOY!’. Red Maerra muses over the paradox of alienation against the interconnectedness of today’s world with ‘ASLPLS’. Oddyendry unravels his homecoming in ‘Tungkal’, where he reaches a state of acceptance of his past.
Through their collection of individual series, each artist established their distinct style whilst simultaneously officiating their public presence as a collective. “It’s amazing how they are so close to each other,” CAN’S Gallery Programme Manager Ajeng Martia Saputri says when asked about the collective.
“They bring such fresh energy, since I’ve never really seen how a group of artists are able to enmesh their public identity with their work. They all carry themselves well, and because of that, they’ve also managed to attract an audience that is alike, who value bold and eclectic energy.” She continued.
As AARO unfolds across the walls of CAN’S Gallery, it stands as a testament to endurance, kinship, and the persistent labor behind the collective’s artistic growth. In many ways, the exhibition mirrors the very ethos that Atreyu Moniaga set out to instill: that becoming an artist is not a solitary pursuit defined by fleeting moments of inspiration, but a sustained commitment to process, perseverance, and community. AARO inherits this belief, moulding individuality as a practice, and as an overarching identity.
As the 13th iteration of the programme comes to a close, AARO signals not an endpoint, but a threshold for these young artists. For Ada Khansa, Ansn Martin, Red Maerra, and Oddyendry, this exhibition marks the beginning of their evolving trajectories — rooted firmly in the foundation they have built together, yet open to the unpredictable paths ahead.
