About

Ariel William Orah is a Berlin-based Indonesian artist, community catalyst, and cultural practitioner. Born in Bandung, Indonesia, and based in Berlin for the past 13 years, Orah focuses on diasporic socially engaged art, with research interests in social and climate injustice, as well as the trilogy of identity, memory, and scarcity. Informed by an academic background in economics, sustainability, and empathy design, Orah’s interdisciplinary approach critically engages with systemic structures while addressing the emotional and cultural dimensions of displacement and identity.

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Orah's artistic journey began in 1997 through involvement in bands and electronic music projects. In 2006, Orah co-founded the progressive art-rock band Vincent Vega, which toured actively and released two albums in 2008 and 2011 before Orah relocated to Berlin. That same year, Orah also began working as a radio DJ at OZ Radio Bandung, continuing until the move to Germany in 2012.
After relocating, Orah released solo albums under the pseudonym ravenative and became active in various music constellations such as grau&, sōydivsion ensemble, böseblick ensemble, RANGKĄ, and OKNUM. These collaborations, ranging from improvisational music to sound art, shaped Orah's path toward composing for theater, dance, and film. Since 2021, Orah has developed and composed original experimental music theater formats, including GAUNG (2021, 2022), ARYATI (2022), KIAMAT (2022), SCAR-CITY (2023), The Melancholic Melody of New Economy (2024), and TAHANGUENTAR (2024).

Orah consistently integrates sound installations into these works, combining socially engaged art with performance and sound. This practice led to participatory and immersive sound projects such as SADISSONANZ (2024), Akkulturasa (2023), Ketika Kelana Kelak (2023), Sandiwara Satu (2024), SUARANTARIKSA – Gurita Suara (2024), and MMONEY (2024). These projects reflect a deep commitment to using participatory sound art as a tool for addressing social and environmental injustice, while creating interactive and inclusive platforms that encourage co-creation and challenge the conventional role of the audience.

In 2023, Orah’s sound composition KecaKKlang, created in collaboration with Dhiaz Pahlevi, received first prize in the Spectrality category at the Soundcima: Recorded Sound Festival for Experimental Music and Electroacoustic Sound Art.

Over the last six years, Orah’s primary focus has been sōydivsion, a collaborative platform and artist group founded in 2017. The platform has curated and facilitated more than 180 artistic formats across Berlin and globally, including performances, workshop series, festivals, and residencies. Orah also co-founded Mutating Kinship Lab, a think-tank and lab space for Asian diaspora artist-led initiatives (supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste in 2022 and 2023), and L-KW, an empathy-driven sonic syndicate focusing on sonic activism and diasporic perspectives.

In addition to artistic practice, Orah is a curator and artistic researcher with a special focus on sound and performance. In 2023, Orah was awarded a four-year studio scholarship through the Workspace Program of the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe. Orah is also a member of MoBe Moving Poets Berlin e.V., an international artist network based in Berlin and Charlotte, USA.

Orah’s work has been presented widely across Europe, Asia, and Australia in institutions, festivals, and theaters such as CTM Festival Berlin, Klub Katarakt Hamburg, Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, Documenta Fifteen, Singapore Biennale, SODAS2123 Vilnius, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart Berlin, Ballhaus Naunynstraße Berlin, Kampnagel Hamburg, Nottingham Contemporary, and many others.