Sunday July 26 2026, twenty people gathered at Museum Bahari Jakarta for Singgah di Laut, a mindfulness and watercolor workshop in Jakarta that brought together reflection, creativity, and a shared commitment to supporting coastal women in Muara Angke.
Through this gathering, Perempuan Laut invited participants to slow down and become more present, not only with themselves, but also with the sea and the women whose lives and livelihoods are closely connected to it.
For Perempuan Laut, mindfulness can help nurture care for the ocean by encouraging people to observe more closely, listen more openly, and connect with stories beyond their own experiences. By pairing mindfulness and creative expression with photographs and stories created by women from Muara Angke, Singgah di Laut offered participants a more personal way to understand coastal life and develop empathy for women in fishing communities.
A Mindfulness Session for Slowing Down
The afternoon began with a visit to the Suara dari Muara Exhibition, an exhibition featuring photographs taken by women from Muara Angke. These were not photographs of them, but photographs by them with their own cameras and telling stories from their everyday lives, work, and mornings along the coast.
For many visitors, the photographs offered a glimpse into a side of Jakarta that often remains unseen. Some participants paused in front of particular images, taking their time to look and reflect. After exploring the exhibition, participants gathered for a guided mindfulness and breathing session led by Welin from Anindhaloka.
It was an invitation for the participants to pause and listen to themselves and to notice thoughts, feelings, a little restlessness, maybe some grief about the state of things. The participants were guided through a journaling session with a series of reflective questions. Sometimes, slowing down is enough to help us notice what we usually miss in our everyday life.
Learning Watercolor Painting Together
The session concluded with a beginner watercolor painting workshop facilitated by Andari from Pencil x Nature. Participants were guided to paint simple, familiar subjects — ocean waves, flowers, and sand, chosen deliberately to echo the themes of the afternoon and to serve as a tangible reminder of the experience.
The session was designed to be accessible and explorative, with the focus placed more on the process of translating the afternoon’s stories and feelings into something visual. Participants were encouraged to experiment freely with color and form, and to let the painting develop without pressure.
By the end of the workshop, each participant left with a completed watercolor piece, a small, personal artifact that captured something of what they had seen, heard, and felt throughout the session. Twenty participants, twenty paintings, each one a different interpretation of the same afternoon.
Meaningful Afternoon: Reflection and Sharing
At the end of the workshop, participants were invited to share their reflections.
The conversation went in directions we had not planned for, and that made it even more meaningful. Some people laughed, some became quiet, and one participant shared that they had not felt this still in a long time.
Beyond the activities themselves, the afternoon created a small space for people to pause, reflect, create, and connect with one another.
Supporting Coastal Women in Muara Angke
Singgah di Laut was a mindfulness and watercolor workshop held at Museum Bahari Jakarta, bringing participants closer to stories from Muara Angke’s coastal community. While the workshop was taking place, visitors exploring the exhibition also stopped by the Perempuan Laut booth to learn more about our work and contribute to the cause.
By the end of the afternoon, participants and visitors had raised a total of IDR 2,751,500 in donations.
Every rupiah raised will go directly to the Women’s Learning Circle in Muara Angke, a community program that provides coastal women with dedicated time and space to learn new skills and grow together. Through the Women’s Learning Circle, Perempuan Laut hopes to create a space where coastal women can continue learning, developing their skills, and supporting one another.
Thank You for Making This Possible!
An afternoon like this could not happen without the people and organizations who helped bring it to life.
Our heartfelt thanks go to Museum Bahari Jakarta for providing such a welcoming space, Georgetown University SFS Asia Pacific for their continued support and for setting the tone of the day through its powerful visual stories through Suara dari Muara Exhibition.
A heartfelt thank you to Welin Cakra from Anindhaloka, whose gentle and grounded approach made the mindfulness session feel like a safe space for everyone in the room, and to Andari Qiesha from Pencil x Nature, who created such a relaxed and encouraging atmosphere that twenty people who had never picked up a watercolor brush before walked away with paintings they were genuinely proud of. A special thank you to Mother of Pearl (MOP) and Alture Beauty and Wellness for believing in this initiative from the very beginning. Your support made it possible for us to create a space that was not only meaningful, but also something participants could truly enjoy and take home with them.
Finally, our deepest gratitude goes to the twenty participants who chose to spend their Sunday afternoon with us at Singgah di Laut. Their presence, engagement, and generosity made the session truly meaningful — not just for everyone in the room, but for the women in Muara Angke whose lives will be directly impacted by the donations collected that day. Every contribution, big or small, was a reflection of the care and intention that participants brought with them into the room. We are grateful for every minute they chose to spend with us, and for the trust they placed in what we were trying to create together.
Join the Next Perempuan Laut Gathering
If you missed this workshop, don’t worry. This is only the beginning.
We are already thinking about what the next gathering could look like — another opportunity to slow down, learn something new, connect with others, and support coastal communities in meaningful ways.
Follow Perempuan Laut on Instagram at @perempuanlaut.id to learn about upcoming activities and ways to get involved.
We’d love to have you with us next time. 🌊
