Arahmaiani is an artist, a social-political, cultural and environmental activist, and a writer who is internationally recognized for her provocative commentaries on social, political, and cultural issues. She is considered a pioneer of performance art in Southeast Asia. After the September 11 attacks, she raised the issue of her own identity, which, although Muslim, mediates between Islamic beliefs, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Animism, and often uses her work to draw attention to issues of violence and violence against women in Indonesia in particular. In 2006, she started her long-term environmental and community empowerment project titled “Flag Project”, initially developed with the Amumarta Islamic Boarding School community in Yogyakarta. Since 2010, she has been working in Tibet with Tibetan monks on environmental issues. Arahmaiani taught at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (2006-2008) and at the Department of Southeast Asia, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, University of Passau, Germany (2010-2023). She also participated in the Indonesian National Pavilion at the 50th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in 2003.