About · Calicu Space

Helping Indonesian Illustrators Grow Beyond Their Art

More than a creative learning community, CALICU SPACE is a place where artists gain the knowledge, connections, and confidence to navigate the creative industry and build sustainable creative careers.

Our Story

Every artist starts somewhere… but no one should have to figure it out alone.

CALICU SPACE was founded in August 2025 by siblings Eileen Widjaja and Ruizhi Wijaya after noticing a gap that many emerging Indonesian creatives quietly struggle with.

There are countless talented artists in Indonesia. Yet many graduate or begin freelancing without knowing where to start, how the creative industry works, or how to turn their skills into meaningful career opportunities. Information about international opportunities, professional workflows, portfolio building, and creative business often feels scattered, difficult to access, or simply unavailable.

We created CALICU SPACE to bridge that gap.

Not by promising overnight success or "secret formulas," but by making industry knowledge, practical experience, and meaningful connections more accessible to the people who need them most.

Because we believe talent deserves guidance, not gatekeeping.

What We Believe

We believe Indonesia is home to incredible creative talent. What many artists need isn't more talent—they need access.

Access to knowledge.
Access to opportunities.
Access to mentors.
Access to a community that reminds them they're not navigating this journey alone.

That's what CALICU exists to build.

Our Mission

To empower Indonesian illustrators and young creatives by making industry knowledge, career opportunities, and supportive communities more accessible, helping them grow into confident professionals who can thrive both locally and internationally.

What Makes CALICU Different?

Many creative communities focus primarily on improving technical art skills. At CALICU, we believe that's only one piece of the puzzle.

We focus on everything that happens after learning how to draw:

Understanding creative career paths

Building professional portfolios

Navigating the creative industry

Connecting with fellow artists

Learning from experienced professionals

Discovering opportunities beyond graduation

Our goal isn't simply to help artists create better work. It's to help them build lasting creative careers.

How We Support Artists

Whether you're still exploring your path or already taking on professional work, CALICU offers opportunities to keep learning and growing.

Every program is designed with one goal in mind: helping artists move forward with greater confidence.

Join our events and classes Browse our resource bank Surf our blog

Growing Together

Since launching in 2025, CALICU has continued bringing together artists, industry professionals, and creative brands through educational events and collaborations.

Some milestones we're proud of include:

Hosting our largest offline gathering with more than 40 participants.
Collaborating with industry professionals through workshops and creator sessions.
Building partnerships with brands that share our vision for supporting artists.

Cool Brands We've Partnered With

What folks are saying

“I feel very happy to find that there is a community like me where I can seek out professional advice but I can also seek out people who are my peers who are on the same level, maybe a little under, maybe a little higher. It feels nice knowing there's a community like me, knowing that usually you'd have to go to America or find international communities. There's never one just for locals.”

@nabb33d

Participant of ASA Vol. 1

“There’s games untuk bonding, ada Q&A session, ada sharing session sama orang yang lebih berpengalaman di bidang a b c d e f g, lengkap semuanya and it’s real fun. Semoga ada lagi selanjutnya and hopefully lebih banyak orang bisa ikut.”

@dharmamonetra

Participant of ASA Vol. 1

“I feel really lucky and honored to be invited to this event because then I can share my experiences and knowledge with other people that may need it for their careers. Thank you so much for inviting me, it was such an amazing experience to connect with other artists, other creators, and also my followers and emerging creators.”

Anwita Citriya

Speaker for ASA Vol. 1

“This event was so cool because not only could I connect and meet with my friends—who I’ve only known online actually, and I got to meet them in person today—but it’s really fun to connect with people in all sorts of paths in publishing and arts journey, and seeing how many people are in different creative fields back home in Indonesia. [...] Being able to give advice, advice that I would’ve really liked when I was starting out… I get to be that person for someone else so that was great.”

Jes n Cin Wibowo

Speaker for ASA Vol. 1

“I got to share everything I wanted to share. I really loved the interactions. The sharing session is also really knowledgeable. Ini sangat bermanfaat buat aku karena dari dulu insecure untuk sharing gambaran, makin kesini makin pede karena ternyata banyak yang ingin learn juga. Aku paling enjoy sesi Artist Bingo karena aku suka sekali interaksi sama orang-orang. It's really amazing to meet lots of people here, they're so nice.”

@eimimay

Participant of ASA Vol. 3

“Asik banget, aku pikir bakal mostly talk tapi ternyata banyak banget interaksi antara artist-artist-nya yg benar-benar kerasa artists supporting artists. Aku deg-degan karena ini pertama kali jadi speaker, tapi thankfully hari ini berjalan lancar. Semoga ilmunya kepakai oleh teman-teman.”

Cyndhi Susilo / Lunacerra

Speaker for ASA Vol. 4

“Fun banget. Bisa banyak ketemu artists and we found a lot of things in common. Hal paling valuable is the insight from the speakers [...] It's very useful for us in the future for future art markets or events.”

@tamagoatchie

Participant of ASA Vol. 4

“Ilmunya mantap banget.. kenal sama orang-orang keren juga buat aku makin yakin dan semangat!!! Jujur, sampe sebelum ikut kelas, kendalaku adalah insecure karena aku merasa apa yg kulakukan selama ini menjadi ilustrator tuh belum ada apa-apanya.. habis ikut kelas aku jadi mulai ngeliat kalau sebenarnya "aku udh bisa loh, karya-karyaku tuh bagus loh". Seru seru... Breakdown materinya ok banget, pas buat portfolio sih paling gong seru juga! Dan materi terakhir tentang tax dan kontrak itu butuh banget.”

@qarrottt

Participant of International Illustration Career Class

“I’m genuinely grateful that Calicu Space is actually a safe space for artist to grow. Most art school, kursus, seminar by ‘successful people’, even university or institute focus only on “how to make” but tend to forget “how to sell” (not a theory on how to sell but actual tutorial how to sell). Calicu Space provide RICH knowledge. I hope Calicu Space can grow even bigger with various links for artist to find a career in art.”

@detectivereiteki

Participant of International Illustration Career Class

Gallery

Looking Ahead

We're just getting started.

Over the next few years, we hope to expand CALICU into a larger creative platform—bringing even more educational resources, career opportunities, partnerships, and community experiences to Indonesian artists.

Our dream is simple: to become a trusted home where creatives can continue learning, connecting, and growing throughout every stage of their careers.

Whether you're taking your very first step or preparing for your next big opportunity, we'd love to be part of your journey.

Join our community Contact us