Poetry is often encountered alone, quietly, on the page. Yet long before it was something to be read, it was something to be spoken, heard and shared. It carried stories, rituals and memories from one person to another, allowing language to become a living experience rather than a fixed text. Perhaps this is where poetry feels most at home, not in its seriousness, but in its ability to invite curiosity, conversation and play.

This July, we are pleased to welcome Kurt David Peterson to Aa Furniture for an evening of readings, performance and conversation centred around his published book, A Wild Dog, His Solemn Vow, and Then Some. The publication brings together poetry, prose and drawings created over a number of years, assembling cosmologies, parables, songs and observations that reflect on what it means to be living, becoming and paying attention within the present moment. The performance extends these writings beyond the page, allowing voice, sound, movement and space to become part of the work itself.Originally from Nebraska, USA, and based in Indonesia since 2017, Kurt is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice moves fluidly between writing, performance, sound, field recording and visual art. His work draws upon mythology, religion, memory, folklore and perception, often responding directly to the places in which it unfolds. Improvisation and participation are central to his approach, ensuring that no two performances are ever quite the same.Kurt is also co-founder of Rumah Tangga, an artist-run space in Depok, West Java, developed together with Ella Wijt. Set within a shared family landscape, the space has become known for its experimental, land-based approach to contemporary practice, fostering artists across disciplines while embracing slower forms of making, learning and exchange.Rather than asking us simply to listen, Kurt's performances invite us to notice. They encourage attention to the acoustics of a room, the cadence of language and the unexpected encounters that emerge when words are allowed to move beyond the page. In doing so, poetry becomes less an object to interpret than an experience to inhabit.Tickets are available for purchase here with limited seats available. Each ticket includes a signed limited-edition print created exclusively for the event. His publication is also available for purchase on our webstore.Poetry, Performance, Play.
Performance by Kurt David Peterson.
25 July 2026, 4pm — 6pm.
$35 per ticket.