Astara is a PhD candidate in the History of Art and Visual Studies Department at Cornell University. Her host institution is the Rudana Museum in Ubud, Bali, where she works with curator Muhammad Bundhowi.

Astara’s research employs semi-structured interview methods alongside visual and historical analysis to consider the work of contemporary Indonesian artists who employ a diverse range of visual techniques and philosophical approaches to speak to global issues.

Her dissertation, tentatively titled: “Hauntings in Contemporary Indonesian Art: Tracing Cosmological and Ecological Knowledge through Exhibition Histories,” centers on the work of artists from Bali and Java who engage with different media, including painting, sculpture, and installation art. Her dissertation highlights how artists critique and visually convey ecological problems by drawing on spiritual perspectives unique to Indonesia. Astara’s earlier research interests have also examined Indonesian art alongside topics of performance and movement theory, religious studies, indigeneity, and national identity.