From my personal experience in growing businesses in Indonesia and overseas for the last five decades, I believe entrepreneurship is the key to success because the spirit of entrepreneurship will drive people to create and innovate wealth using all available resources in the surroundings. I call it the act of turning trash into Gold.

One of rarely utilized resources in Indonesia is art. As an art lover and enthusiast for six decades, I conclude that radical innovations in art is a highly significant way to create wealth out of art. This is what I first introduced in 2005 as artpreneurship a specific term referring to a process of wealth creation in the world of art fueled by the artists creativity. An artpreneur, the actor of artpreneurship, is a person who creates art values in the form of art products or services that embodies the 7E's Exotic, Entertainment, Esthetic, Exclusive, Expansive, Educative, and Enhance. It has been my desire to spread the spirit of artpreneurship throughout the Indonesian art world and for it to become the fuel for the betterment of Indonesian culture.

I especially love the works of Indonesia's modern art master, Hendra Gunawan and I am proud to be considered as the biggest collector of his works. My passion for Indonesian art development has led me to envision a center with the purpose of improving the living standards of Indonesian artists and the development of the Indonesian art world.

Ciputra Artpreneur is a realization of my long-sought dream. It is the embodiment of my vision to create an incubator for Indonesian artpreneurs and a place to advocate culture, intellectuality and empowerment for our beloved country. I really hope that the Ciputra Artpreneur would become a place to discover, explore, experience, and celebrate Indonesia and International Arts that eventually will amplify the impact of artpreneurship and to spread the message around the world.

When once asked what encourages me to make all of these efforts, I think Khalil Gibran summed it up best in his famous "Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself." My love for art and entrepreneurship has realized itself in the dream, the drive and the ultimate determination in creating betterment for humanity through artpreneurship and the Ciputra Artpreneurship and the Ciputra Artpreneur.