With journalistic education background, Tarlen worked as a freelance journalist and founded a literacy community for 20 years (2001-2021) called Tobucil & Klabs in her hometown, Bandung. As a community organizer, Tarlen received a scholarship from the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) to observe community audience development at the Museum in New York City (2008). Her hobby is crafting, which led Tarlen to pursue bookbinding and deepen her skills as a bookbinder at the Canadian Bookbinder and Book Artist Guild (CBBAG) in Toronto, Canada. Tarlen’s move to Yogyakarta connect her to Space for Women Archive and Herstory (RUAS), and since the end of 2022, she has been involved as a program manager at this organization while continuing to pursue her skills as a bookbinder and as a freelance writer.
