Aiming high for the Island of the Gods

Aiming high for the Island of the Gods
The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Thu, 06/17/2010 8:19 AM | culture
A | A | A |

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has an elusive dream — developing Bali as one of the world’s art and cultural center.

Carrying tradition: Male dancers from Bangli regency perform a traditional dance during the opening of the annual festival.JP/Stanny Anggono Carrying tradition: Male dancers from Bangli regency perform a traditional dance during the opening of the annual festival.JP/Stanny Anggono

“If the international community has an annual World Economic Forum, it should also create an annual World Cultural Forum here in Bali,” Yudhoyono said during the opening of the annual Bali Arts Festival last weekend.

The annual arts festival, initiated by noted scholar and former Bali Governor Ida Bagus Mantra in 1978, has been a showcase for the island’s rich culture and tradition.

However, it will take more than organizing an art festival to develop the island into an international art venue.

Bali still lacks professional art management and international-standard art venues including well-equipped theater stages and concert halls. Supporting infrastructures are badly needed to make the island a world-class art venue.

The Art Center complex in downtown Denpasar — which is currently hosting the art festival — is no longer adequate to accommodate colossal art performances.

Furthermore, many artists and scholars have strongly criticized the festival committee’s lack of professionalism in handling the event.

The art festival, which created a Rp 5 billion hole in the provincial budget, has turned into a traditional market rather than a sophisticated art event.

Every Sekehe (community-based art troop) complained it could do much better if it had enough money to support artistic endeavors. Improving the management of the annual Pekan Kesenian Bali (PKB) Arts Festival could be the key to making the president’s dream come true.

Ready to dance: Female dancers are ready to perform at the 32nd Bali Arts Festival in Puputan field, Badung, Bali, on Saturday. About 3,000 artists from Bali and seven countries are participating in the cultural fiesta, which is taking place between June 11 and July 11. JP/Zul Trio AnggonoReady to dance: Female dancers are ready to perform at the 32nd Bali Arts Festival in Puputan field, Badung, Bali, on Saturday. About 3,000 artists from Bali and seven countries are participating in the cultural fiesta, which is taking place between June 11 and July 11. JP/Zul Trio Anggono

The local administration, with financial and technical support from the central government, should be able to turn this annual art event into international scale art gathering, by taking a closer look at how our neighbor Singapore handles annual festivals for example.

The one-month long festival, started from June 11 through July 11, has the potential to become one of the island’s most popular tourist attractions since it is held during school holidays and summer holidays for overseas visitors.

Kadek Suartaya, an art lecturer and expert in traditional music instruments, was of the opinion that PKB had become a significant secular cultural activity that could draw thousands of spectators if it wanted to.

“This [the festival] is the most awaited event for the majority of Balinese artists and commoners alike,” wrote Suartaya. Both amateur and professional artists see the festival as a landmark for their artistic careers.

PKB features more than three hundred performing arts — theater, dance, traditional and contemporary music and more importantly the island’s ancient and rare arts, preserved so well by its talented and dedicated artists.

Watching the two-kilometer long art procession prior to the opening of the festival on Saturday afternoon was thrilling.

It was a real multicultural event, a window into Balinese arts and culture as well as the culture of other ethnic groups of Indonesia. The active participation of seven foreign countries such as the United States, Sweden, India, Singapore and Japan further enriched and colored this festivity.

Who says you can’t laugh: Comedy dancers entertain spectators during a Calon Arang folklore performance in Denpasar.JP/Zul Trio AnggonoWho says you can’t laugh: Comedy dancers entertain spectators during a Calon Arang folklore performance in Denpasar.JP/Zul Trio Anggono

Under the sub-theme Bhuana Kerti, the purification of the Universe, the procession started with a special ritual carried out by Governor Made Mangku Pastika.

Beautiful and handsome musicians and dancers performed Adi Merdangga bale ganjur traditional percussion followed by Siwa Nata Raja dance theater.

Clad in glamorous and glittering Balinese traditional costumes, hundreds of artists mesmerized distinguished guests and spectators.

Delegations from the island’s eight regencies and representatives of artists from 20 provinces in Indonesia and seven foreign countries participated in the procession.

The festival itself is more than just a joyous art activity. It is a search for spiritual enlightenment. This year’s festival bears a specific theme Sudama: Searching for the purity of our conscience.

For the next 30 days, Bali will host hundreds of quality art performances that will enrich anybody watching them.

For Indonesians fed up with the current media hullabaloo, the Bali Arts Festival might just be the perfect antidote — an artistic as well as spiritual oasis.