To ensure the survival of their art, theatrical actors and actresses in Indonesia need to explore their creativity. As did Iin Mutmainah, 31, a theatrical actress from Lampung, who since 2002 has performed as story-teller. Initially, Iin took up story-telling to earn some extra cash so she could continue her theater activities. But eventually Iin decided to set up a story-telling group called “Sanggar Dakocan” (Dakocan Studio). Through this group, Iin found a channel for her acting talent and has been able to carry out a story-telling campaign for kindergarten pupils and teachers.
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Jambi province has been preparing local tourist sites and attractions as well as setting up support facilities and infrastructures in its effort to make the Indonesia Visit Year (VIY) 2008 program a success. Jambi Governor H Zulkifli Nurdin has brought all businesspeople dealing with the tourism sector in the province together calling on them to make concerted efforts to make the Visit Indonesia Year (VIY) and Visit Jambi Year (VJY) programs a success.
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Wayang golek, or wooden puppets, are usually presented on stage in front of hundreds of spectators, in a show that lasts all night. But in West Java, these puppets have ventured off the stage and into the souvenir and interior decoration market. Many of these puppets come from a hamlet located far away from the West Java capital of Bandung where they are often found. The Heubeul Isuk hamlet, some 10 kilometers from the Bandung regency town of Soreang and the Ciwidey tea plantations, has long been known as a center that produces wayang golek. Puppets from Heubeul Isuk are mostly made based on orders from puppet masters. The puppets meet the standards for performances, they are not just for decoration. This is why Heubeul Isuk puppets are more expensive
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Life’s threads are drawn from tales of the past; its rituals and religions woven into the fabric of culture and lands. Across Indonesia, this weaving of life’s threads is a link to history, and the stories of lives embedded in textiles. For centuries, women across the archipelago have been the storytellers of their cultures, daily writing across the warp and weft of their backstrap looms the cloth of bridal dowries, infant swaddling garments and shrouds for the dead. Before the advent of tourism, these textile heirlooms were handed down from mother to daughter — their motifs, colors and weaving forms, different in each region, copied and learned by osmosis over generations. However a late 20th Century shift from a bartering to monetary economy threatened to break this tradition.
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The Museum Le Mayeur in Sanur is definitely a must-see place in Bali for the simple reason that some of Belgian artist Andrien Jean Le Mayeur’s finest paintings of his lovely wife Ni Pollok, who often modeled for him, are housed here. Located just steps away from Sanur Beach, the museum is flanked by the Grand Bali Beach Hotel to the south and Pura Dalem (Temple of the Dead) and the Diwangkara Hotel on the north. The museum features a good variety of the artist’s paintings in both oil and water colors. Most of his paintings are of his wife Ni Pollok or other young Balinese women in various states of repose or doing traditional crafts such as weaving. La Mayeur’s works capture the natural beauty of Bali and its culture long ago. With each brush stroke the viewer can envision the passion he had for his art and his wife Ni Pollok.
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“Come, come … please. You see Museum Kereta (carriage museum),” were the words of a guide at Yogyakarta’s Kraton (palace). He was most insistent that the visitor to the Kraton also came to the nearby Museum Kereta. The walk to the museum is not far and visitors may benefit from the shade created by the kraton walls. On arrival, a huddle of men chatting pause from their conversations and cigarettes to offer warm greetings and collect small entrance fees (Rp 3,000 and, if you want to use a camera, a further Rp 1,000 is required). Once inside, a visually impressive display awaits.
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Famed as one of the country’s pioneers of contemporary dance, choreographer and dancer Sardono Waluyo Kusumo has nothing to prove, yet he continues to be impeccably disciplined in his work. The rector of the Jakarta Institute of the Arts had returned from a two-day trip to Yogyakarta in the morning, then sat through back-to-back meetings, which had taken him through to his interview in a South Jakarta mall.
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Australia is currently sponsoring a three-week workshop and training program at the East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Museum in Kupang to help conserve fragile wooden and bamboo artefacts from Eastern Indonesia. Rare and precious cultural heritage items from Eastern Indonesia are commonly made of wood and bamboo, so it is anticipated the workshop will be of direct assistance to the Museum NTT in managing its unique collection. The program will be conducted from 1 to 18 April by Australian conservator Carolyn McLennan from the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
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From the long white hair to the sarong-style trousers and leather sandals from the West Java town of Garut, everything about Godi Suwarma says “artist”. But the Sundanese writer does not care what people think. He believes in his choice to become an artist, a decision many people find hard to accept. In a writing career spanning more than three decades, perhaps Godi’s greatest achievement has been winning the Rancage Literary Award three times.
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At long last cartoonists are being recognised for their art and insight into the daily happenings across the archipelago. Now, Indonesian cartoonists finally have a place to call home after the Indonesia Cartoon Museum was officially opened with dozens of cartoons and cartoonists featured from around the country. “We want the whole world to know that Indonesian cartoonists have great drawings, which is why we have built the museum,” senior cartoonist Pramono R Pramoedjo said. He said a strict screening mechanism was applied to exhibitions and only selected drawings would be accepted according to Dicky Christanto.
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