Australia's `invasion' of Indonesia aims to please on every front
Australia's `invasion' of Indonesia aims to please on every front
JAKARTA (JP): The news has been in the air for quite some time
now... the "invasion" of Indonesia by Australia on all fronts.
Worry not. It isn't an invasion that involves bombs, guns, and
other means of destruction. Construction and cooperation are the
keynotes of the month-long presence from down under on these
shores, touching on trade, industry, education, badminton, health
& medicine, environment and related technologies, tourism,
biotechnology, volley ball... name it, and it's on the program.
Officially, it started last Tuesday with a bash at the Sari
Pan Pacific Hotel, but some programs were already under way, like
the one on education in which Australian schools, academies and
universities introduced themselves.
The largest and most active component of the Australia Today
Indonesia 94 event is culture and entertainment. A country
settled by Europeans, Australia's culture and artistic
expression of course have their roots in European culture and
many Australians have from at least the early years of this
century attained top international fame: Percy Grainger and
Nellie Melba spring to mind.
Australia was also one of the first countries in the world to
produce feature films. The trend has anything but ceased: There
are writers Colleen McCullough and Nobel prize winner Patrick
White, actress Zoe Caldwell, opera singer Joan Sutherland,
feminist Gremaine Greer. In film, movie directors from Australia
have become a much sought-after commodity even in Hollywood. As
for screen stars, well, mention Mel Gibson and there'll be a lot
of swooning among women everywhere in the world (just as their
grandmothers swooned at the mere mention of Errol Flynn).
Again, name any type of world-class entertainment, and
Australian artists will be there.
What is especially noteworthy is the presence of Aboriginal
artists among others as performers, painters, and textile
designers. An interesting feature is the work of Aborigine women
who have adapted Javanese batik to their own design. The
exhibition of Aboriginal art is organized by the National
Aboriginal Arts Institute. On the performing scene, the
Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre will be presenting two works
which have already earned much acclaim in, among other places,
Colombia and Brazil.
The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the Western Australia Ballet
Company, the Handspan Theatre (puppets), a group called Rock 'n
Roll Circus, street theater, exhibitions, Etcetera Theatre
Company, a Children's Writers Week, an exhibition of Performing
Arts Design from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA)...
the list is endless.
Although the bulk of the program will be concentrated in
Jakarta, other cities in Java will also be host to a number of
events, i.e. Surabaya and Semarang. Sports events include soccer
in which a series of matches will be held culminating in The
Australia Today Indonesia 94 Cup awarded on Sunday, July 3 at
Senayan Stadium.
A tabloid, outlining all the activities during the month-long
Australia Today Indonesia 94 extravaganza is available at the
Borobudur Intercontinental. Other contacts for information
regarding dates, time of events, ticket prices, etc. are
telephone numbers 360722, 360787 and 360796.
--Gus Kairupan