Awards at Ubud festival are dedicated to authors' solidarity
Awards at Ubud festival are dedicated to authors' solidarity
The Jakarta Post, Ubud
Despite the recent bomb tragedy and other security threats, more
than 100 writers, artists, filmmakers, scholars and distinguished
individuals have shown strong solidarity and commitment to
supporting the 2nd Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.
The event ran from Oct. 6 through to Oct. 11, at the arts
village of Ubud, some 45 kilometers from ground zero at Kuta and
Jimbaran in the south.
In recognition of their dedication and courage, the organizing
committee, Saraswati Foundation, delivered the special Saraswati
Literary Awards to the festival participants at the closing
ceremony held at Agung Rai Museum of Arts (ARMA) in the heart of
Ubud on Tuesday night.
After four days of intense, serious discussion the festival
was closed in a more joyous atmosphere. Set in a beautiful and
spacious venue, the ceremony featured a number of dazzling
performances by Booker-prize winning novelist/writer Michael
Ondaatje.
Ondaatje recited a number of his best works including lyrics
from his poetry collection The Cinnamon Peeler (l991). He also
read out one of his best prose works, the memoir Running in the
Family (l982).
Born in Sri Lanka, Ondaatje moved to Canada in l962. He is
best known for his winning novel, The English Patient (l992),
which was also adapted into an Academy Award-winning film under
the same title.
During the festival, Ondaatje appeared in several panel
sessions and a literary lunch, sharing his wide experience on the
world literary stage.
Canadian/American writer Linda Spalding also appeared at the
closing event, reading out part of one of her best works, Riska:
Memories of a Dayak Girlhood.
Spalding appeared in one of the festival's interesting
sessions, titled Between Realities: Cross Cultural Perceptions,
where she shared her experiences about her diverse cultural and
geographic background with other panelists Kal Muller, Randhir
Khare and Balinese scholar Panji Tisna in a lively discussion on
Saturday.
This year's festival theme, Between Worlds, revealed issues of
crosscultural identity, interfaith experience, global and local
interface repeatedly raised by authors juggling modern versus
traditional ways, caught between religious or geographical
borders or simply straddling two or more cultures.
The festival successfully brought together young and senior
individuals in the literary and creative art worlds. The presence
of world-class writers Amitav Ghosh, Jan Cornwall and Felix
Cheong, as well as fresh faces like Djenar Maesa Ayu, Dewi
Lestari, Kadek Sonia and Eka Kurniawan turned the festival into
an ideal literary forum.
The appearance of talented Balinese writers such as Cok
Sawitri, Mas Ruscita Dewi, Samar Gantang, Ngurah Arta and many
others enriched the event with Balinese perspectives.
Children and teenage literature ("teen lit") were given more
attention.
The arrival of Timor Leste President Xanana Gusmao and first
lady Kirsty Sword Gusmao was another big plus for the event.
The involvement of world organizations like the UN Program on
HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), which has been actively supporting young
Indonesian artists and writers, will encourage other world
agencies to support the event in future.
There are, however, some issues that need to be considered by
the organizing committee.
Attendance at the four-day sessions provided participants with
a wider horizon. It would have been better if these important
sessions were more accessible to the public.
For many locals, especially in these difficult times, buying
festival tickets, however low the price, can be tough. It was
obvious that only a very few locals -- mainly Ubud or Denpasar
people -- attended.
The establishment of closer collaboration with local higher
education institutions such as Udayana University, University of
Indonesia (Jakarta), Gadjah Mada University (Yogyakarta) or
Padjadjaran University (Bandung) might be a good idea.
More importantly, finding sponsors that can provide generous
financial support for the development of arts and culture
appreciation in this way is crucial to enabling the festival to
benefit a wider public.