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.