Bali gearing up to face the new millennium

Bali gearing up to face the new millennium

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): When the clock strikes midnight on New
Year's Eve, thousands of people will have flocked to the Island
of the Gods to warmly welcome the new century, watching a myriad
of millennial art and cultural festivals.

Some of the memorable events are deliberately designed in
grandeur to ring in the year 2000.

One of the events to be held in Bali by the end of the year
will be the International Percussion Festival called Sacred
Rhythm: The Millennial Percussion for Unison.

It is jointly organized by the United Nations Cultural
Organization (Unesco), the Sacred Bridge Foundation, the Ministry
of Tourism, Arts and Culture, The Jakarta Post morning daily (as
publication sponsor) and other institutions.

The festival is scheduled to be held in four different venues:
Limestone Quarry at Jimbaran for the Millennium Eve, Bali
International Convention Center for the indoor performances and
three of the most sacred temples (the Penataran Sasi, Peti Tenget
and Samuan Tiga) for various contemplative activities from
Dec.31, l999 through Jan.3, 2000.

The festival will serve as an intercultural dialog among
artists and virtuoso coming from every part of the globe.

The festival will be staging virtuoso performances by masters
of percussion music that represent the world's heritage of sacred
music. It is going to draw energy from the heart-beating drums of
Africa to the meditative rhythm of Asian Buddhist; from the
earth-worshiping sounds of the Australian aborigines to the
sophisticated sound of Balinese gamelan.

A number of famous musicians including Jin Hi Kim, a Korean-
born musician, Stomu Yamashta from Japan, the New Jakarta
Ensemble, Harry Roesli and many other famous artists will take
part at the event.

Another art event, Art and Peace, will also enrich Bali's
millennial festival. Organized by painter Made Wianta, the event
will take place on Dec. 10, l999.

The festival, which will cost about Rp 1.4 billion, will
present a number of prominent figures, such as former South
African president Nelson Mandela, spiritual leader Ibu Gedong
Bagoes Oka and other distinguished artists and scholars from
Indonesia and overseas.

During the festival, 2,000 female dancers will present various
dances and other forms of performing arts. The festival will be
highlighted by the flying of huge and colorful banners carrying
peaceful messages.

The banners will be carried by a helicopter flying from the
Kelanting coast in Tabanan to over Sanur beach in Denpasar.

On Dec. 20, Sanggar Dewata Indonesia, a group of Balinese
artists who graduated from art school in Yogyakarta, will hold a
joint painting exhibition in five museums in Bali: Museum Neka,
Museum Agung Rai, Museum Rudana, Museum Gunarsa and Museum Bali.

Activities planned by students of the Denpasar Arts Institute
are also worth seeing. By the end of December, l999, they will
have jointly painted on a 2,000-meter-long piece of fabric to
welcome in the year 2000.

Approaching the next millennium, the Balinese art and cultural
community will also see the completion of the controversial
Garuda Kencana statue by sculptor I Nyoman Nuarta.

Construction of the grand statue was put on hold for a time
due to the country's economic condition. But, it is now under way
again and is expected to be erected on Bukit Ungasan, 15
kilometers south of Denpasar. The location is part of a planned
170-hectare cultural complex comprising art buildings and
facilities, amphitheaters and green areas.

In l993, the statue was estimated to cost Rp 60 billion. The
cost now has skyrocketed in response to the devaluation of rupiah
against the U.S. dollar.

Nyoman Nuarta's Garuda project is one of the biggest and
fantastic millennial artwork expected to come out of Bali.

There are, of course, many other events and activities to
greet the new millennium. Bali's hotels, galleries and
restaurants are also gearing up for the coming, and hopefully
brighter, century.