Culture at center stage

After the spate of depressing news reports assaulting us to no end during the past year, it is indeed gratifying to hear some good tidings for a change. This new year has been designated the Year of Art and Culture, and its official announcement was the essence of President Soeharto's New Year's Eve address to the nation.

Noting that the current decade -- the final one of the century -- is denoted Visit Indonesia Decade, the President said Indonesians would further strengthen their national identity this year through art and culture, while at the same time encouraging foreigners to come here.

Soeharto continued that the nation was endowed with a long history and an ancient culture whose legacy was preserved in impressive edifices and artifacts, as well as old customs and traditions. These represent the noble values, thoughts and teachings of our ancestors.

The President was correct in extolling Indonesia's huge ethnic and cultural diversity. It is no exaggeration to say that this land is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse nations in the world. It is this very cornucopia of peoples that has produced a cultural and artistic heritage with few equivalents in the world. There is little doubt this wealth is one of the country's greatest tourist attractions besides, of course, its natural beauty.

In the context of the economic crisis, the emphasis on tourist development and promotion can be easily understood and justified. Tourism is one of the country's star foreign exchange earners, bringing in much-needed dollars. Its considerable economic spinoffs benefit the country's millions of small entrepreneurs. It also provides jobs, and much of the necessary modern tourist infrastructure is already in place. Although some cultural pollution may be an unavoidable byproduct, in perhaps most cases, tourism provides the stimulus to keep local arts alive by providing income to artists.

If there is one thing in the President's announcement that may not fully satisfy Indonesia's contemporary artists and intellectuals, it may be the apparent emphasis on the traditional arts, including dances, customs and traditions. Contemporary artists and intellectuals do not doubt that there is much that is beautiful and noble in this ancient legacy. To them, however, art and culture are not merely static properties inherited from the past, but dynamic living totalities that develop in step with changes in society itself.

This difference in perception of Indonesian contemporary artists on one side and officialdom on the other is, unfortunately, one that will probably take a long time to bridge. Frequent banning of plays and poetry recitals by local authorities is a telling indication of this difference, and of officialdom's perceptions of what constitutes "art" or "culture".

It is to be hoped, of course, that a better meeting of minds can be achieved in the not too distant future. A country's contemporary art and culture, after all, are as much a national heritage as the traditional. As products of the nation's existing generation, they reflect the spirit of the times in which we live.

At their best, they can provide the spiritual depth needed to give greater meaning to the material progress achieved. And it may be the case that, however limited the scope, this year's emphasis on art and culture will bring a wider appreciation and better understanding of the true meaning of both.