Gamelan Pesel Wins Award for Balinese Karawitan Development
The Gamelan Pesel art community has won an award at the detikBali-Nusra Awards 2026, receiving the Leading Community Pioneer Award in the Balinese Karawitan Developer category. The award was presented by detikBali Editor-in-Chief Mukhlis Dinillah and accepted by Gamelan Pesel founder I Wayan Arik Wirawan at The Trans Resort Bali on Friday (3/7/2026).
The award was given in appreciation of Gamelan Pesel’s contribution to presenting innovation in Balinese karawitan without abandoning its traditional roots. The community has been successful in enriching the treasures of Balinese gamelan while attracting the interest of the younger generation to love the art of karawitan.
After receiving the award, Arik expressed his gratitude for the recognition from detikBali. He said the award serves as encouragement to continue creating and to strengthen efforts to preserve the art of karawitan on the Island of the Gods. “Thank you. This award is certainly very valuable and motivates us to continue developing and accelerating the progress of Balinese karawitan in the future,” Arik said.
Gamelan Pesel is an ensemble created by I Wayan Arik Wirawan in 2013 while he was completing his studies at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) Denpasar. At the same time, Arik also founded an art community named Gamelan Pesel in Banjar Kehen, Kesiman Village, Denpasar. The ensemble is the result of developing two ancient Balinese gamelan instruments, namely semar pegulingan and selonding. Through this combination, Gamelan Pesel presents a new musical colour while remaining grounded in the standards and character of Balinese gamelan art.
The journey of Gamelan Pesel became more widely known after the release of its debut album, Nada Hidup, in 2017. The recording process involved American-Canadian researcher and musician Jonathan Adams, who is also a co-founder of Insitu Record. The album contains several compositions by Arik that emphasise tradition-based musical innovation. The works from Nada Hidup were subsequently introduced through various digital platforms, broadening public appreciation for Gamelan Pesel, especially among young people in Bali.
In addition to accompanying various traditional ceremonies in Bali, the Gamelan Pesel community actively performs at prestigious art events such as the Bali Arts Festival (PKB) and the Denpasar Festival. The presence of Gamelan Pesel is proof that creativity and the spirit of renewal in Balinese karawitan continue to grow. The innovations presented by the community demonstrate that traditional art remains relevant, evolves, and finds its place in society in the modern era.