Int'l works showed at Istiqlal festival

Int'l works showed at Istiqlal festival

JAKARTA (JP): The Second International Istiqlal Festival on
Islamic culture opening in September will exhibit over 200
traditional and contemporary Islamic works of art from various
countries.

Exhibition organizing committee chairman Achmad Noe'man said
Thursday that Indonesia, as the host of the Festival, will
display 150 works, Malaysia 30 and other Islamic countries 40.

President Soeharto is scheduled to open the two-month festival
which will last from Sept. 23 to Nov. 23. The organizers promise
that the festivities will be "bigger and more lively" than during
the first festival in 1991.

The festival will take place at the Istiqlal grand mosque in
central Jakarta.

Among the countries confirming participation are Egypt,
Morocco, Turk, Iran, Spain, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam.

Achmad said the festival will be a forum for artists and
laymen alike to exchange knowledge and ideas on classical and
contemporary Islamic art.

Works on display will range from Islamic architecture,
calligraphy, and traditional and contemporary fine arts.

Visitors will also have an opportunity to observe letters
written by legendary Islamic scholars such as Hamzah Fansuri and
Ali Haji.

The architectural exhibition will display models of mosques
and their environments, as well as each structure's influence on
cultural products of different periods.

The event is organized by the Istiqlal Festival Foundation, an
organization on Islamic teaching and promulgation, co-chaired by
Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad and business tycoon Ponco
Sutowo.

According to Ponco, the organizers hope for at least 10
million people to visit the cultural celebration, which will also
feature activities such as Koran recital competitions, seminars,
and a bazaar. (29)