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)