JakArt@ back in town, bigger than ever

JakArt@ back in town, bigger than ever

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Start beating the drums and painting the town, Jakarta comes
alive this month with the third annual JakArt@ art festival at
venues across the capital.

Some 900 performances and events -- both local and
international -- will be organized in more than 150 locations
during this year's JakArt@, making it one of the largest art
festivals to date in the country and certainly twice as big as
last year's.

Although events started at the beginning of the month, the
official opening of JakArt@ 2003 was held on Wednesday with a
Jalan-jalan di Hutan (A Walk in the Woods) at Kali Pesanggrahan
forest in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta.

Who would have guessed there was a forest still standing in
Jakarta? The opening of JakArt@ 2003 took visitors inside the
forest and along Kali Pesanggrahan, offering various attractions
along the way, including a bottle installation exhibition by
Michail David and Rachmadi, a wayang kulit (shadow puppet)
performance, piano recitals by Aning Katamsi and Aisha AS
Pletcher, and an Egyptian dance performance.

The first JakArt@ was held in 2001 and organized by a group of
people concerned about the lack of venues for artists to express
themselves, and for people in general to take a break from all
the troubles brought about by the economic crisis and political
upheavals.

"Through the festival in June, in conjunction with the
anniversary of Jakarta, the people are asked to forget their
differences and to prioritize equality for a better future," the
organizers said in a statement.

From the start of its inception, JakArt@ was meant to be not
only a venue for Indonesian artists to create and express
themselves, but also a meeting point for artists all over the
world to meet and explore each other's art. And since "art" is
such a generic term, the JakArt@ festival will showcase art as
wide-ranging as music, fine arts and dance as well as theater and
architecture.

International artists and their works will be flown in from
all over the world, courtesy of their embassies, such as
jazz/blues musicians the Bill Heid Trio from the United States,
the Netherlands' Introdans dancers and Canadian artist Denise
Hudon. Contributions from the embassies of Argentina, Australia,
Finland, France, Greece, India, Switzerland and the United
Kingdom, also promise to enliven Jakarta's art scene all this
month.

One of the highlights of JakArt@ 2003 will certainly be the
murals created under Jakarta's bypasses and toll road overpasses.
These colorful murals distract drivers from an otherwise bleak
drive through the city's jammed roadways.

Another welcome distraction will be the Kali Besar Festival
along Kali Besar in West Jakarta, running from June 1 to June 22,
which is organized by architecture students from universities
across Indonesia.

Kali Besar is an old area in the city that dates back to the
18th century, with many of the buildings now serving as legacies
of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) during its heyday.

Among the activities to be held is the repainting of five old
buildings along the river as well as a cleanup of the area
surrounding the buildings. Every Sunday, art performances and
social activities will be held in the area.

Finally winning the recognition it deserves, this year's
JakArt@ is supported by the Jakarta administration, which is its
main sponsor.

For more information about the schedule of events, please
visit www.jakart.org or call the organizers at 021-5265762, 021-
2524705.