Jakarta's Art Summit

Jakarta's Art Summit

With the third month-long Jakarta Art Summit moving into its
last week, it is interesting to take stock of the degree to which
the organizers have succeeded in achieving their set objectives
-- which is to instill a greater understanding of the development
and problems in contemporary arts against a multicultural
background. In addition, the triennial event also endeavors to
present artistic creations through a variety of alternative
media.

Besides, as Indonesian dancer-choreographer Sardono Waluyo
Kusumo said in one of the discussions at the start of the event,
the summit could help younger artists to tune into the
contemporary artistic developments that are taking place in the
world.

One can only hope that the Art Summit can help Indonesians
achieve these worthy ideals -- and moreover, that it will help to
make the arts more accessible to the public at large. For the
fact is that although no one has ever been able to prove that
there is a correlation between the tendency toward violence among
Indonesians and the aridity of the cultural and artistic climate
that prevails in Jakarta, and possibly in other major cities in
the nation as well, there is nevertheless a strong impression
that it does exist.

Regrettably, no government in Indonesia so far -- on the
national plane as well as on the provincial or city level -- has
ever shown a significant interest in the development of the arts.
Jakarta, with a population estimated at more than 12 million
inhabitants, has less than a handful of theaters that are
specially designed for the performing arts. The number of art
museums and galleries that can compare with those of some of the
big cultural centers of the world is equally insignificant.

Surely, it is no exaggeration to say that Jakarta, being the
capital city of the biggest country in Southeast Asia and one
that is known for its cultural wealth, deserves at least one such
venue, and preferably more. Considering the unique facilities
that some of the traditional Indonesian performing arts require,
any architect of such a center should keep its requirements in
mind. A classical Javanese dance drama performed on a small stage
instead of in a pendopo (open hall), for example, would look
cramped.

It is a pity that more Indonesians have not had the
opportunity to watch the performances that are being presented by
some of the world's most renowned groups during the third Art
Summit. Perhaps next time a way can be found to somehow bring
those performances closer to the people at large. After all, the
underlying theme of the Art Summit is multiculturalism and it is
the masses of people who would benefit most from getting a chance
to be educated in this respect. Also, this would eliminate any
impression that the Art Summit, or the arts, is an elitist
affair.

It was the French existentialist novelist, essayist, dramatist
and philosopher, Albert Camus, who said that an artist could
either make a success or a failure out of his work. But if he can
tell himself that, finally, as a result of his long effort, he
has ceased or decreased the various forms of bondage weighing
upon men, then in a sense he is justified and, to some extent, he
can forgive himself.