Month-long Art Summit Indonesia opens
Month-long Art Summit Indonesia opens
JAKARTA (JP): The month-long Art Summit Indonesia II 1998
opened at Taman Ismail Marzuki Art Center last night.
The summit will feature 15 groups from eight countries: Alvin
Lucier and Jin Hi Kim of the U.S., Bremer Tanstheater of Germany,
Musicatreize of France, Theo Loevendle of the Netherlands, Diez-
Diez Danza SL of Spain, Tsuchitori Toshiyuki and Yukio Waguri of
Japan, Kaija Saariaho of Finland and, from Indonesia, Gusmiati
Suid, Rendra's Bengkel Teater, Tony Prabowo, Miroto, Suka
Hardjana and Teater Mandiri.
Opened by Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and
Poverty Eradication Haryono Suyono, the event will last until
Oct. 19.
Each group will perform in either Graha Bhakti Budaya at the
art center or Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, both in Central Jakarta,
for two consecutive nights.
Organized by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture,
the event is expected to be an international forum for artistic
and cultural discourse on contemporary art.
In light of the ongoing economic crisis, the event takes the
theme Enlightenment in the Crisis.
The first Art Summit Indonesia was held three years ago, also
in Jakarta, in commemoration of Indonesia's 50th Anniversary of
Independence.
Attending last night's opening ceremony were, among others,
Emil Salim, a former cabinet minister and chairman of the
steering committee for the first summit; Minister of Education
and Culture Juwono Sudarsono, foreign diplomatic corps and
prominent local artists.
Enlivening the ceremony was traditional Betawi tambourine
music rebana.
The opening performance was Api Dalam Sekam (Tinderbox) by the
Gumarang Sakti dance company led by noted choreographer Gusmiati
Suid. Inspired by the economic crisis, the contemporary dance
combined the dynamic pencak silat martial art with gentle
Javanese dance movements.
The event was open amid rumors that some local artists would
hold a demonstration because the summit is being held at a time
when Indonesia is sinking further into crisis.
"The summit is actually an important effort by the art
community to provide spiritual healing to the ailing society,"
said famous theater icon Putu Wijaya. (46)