New website puts richness of Indonesian art online
New website puts richness of Indonesian art online
JAKARTA (JP): Click www.IndonesianArt.net, and enter into a
never-ending exploration of the virtual world of Indonesian arts
and culture.
The newly established website, scheduled to start its official
debut operation next November, promises to enable ardent art
lovers, students and Internet users to gain an abundance of
information on Indonesian traditional to contemporary music, fine
arts, theater, dance, architecture, literature and fashion.
The site, operated by PT Multimedia Global Senindo, is also
aimed at promoting Indonesian arts internationally.
The company's executive director, Dwiki Dharmawan, said it was
the sole site providing comprehensive information on the entire
field of Indonesian arts and culture. It is presented in news
form, features, telecasts and encyclopedia formats, as well as
interactive lectures and workshops.
"There are some websites already focusing on fashion, arts and
the like but they only concentrate on one or two art subjects. We
are different, as ours contains all fields in the arts," said
Dwiki, a jazz musician from Krakatau Band.
Dwiki used the music domain as an example, saying it would
lead to information on various genres, from traditional to
contemporary.
Want to know more about Javanese gamelan? Just click gamelan
and, accompanied by the strains of gamelan music, you will be
able to read about the orchestra, its sociocultural background in
Javanese society and also learn about how the instruments are
played.
If your interest runs to finding out about jazz music in
Indonesia, browse through jazz. You will be able to access a list
of jazz bands, musicians and their albums, plus web broadcasts of
top performances.
"Some live concerts of Indonesian jazz musicians can also be
viewed on our website," said Dwiki.
Or do you want to take in a museum or two? Museum will give
you a tour of the collections in the capital's museum row.
Unfortunately, a subscription is needed for a deeper cultural
exploration.
Technical director Jeffrey Suryadinata said one of the
company's objectives was to get Indonesian artists to use the
Internet and other high-tech communications.
"Only a few local artists realize the importance of going
online. Most foreign artists now have established their own home
pages for promotional efforts and other purposes," said Jeffrey.
The company, he said, can either help local artists in
establishing their homepages or ask them to give the latest
information to IndonesianArt.net.
"We want to build cross-border communications between local
and international art communities," said Jeffrey.
To provide comprehensive information on all aspects of
Indonesian art and culture, the company plans to set up
cooperation with the academic world, art institutions and other
related organizations.
It will soon cooperate with the Jakarta Arts Institute, the
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in Bandung, West Java, and
ISI Yogyakarta Arts Institute to develop virtual lectures and
online study course.
"This may sound like an ambitious project," acknowledged
Jeffrey.
To realize the project, the company has made an investment of
about US$7 million and plans to secure additional funds for
expansion.
The website can be accessed through networks in 11 cities,
including Jakarta, Denpasar (Bali), Surabaya (East Java),
Semarang (Central Java), Yogyakarta, Bandung, Batam, Medan (North
Sumatra), Makassar (South Sulawesi) and Balikpapan (East
Kalimantan).
"Our website is mostly designed for serious art lovers. You
won't find gossip about celebrities here... sorry," said Dwiki.
(raw)