World-class entertainment coming to Cities of Heroes

By Sirikit Syah

SURABAYA (JP): People in Surabaya will experience a slice of cultural life in October. World-class performances will be staged and quality films will be shown to entertain audiences, whose cultural entertainment needs have been neglected.

The British Council, in celebration of its 50th anniversary in Indonesia, will hold a British Film Festival featuring 12 films, from a classic rendition of Hamlet to the recent award winning Secrets And Lies. A French film festival, organized by the French institute Center for Cooperation of Culture and Language (CCCL), will also take place in October.

The British Council will present Claire Martin, a jazz quintet, on Oct. 24. Jazz is the perfect choice for Surabaya, where good performances are rare despite there being many jazz lovers here. Another jazz concert, by Portal, Sclavis, Humar and Chevillon, is scheduled to take place in November under the sponsorship of CCCL.

A combination of Sundanese music and French music, organized by CCCL, will be performed on Oct. 29.

Still in October, a joint foundation of Indonesia and the Netherlands in the field of culture and education, YPKIB, will present a solo cabaret.

One might wonder if Surabaya is a city of art and culture. As a matter of fact, art and culture does not really count here. The city's motto is Indamardi, which stands for Industri, Dagang, Maritim dan Pendidikan (Industry, Trade, Maritime and Education). This industrial city does not have an adequate theater for performing arts, a gallery for art exhibitions, or an auditorium for concerts.

The city does have the East Java Cultural Center, where cultural activities, painting exhibitions and workshops are held from time to time. But the infrastructure does not meet the standard for quality art and cultural activities. The cultural center's management tends to be more concerned with preserving traditional cultures than exploring experimental and contemporary arts. The highlight of this place happens once a year, when a traditional dance or/and music festival is presented.

Most international artists perform at hotels, which have better facilities, while local artists prefer to exhibit their works at CCCL or have their outdoor performance at Balai Pemuda Surabaya. Campus auditoriums are the other option.

Phillip Rees, an English language trainer and consultant who loves to see wayang orang (Javanese play), complains about the lack of cultural performances. He had lived in Jakarta for six years and used to enjoy a rather lively life. He misses Wayang Orang Bharata, which regularly performs at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, and other cultural events in Jakarta.

"Jakarta is not like any European city where culture is a part of our way of life. But still, it is far better than Surabaya." Phillip is almost bored of living in Surabaya but he survives with the help of laser discs and magazines sent from his home country.

Dimitry Ovtchinnikoff, director of CCCL, said that Surabaya is culturally not interesting. "It is a pity, how a city of five millions people doesn't have a theater or an art gallery."

Well, there was the Surabaya Art Council Gallery but the site has been used by the local house of representatives.

It can be said that CCCL is the only place in town which has sufficient facilities and atmosphere for art and cultural activities. It holds exhibitions regularly, especially those of art students. "We provide the facilities, with no charge. We just ask the artist to donate one piece of their work for our collection," said Dimitry.

Promoting French and Indonesian culture is a part of CCCL's mission, besides running language training and acting as a consulate agency. But when it comes to quality performance, Dimitry said, it is hardly possible because there is no standard of technology and professionalism required to do such things in Surabaya.

He also complained about the arduous censorship and bureaucracy. "There are so many permits required by different government institutions for a cultural performance," Dimitry said.

Funding is another problem. Businesspeople are not attracted to sponsoring a cultural activity and the tickets are not for sale because the performances are free for the public. So, even though artists are usually paid by their own government, the organizer still has to spend money for, among others, invitations and advertising.

A German professor who has been teaching in Surabaya for years expressed regret that cultural events happen very rarely, and without adequate publicity.

In fact, the lack of publicity and promotion seems to be the weakness of any cultural organizer in Surabaya. There might be several happenings in a month but there is no adequate information available for the public. Mostly, audiences are made up of just the relatives or friends of the performers themselves. There are no leaflets, newsletters or any kind of simple periodical published for a cultural agenda.

Besides CCCL, the British Council seems to be the most active foreign office here. Every Saturday, it presents a British film at its center. It also has a library and has a management club. Founded in 1994, in cooperation with the Surabaya Institute of Technology, the center frequently holds seminars or workshops on language and management training.

According to its director, Soeatmadji, YPKIB was founded in 1995 to encourage more Indonesians to speak Dutch. Now, from time to time, it also holds cultural programs, such as musical performances, cabaret and even workshops with the musicians.

In 1997, the United States Information Service in Medan and Surabaya, along with many others throughout the world, were closed following the U.S.'s budgeting problem.

Both the Goethe Institut and an Indonesia-America friendship organization (PPIA), used to give great attention to cultural activities. But they have become concerned mainly with teaching language. Only occasionally do they have a cultural program.

In the past, PPIA could be said to be the most active foreign office in terms of cultural activities. Since last year, it doesn't even have a cultural director any more.