Worldwide photo contest projected to boost Bali's image
Worldwide photo contest projected to boost Bali's image
JAKARTA (JP): The island of Bali offers a rich variety of art
and culture, a most fascinating tropical environment and a well-
preserved religious culture. These characteristics have been the
great attraction for tourists, both domestic and foreign, for
many years.
However, many riots, mainly the one in May 1998 in Jakarta, as
well as other disturbances in other regions, have led the flow of
tourists to Bali to sharply decline.
In order to recapture the interest of tourists, the Garuda
Wisnu Kencana Foundation -- a foundation that observes and
enhances regional culture -- in cooperation with the Ministry of
Tourism, Art and Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the
Bali regional government organized a photo competition about
Bali. The Bali International Photo Competition '99 ran between
Dec. 28, 1998 and Aug. 31, 1999.
"It was open to the public. Indonesians and foreigners who had
visited Bali opened their photo albums and looked at the
photographs they had taken of Bali," said executive chairman of
the competition Made Gunarta. "People who had not taken
photographs of Bali could go to the island to take photographs."
Domestic participants were allowed to send two to 10
photographs each and had to pay Rp 15,000 for each photograph,
while the rate for foreign participants was US$5. There were 804
entries for the competition: 654 from Indonesia from 14 regions
including Bali and 150 from 27 countries abroad. The number of
photos received was 3,564, 2749 of which were from Indonesia and
815 from abroad.
The council of adjudicators comprising local and international
photography experts and other professionals found that only 500
photos were eligible for reevaluation to find the best photos.
Edhi Setiawan of Sumenep, East Java, received the $10,000
first prize for his photo titled Exotic Bali Terrace Field. Anom
Manik A. of Denpasar, Bali, received the second prize of $7,500
for his photo titled Smile and Sandhi Irawan of Jakarta obtained
$5,000 for his photo titled Makepung (bull race). Fifty nominated
participants each received $500.
In his photograph Edhi Setiawan describes the beauty of Bali,
especially at Pupuan village, Tabanan, where paddy fields are
arranged neatly on hill slopes. The friendliness of the Balinese,
who always smile when welcoming tourists in Bali, is the object
of Anom Malik A.'s photographic work in which we see an old woman
in Serongga village, Gianyar, smiling broadly to tourists on
their way to a temple for prayers.
The island of Madura knows the karapan sapi (bull race), Bali
has its makepung, which is the subject of Sandhi Irawan's work,
which did not mention the location of the photograph. There were
many more photos about the nature, art and culture of Bali taken
by the participants. Six foreign participants from Italy, Japan,
Hong Kong and Malaysia were among the 50 nominees.
The 500 photographs, including those of the three winners and
the fifty nominees, are displayed at the Mandala Garuda Wisnu
Kencana exhibition hall in Jimbaran, Bali, from Dec. 16 to 31,
1999.
"The awards will be presented to the winners at the same place
on New Year's Eve to welcome the new millennium," said Made
Gunata. (PJ Leo)