Wot practices art of bridge-building

Wot practices art of bridge-building

Cynthia Webb, Contributor, Brisbane, Australia

Wot Cross-Cultural Synergy is a cultural organization based in
Sydney, Australia, and formed with the intention of creatively
bridging the space between Australia and Indonesia to enhance
cultural understanding. The word wot means river crossing or
bamboo bridge in Javanese.

Wot was established ten years ago by two people who have built
a solid bridge between the two neighboring countries, as
demonstrated within their own family and by their way of life.

Suzan Piper of Sydney and her husband, Muhammad Djohansyah,
better known as Sawung Jabo, have been together for 25 years. The
couple relocated from Indonesia to Sydney at the end of 1992 with
their two children, Johan and Santi, now aged 23 and 18 years.

Piper, whose family moved to Australia from England when she
was still a teenager, is an accredited translator and interpreter
of Bahasa Indonesia, and she manages Wot's many activities, both
in Australia and Indonesia. She also works as an academic of
Indonesian Studies and runs their busy household. Piper describes
herself professionally as an "Indonesianist of 30-plus years'
experience of Indonesia".

Jabo, on the other hand, is an actor, choreographer, director,
singer, composer and arranger. Piper laughingly calls him "my
husband the rock star".

Yes, he's "the" Jabo of Swami, Sirkus Barock, Dalbo, Kantata,
GengGong -- the man who co-wrote the award-winning song Bongkar
and many others, including Hio, Dalbo, Cinta and Lingkaran Aku
Cinta Padamu, while collaborating with Iwan Fals. They earned a
place in history when their music served as anthems of change
during the period of growing unrest leading up to the massive
political changes of 1998.

Although the family home is in Sydney, Jabo is located in both
Indonesia and Australia, always busy with his continuing role in
Indonesia's contemporary artistic and creative life. Therefore,
the cultural bridge between the two countries plays a major part
in Wot's activities and in the life of this unique household.

Piper and Jabo aim to use their "bridge" for endeavors in the
arts, education, business and cultural exchange, and to
creatively build bilateral understanding.

Jabo explained: "A lot of people have tried to create bridges,
in their own ways. In both countries, ordinary people are busy
and do not have time to spend on learning about other cultures,
and therefore they are easily blinded by the mass media, and too
quick to react."

"Wot Cross-Cultural Synergy could perhaps be called just one
pillar on the big bridge of mutual relationship between two
countries. There is government, and there is the mass media and
other smaller groups, but Sue and I are from the arts field, and
we feel that the arts offer the most direct contact -- culture to
culture, person to person. A high standard of art and culture is
the vehicle which we use to introduce ourselves to Australians.

"People can feel it, not just read from the newspaper.
Experience is the most important thing. If any pocket money comes
from it, that's OK, but my priority is always culture, and the
mutual relationship. Not money, not profit." said Jabo.

Wot has produced many successful artistic events in Indonesia
and Australia since 1995, including theatrical performance tours,
concert tours and a film festival featuring the neighbor
country's films.

Sometimes, Wot acts as a Sydney-based tour producer of
Indonesian performers, such as Emha Ainun Nadjib and his group
Kyai Kanjeng, and the Panji Kirana East Javanese dance and
percussion group.

For concert or theater performers in either country, Wot acts
as both artistic director and producer, and shows often feature
traditional Indonesian performing arts rarely seen in Australia.
Wot also organized a 2002 tour of Indonesia by the acappella
group, From the Vacant Lot, from Sydney, while Jabo's Sydney-
based band GengGong have also toured in Indonesia several times.

Wot's most recent project, in September-October 2005, was a
four-city tour in eastern Australia by Indonesia's iconic poet
and playwright W.S. Rendra, along with his wife and fellow
theater worker Ken Zuraida, with Jabo providing musical
accompaniment to their readings of Rendra's poetry.

This project, too, involves bridges and connections. These
four have a long-standing friendship and professional
association: Jabo has been a member of Rendra's Bengkel Theatre
since 1977, where he still conducts workshops and is also musical
director, while Piper joined Bengkel around 1973. She performed
in two plays and also wrote a thesis on Rendra's plays.

"It is of particular importance to Wot to present Rendra in
Australia. He is a highly respected poet, dramatist and profound
thinker, who has much to say as a cultural and social
commentator, and can help spearhead better understanding between
our neighboring countries," noted Piper.

Piper and Jabo want the activities of their organization to
add to the depth of understanding between the cultures, and they
aim to show to Australians the depth of meaning, cultural
richness and complexity of Indonesian society. These are cultural
aspects to which it is difficult to gain access while on a short
holiday in the vast and varied archipelago, with its many
different ethnic groups.

"W.S. Rendra and Sawung Jabo have such stature that this
enables them to have the platform and opportunity to speak out on
cultural and social issues, and people will listen," said Piper,
speaking recently in Brisbane, Queensland, where Rendra delivered
his final poetry reading in Australia and a seminar.

Rendra, Jabo and Ken still had one event remaining in their
schedule before returning to Indonesia -- a drama workshop in
Sydney on Oct. 22. The tour also involved several public forums
in which Rendra shared his thoughts on intercultural perceptions,
Indonesia's future and the issues of cultural pluralism and peace
in the region we share.

Wot Cross-Cultural Synergy plan to continue their artistic
work in supporting and strengthening the bridge between Indonesia
and Australia.

"The door of possibility must always be open for people to get
together and learn. We must explore every possibility. We must
believe in the possibility. Every small step is valuable", said
Jabo.