Yogya hosts world-scale batik festival

Yogya hosts world-scale batik festival

By Sri Wahyuni

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Known for centuries as one of Indonesia's
batik centers, Yogyakarta is to host an international-scale batik
festival from Sept. 7 through Sept. 11.

The five-day event, titled the Yogyakarta Batik Festival,
will include a series of programs such as a batik competition on
Yogyakarta styles and motifs, seminars, fashion shows,
exhibitions on modern and antique batik, workshops and other
activities.

Ardiyanto Pranata, chairman of the organizing committee,
lamented that the idea of holding the festival was inspired by a
similar event held in Central Kalimantan some two years ago.

It was a festival of tenun ikat (traditional woven cloth) of
local ethnic Dayaks. "The event, as I saw it, was effective for
improving the image of tenun ikat in the local and international
market," he said.

Ardiyanto said the Yogyakarta Batik Festival had a similar
purpose of promoting Yogyakarta batik and to increase people's
appreciation of batik from the region.

He said the impact of the promotion of the Yogyakarta Batik
Festival was already seeing results.

"The sale of Yogyakarta batik in my gallery has increased 30
percent in the last two months."

The theme of promoting Yogyakarta batik was deliberately
chosen because the motifs are less developed and modified
compared to others outside Yogyakarta.

"It is probably because of the complexity of the Yogyakarta
design and the difficulty in creating the batik," said Ardiyanto.

Consisting mainly of geometrical patterns, he said Yogyakarta
motifs required batik artisans with high skills, precision,
especially in attaching (drawing) the melting wax to the cloth in
the process of making the batik motifs.

"Otherwise, the patterns will not have precise geometrical
shapes," he said.

Another characteristic of Yogyakarta motifs is their natural
colors of mostly blue and soga brown. The patterns only expose
parts of the body of living creatures, for example a bird's
wings, in the design.

Ardiyanto maintained Yogyakarta designs were less developed
compared to the coastal batik of Pekalongan's bold and colorful
designs.

"Since President Abdurrahman Wahid, or Gus Dur, started
wearing Yogyakarta batik, the motifs have been getting more
popular," he said.

One of the most important activities during the festival is
the batik competition, aiming at searching for fresh ideas in
Yogyakarta batik design.

The competition, the first of its kind, is expected to present
at least 60 new Yogyakarta batik designs from local and foreign
participants.

Ardiyanto added said that so far the committee had received 45
entries. To accommodate more designers in the festival, the
committee allowed them to submit their works by Sept. 2 at the
latest.

"Most of the entrants came from Yogyakarta, Sidoarjo (East
Java), Pekalongan (Central Java), Jakarta and one from Japan, "
explained Ardiyanto, who himself is a famous batik designer and
an ardent art collector.

The judging panel will comprise 20 local and foreign jurors,
from the United States, Belgium, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands
and Australia.

The competition was limited to only create batik in Yogyakarta
styles and motifs painted on silk materials using natural dye
processing.

Each participant is allowed to submit one or more sets of
batik comprising a 2.5-meter-long silk batik cloth and a
selendang (shawl) in various sizes and forms.

All the submitted works will be evaluated by the jurors on
Sept. 8 and presented by 15 models in a special fashion show on
Sept. 10.

Winners of the competition will be divided into three
categories: the Yogyakarta Motif 2000 category, Natural Dyeing
Technology category and the Aesthetic category.

Winner of the first category will get Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's Award, the second category winner will receive
the First Lady Sinta Nuriyah's Award, and winner of the third
category will get the Governor of Yogyakarta Sri Sultan Hamengku
Buwono X's Award.

Two additional awards will be given to winners of the best
designs chosen by GKR Hemas, wife of Yogyakarta's Sri Sultan and
the people's choice award.

"We will distribute forms for people to choose their own
favorite batik during the fashion show," Ardiyanto explained.

The organizing committee has also prepared some supporting
programs for the festival, including a seminar titled The
Development of Batik on the International Market, an exhibition
of Yogyakarta's old batik motifs, a silk batik expo, natural dye
processing, a batik bazaar, an exhibition of sidewalk batik
patterns and a workshop on natural dyeing.

"We have also invited batik expert L. Kaye Crippen from
Indiana, the United States, to talk about modern batik designs
and marketing considerations for the international market at the
seminar," said Ardiyanto, adding that a number of foreign batik
lovers would also attend the seminar.

The exhibition of antique batik will present some 100 rare
items belonging to some 20 collectors and institutions, including
the Sonobudoyo Museum, Batik Museum of Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta
Palace and relatives of the palace's family.

The silk batik exhibition will display some 50 batik pieces
owned by 10 collectors.

In addition to these activities, the Yogyakarta provincial
administration will introduce a new project on a 20-square meter
sidewalk adorned with batik motifs in front of the Nature Garuda
Hotel on Jl. Malioboro.

The project is part of the government's long-term program to
rejuvenate Jl. Malioboro with batik designs as one of the city's
popular tourist destinations.

"We feel honored that local government has agreed to introduce
the program during the festival. The government has also called
on local people to wear batik during the five-day festival," said
Ardiyanto.

The festival is jointly organized by the Yogyakarta Cultural
Office and the Association of Indonesian Batik Lovers Sekar Jagad
of Yogyakarta.