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.