Yogyakarta considers year-long arts festival

Yogyakarta considers year-long arts festival

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta is considering holding a year-long arts festival to
widen the participation of local artists and entertainers, in a
plan that would replace the annual month-long Yogyakarta Arts
Festival (FKY).

The quality of the performances at the FKY have been
criticized. And local artists who jostle for an opportunity to
take part have often been brushed aside due to limited space and
time available.

Chairman of this year's FKY organizing committee, Bambang
Paningron suggested on Wednesday replacing the annual festival
with one that would last an entire year.

He said the idea emerged after a recent meeting between the
committee and the Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.

"I had this feeling that the sultan wanted to turn this year's
FKY into an embryo to kick start a year-long arts festival," he
told participants in a discussion entitled "Criticizing the 2003
FKY".

He said that if the sultan's idea could be realized, it would
mark a breakthrough for the city in hosting a unique arts
festival. Each month the theme of the festival would change to
allow a wide variety of artists and entertainers to take part.

Renowned for its rich culture, Yogyakarta is also a major
tourist destination, drawing domestic and foreign tourists who
travel through the Java island on the way to Bali.

But details of the plan remained sketchy, Paningron added.
Questions on whether the year-long festival would continue each
year or be held on specific years only, and how to finance such
an undertaking could not be answered.

The FKY has been held every year since 1989. But over the
recent years, the festival has been criticized.

Critics at the discussion pointed to the preparations for the
annual event, which they said lacked concept and were often
poorly executed.

"At one a time an FKY organizing committee was set up just one
and a half months ahead of the festival's opening," Paningron
said.

"How can you expect something of quality, given such
circumstances?" he asked.

To improve this year's festival and upcoming ones, he said the
committee planned to standardize the preparations.

He said the organizing committee should be a fixed one whose
main task would be to prepare a long term concept for the
festival and secure the funds for future events.

"Now the provincial government allocates only Rp 200 million
(about US$22,900) for the event. Ideally a month-long festival
like this should have a budget of Rp 500 billion. This will be
the task of the permanent committee," Paningron said.