In evening of 20 June 1979, the
people of Denpasar and some other areas in Bali poured out onto the Puputan
Badung Square on Surapati Street to witness the first ever Bali Art Festival
Even though they often had performance of art at the temple or at the banjar
(traditional meeting place), the Bali Art Festival attracted a lot of attention
from the local people who were interested enough to travel long distances to
witness the event. Art performances of the eight regencies were presented at
the procession of the Bali Art Festival and thus opened the eyes of the
Balinese upon the rich collection of art and culture of the island.
The variety of Balinese art and
culture had motivated Professor Dr Ida Bagus Mantra, who was the ruling governor
of Bali to put them together in one stage
performance. The exploration and the preservation of art and culture potentials
in Bali were propagated by Ida Bagus Mantra
while he was still Director General of Culture. Ideas to collect the variety of
Balinese arts and culture had already been proposed when the provincial
government built the Werdhi Budaya (Art
Center) in Abian Kapas
village in Denpasar.
The choice of location for the
Taman Budaya at the cold suburban area of Denpasar and the building construction
displays structural steps of exploring, preserving and developing the arts.
Building for permanent exhibition, periodical exhibitions, stage performances,
and the Ardha Candra open stage are built to cater for the activities of
Balinese artist, to explore, to display, and to develop the various arts. The
establishment of STSI (the Institute
of Indonesian Arts) on
the north side of the Taman Budaya further strengthens the concept of whole
preservation of Balinese arts.
The construction of the Taman Budaya
and the organization of the Bali Art Festival really support each other. Year
after year, the Bali Art Festival takes place at the Taman Budaya, encouraging
the great flow of people to witness the presentation of traditional and
creative performances by local artists. Many kinds of performances, which are
rarely brought to stage, then have opportunity to be presented the Bali Art
Festival each year. In addition to performances of dance and music, which are
the highlights of the festival, classical literature reading, the fine arts,
handicraft, and also creative and contemporary art work fill up the month-long
event.
As a result, the Bali Art
Festival does not only take part in the preservation of traditional Balinese
arts, but it is also an event for tourism. The mid-year festival, which takes
place between June and July, is a good time for presenting the arts on a
large-scale performance as a tourist attraction. To organize the event in
conjunction with the school holidays, and the peak season for tourism, Bali Art
Festival is always flocked with visitors.
Until 2015, the Bali Art Festival
celebrated the 27th year of its organization. Children, who were
used to be held in their mothers’ arms in the first five years of Bali Art
Festival, then took part in as artists in the event, being seen by generation
of 2000. It seems that the Bali Art Festival as an event for introducing and
passing on the arts has become a medium of constant creativity for the
Balinese.
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