(2010-03-03)
US and RI dialogue through the arts

Excerpt from article by Sri Wahyuni , The Jakarta Post , Yogyakarta | Sat, 02/27/2010 | Lifestyle

Indonesia is a place where art and culture are central to people's life, says Philip Bither, the American curator of the Minneapolis-based Walker Art Center when recently visiting the archipelago.

Bither belonged to a group of 10 US influential performing art presenters who just concluded a nine-day tour across Indonesia on Sunday in Bali, opening up an opportunity for future cooperation between artists and performers of both countries.

Yes, the riches of Asia have not only captivated the attention of business-oriented communities, but also the minds of art professionals around the world, especially from the US.

"What we've aimed to do is shift our focus strictly from European and North American artwork to be more aware about contemporary ideas in other parts of the world," said Bither who oversees music and theater programming at the Walker.

Jointly organized by the New York-based Asia Society, the Boston-based New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) and the Jakarta-based Kelola Foundation, the program took the American art presenters to Jakarta, Surakarta in Central Java, Yogyakarta and Bali.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to understand Indonesian arts and culture at a deeper level," Rachel Cooper, Asia Society's director of cultural programs and performing arts, told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the group's two-day visit in Yogyakarta, last week.

She said the program was inline with the Asia Society's mission of increasing people's understanding of Asia, in this case Indonesia, and deepening the relationship between American and Indonesian people in particular and among other people from Asia.

"We have been involved in cultural exchange programs for more than 50 years. In particular with Indonesia, we have taken artists to the US for more than 30 years," Cooper said, also recipient of the Isadora Duncan award for the Festival of Indonesia, known as the KIAS festival, she helped organize in the late 1980s in the US.

"We consider this an important time for re-establishing relationships at the time of the new administration of President Barack Obama, who has shown interest in increasing compassion," she added.

Cooper also expressed hope that concrete projects involving artists and performers from both countries could develop in the future from the visit.

"We're really committed to ensure an equal partnership. We work closely with Kelola," she said.

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