Arts News in Brief - Indonesia

PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION - The Future of The Past
National Museum, Jakarta :: 31 Aug - 14 Sept

From The Jakarta Post:

The Future of The Past, a photographic exhibition which compares images of Indonesia after its declaration of independence in 1945 to those of the present day, is currently on show at the National Museum. The festival comprises collections of pictures after 1945 taken by Dutch Cas Oorthuys and the Indonesian Mendur brothers along with new images from three young Indonesian and three young Dutch photographers.

The organizers have also scheduled screenings of two documentaries, Indonesia Calling!, a documentary about Sydney's port workers demonstrating in support of Indonesia's independence, which screens daily at 4pm, while Indonesia In Wording, a Dutch film, screens at 5pm.

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ANIMATION FILM FESTIVAL
Surabaya, Taman Budaya Jawa Timur :: 6-10 Sept
Yogyakarta, Taman Budaya Yogyakarta :: 25-28 Sept

From Antara:

Taman Budaya Jawa Timur will present a festival of animated films based on traditional stories. Legends likely to be depicted include Sawunggaling, Joko Tarub and Panji Semirang. The festival will also comprise a showcase of local animation, seminars, workshops and a performance of wayang cartoons. After the Surabaya event has concluded, the films will be shown in Yogyakarta.

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MUSEUM EXHIBITION - Shared Cultural Heritage
National Museum, Jakarta :: 18 Aug - 15 Nov

From The Jakarta Post:

Indonesian and Dutch museums have united their collections for an exhibition called Shared Cultural Heritage, with the artifacts on display hailing from the Indonesia's ancient kingdoms: Singosari, Majapahit, Gayo and Karangasem, to mention but a few.

Displaying 329 ethnographic and archeological artifacts, the three-month exhibition at the National Museum is a resourceful and extraordinary event. The rare and magnificent articles in the exhibition are from the National Museum of Indonesia and the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde in Leiden, the Netherlands.

For the event they have highlighted the collection from the Singosari kingdom, Malang, East Java. They decided to focus on Singosari because artifacts on display now are masterpieces of the period, the secondary peak in arts achievement after the Syailendra era in Central Java. The handiwork is refined, showing deft craftsmanship of the artists concerned. The statues are magnificent works of Javanese ancestors from the 13th century, showing the high cultural achievement of Indonesian ancestors.

Besides the Singosari collection, the front of the exhibition hall also houses a collection from the Trowulan site, Mojokerto, East Java, which is considered the center of the Majapahit Kingdom, as well as a collection from Borobudur Temple, Central Java.