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Kestity Pringgoharjono: A role model for arts patrons
KESTITY PRINGGOHARJONO (JP/Helly Minarti) Despite the economic rises of China and India, and the countries' contributions to global culture, Indonesia has been unable to make its mark on the world scene despite its potential to be an arts and cultural force overseas
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KESTITY PRINGGOHARJONO (JP/Helly Minarti)
Despite the economic rises of China and India, and the countries' contributions to global culture, Indonesia has been unable to make its mark on the world scene despite its potential to be an arts and cultural force overseas.
In the past decade, flashing headlines in the international media have predominantly centered on riots, political instability, economic crises or natural disasters.
So an effort to set up a non-profit organization, Preserve Indonesia, to promote Indonesia's rich culture abroad by Kestity Pringgohardjo has come at the right time.
"It's still a very young and a very small organization," said the 34-year-old Kesty, as she is popularly known.
She was busily co-organizing "Connecting Cultures: Indonesia Inspired", at the Asia House, London, last October. The event marked the first festival on Indonesian cultures in London for many years.
The event presented a series of weekly lectures by Indonesian experts on specific aspects of contemporary life in Indonesia. The experts included culinary wizard William Wongso, Nan T. Achnas, who spoke on film, Soedarmadji JH Damais, who spoke on furniture design, and fashion expert Josephine "Obin" Komara.
"It's a 15-month labor of love," said Kesty, who worked together with the Asia House in arranging the event.
Once trained and employed as a banker, Kesty had to move to Singapore with her husband and two children in 2000.
In the city-state, her love for arts and culture gathered momentum as Singapore began to develop its arts infrastructure, including many museums and arts centers.
In 2006, she launched Serat Centhini: A Javanese View on Journey Through Life at the Asia House where she got acquainted with Betty Yao, the program director.
By then, Asia House -- a non-profit organization aimed at promoting Asian cultures -- had begun annually holding a program under the umbrella title "Connecting Cultures", which every year features the culture of one of the 35 countries connected to the program.
After Singapore and Malaysia had been featured, Indonesia seemed the next logical choice.
Working side by side with the Asia House, Kesty co-designed the whole program and approached potential partners, including the Indonesian Embassy and several companies from both British and Indonesian sides.
The result was a compact and refreshing introduction of Indonesia's cultures, with a focus on their contemporary forms, such as culinary, film and furniture and fashion design.
Well respected in each field, the four speakers reflected on Indonesia's traditions and history as an introduction to what was on display.
Side events included an Indonesian food festival in a five-star hotel in London -- the first of its kind -- that lasted for about 10 days.
The four lectures were well-received, each drawing attention from Londoners from various walks of life.
The so-called Indonesian/Asian aficionados thronged the talk, each followed by a buffet featuring Indonesian cuisine. Curators of Asian art museums stopped by, came by, presumably to sample some new ideas.
Kesty was born to Minangkabau-Javanese parents, and is the eldest of three siblings.
"My father, a Javanese, loves to collect antiques and since my Minang mother is a more practical person, I was the one who ended up accompanying him to the antique markets in Jalan Surabaya (in South Jakarta)," she said.
She happened to enjoy looking at various old-arty objects, although it would be years later that her curiosity bloomed into an infatuation for issues of cultural heritage.
"I was taken to see museums in Jakarta and when we traveled abroad for holiday," she recalled, trying to retrace the origin of her now growing interest in anything cultural.
Kesty later pursued economics at the University of Indonesia and the University of Mc Quirie in Australia, and began working as a banker.
After working for some years in banking, her family -- her husband and two children -- moved to Singapore in 2000.
"I decided to quit from banking, and started getting involved in volunteering at museums, teaching," she added.
There, she built her network of arts and culture contacts and conceived the idea of publishing Serat Centhini: A Javanese View on the Journey Through Life, originally an ancient Javanese text on the philosophy of living, a quite long and complex text.
Kesty was first enchanted by not only its story, but the fact that it was set in real places.
"It is so different compared to other ancient stories such as Mahabharata that I love reading too, (but) which you know the places referred to are either legend or imaginary.
"In Serat Centhini, the places are more familiar to the readers because they exist."
The book is famous for its great length and exquisite literary style. Kesty made it her mission to publish an English language version.
After consulting some experts, she tracked down the late Soewito Santoso, a retired Javanese literature scholar who then lived in Australia, to translate the work. Already in his 80s, he jumped at the proposal, saying he had been waiting for the opportunity for almost a lifetime.
Kesty also commissioned photographer Fendi Siregar to revisit the locations mentioned in the book. Before the book's completion, she and her family moved to London where she decided to launch the book.
After four years of living in London, her husband was transferred to Seoul, South Korea, last January.
Hence, for "Connecting Cultures: Indonesia Inspired", Kesty had to stay in London for the whole month of October to co-organize the event.
"I did not know that I was going to move to Seoul when we were planning the event. So I just had to stay committed to the agreed schedule."
She now prints two addresses -- one in Jakarta and another in Seoul -- on her Preserve Indonesia name card.
"Again, we're such a young organization, with such limited resources," she humbly said.
Despite the restrictions, Kesty has already embarked n a new project with Preserve Indonesia to build a big museum in London.
"I can't talk about the project as yet, but hopefully it will materialize by next year. A surprise," she added with delight.
The day after the last evening of the "Indonesia Inspired" event, she attended a long meeting before leaving for Seoul in the late evening.
"I need to see my two children, otherwise they will forget what their mom looks like," she quipped teasingly.
If only Indonesia had more arts patrons like her -- young, professional, passionate and hands-on -- we might be able to capitalize more on our rich heritage.
But it should not be in a superficial way -- by simply translating it into an increased number of tourist arrivals, without any regard to a deeper understanding of how to project Indonesia abroad as a cultural brand.
