Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika ensured that all products exhibited in the Bali Art Festival to be held between June 12 and July 10 would be “high quality locally made creations”.
“We will not allow imported products in the exhibition. All should be local products made in Bali because the exhibition should reflect our cultural landmark,” Pastika said while leading a meeting with the organizing committee to prepare the annual festival.
Pastika also stressed that all products should have higher quality than those sold in the regular markets.
“We don’t need to have many exhibition booths, but we ensure that only the excellent ones are allowed to join the exhibition,” he said.
Besides featuring more than 191 performances, the festival will also stage exhibit of various Balinese
artisans.
For 32 years, the art festival has been a cultural landmark for Bali, attracting both local and foreign artists and visitors. The island’s locals also revel in the festivities, which stages rare art performances from the country’s 33 provinces.
Performances by international artists also enrich the festival’s cross-cultural exposure. This year, seven countries including Sweden, Japan, the US, Singapore, Canada and India, will take part.
This year’s festival is themed Sudhamala, meaning “searching for pure conscience”, with the sub-theme Bhuanakerthi, or “purification of the universe”.
The event will be opened by a colorful and vibrant street procession involving hundreds of dancers and musicians, culminating in a ruwatan bumi or a ritual cleansing for the earth aimed at rebalancing human and natural elements, and their creator.
The festival, which will cost around Rp 5 billion, will also feature seminars and workshops on arts, dance, architecture and film.
To attract young and talented filmmakers, organizers will hold a documentary competition focusing on Bali’s social and cultural issues.
In the meeting, the governor also emphasized that security should be prioritized.
“The police and the community should work together to safeguard the festival. We don’t expect any disturbances,” the governor said, adding that festival visitors should be cautious of pickpockets.
Denpasar Police will deploy 200 officers at the opening ceremony.
During the festival, the police will deploy 30 officers to day events and 80 officers at night events.
Ida Bagus Sedhawa, head of the organizing committee said street vendors would not be allowed to be around the venue, unlike in the previous years.
“Based on our experience, street vendors caused inconvenience for visitors at the crowded venue,” Sedhawa said.
The month-long event will be opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on June 12.
Denpasar Police will deploy 200 officers at the opening ceremony.
