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ight Balinese youths presented their respective creative works in front of dozens of spectators on Saturday night. Among them was Sakti Soediro who presented the creations of a disabled 13-year-old girl called Putu Restiti.

Restiti, who lives in Songan village, Kintamani, Bangli regency, could not come to the festival because she was sick. Sakti helped the girl present her work titled “Barbie dress from Songan Kintamani”, a series of miniature Balinese traditional dresses that she designed and made herself.

Restiti had dressed blonde-, brown- and black-haired dolls in various kebaya (Indonesian traditional formal dress) and traditional Balinese clothes. “These are the creations of Restiti. She made and designed all of these from her mother’s unused fabrics.”

Other youths also presented their creations, including Vifick, who showed off the creative work of the Kamera Lubang Jarum (pin-hole camera) community, and Pande Putu Setiawan presented the work of Komunitas Anak Alam (Natural Children’s Community). All presenters on the night were youngsters in line with the program’s theme of “Young Blood”.

Applause and cheers from the audience were heard incessantly during the almost-two-hour event as they voiced their appreciation for the works, ideas and social or entrepreneurial activities presented by the young people.

The session continued with a talk show presenting some creative artists from various cities nationwide, including Iwan Esjepe from Indonesia Bertindak, which campaigned for nationalism under the tagline “Indonesia Dangerously Beautiful”.

Communities of hobbyists, philanthropists and other creative workers gathered at the first-ever Bali Creative Festival (BCF) from Dec. 3 to 6 at Art Center, Denpasar, presenting their works and live shows outside the mainstream traditions of Bali.

BCF aimed to combine traditional arts and modern cultures, as well as the spirit of Bali’s young entrepreneurs.

“BCF is an event to showcase Balinese people who are creative, innovative and who contribute their social and environmental lives,” event coordinator Rudolf Dethu said, adding that Bali was able to develop creative industries as well as tourism.

At least 15 communities partook in the event, including the Lubang Jarum photography community, One Dollar for Music Community, the Grafitti community, the Indonesian Association of Graphic Design, the Cartoon Community, the Bali Export Development Organization and the Visual Artists Coalition.

Dozens of local bands also performed at the festival, including Balawan and Batuan Ethnic Fusion, Ayu Laksmi and Svara Semestha, and Navicula.