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iving up to its original goal of exploring and developing the potentials in homegrown artists, the Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ) adds magnitude by showcasing their works.

The first IKJ International Festival that kicked off on Tuesday involved all art schools within the institute as well as the post-graduate school, with foreign artists and experts invited with commissioned works or as speakers in arts discussions.

The biennial International Dance Festival (IDF), a flag-bearing event of the IKJ of its 44 years of existence, opened the week-long festival by presenting a commissioned work of dance maestro Retno Maruti in collaboration with visual artist Nindityo Adipurnomo.

Renowned dancer Rianto Manali and Eko Supriyanto performed on Wednesday, alongside Singaporean Choy Ka Fai and Katia Engel from Germany collaborating with Benny Krisnawardi.

China'€™s most happening performers, Tao Ye and TAO Dance Theater, would grace the stage of Jakarta Playhouse on Friday, while rising dance choreographers Otniel Tasman, Hari Ghulur and Asri Meri Sidowati would showcase their latest work on Thursday.

The commissioned work of Belgian Arco Renz of Kobaltworks and Ali Sukri of ISI Padangpanjang was slated to close the dance festival on Nov. 8.

A dance workshop for mothers and their children, hosted by the alumni of the IKJ dance school, would be the new highlight of the event with the festival bringing art to homes.

'€œIn line with this year'€™s theme of '€˜Expand'€™, we have more artists to perform in the festival, the first ever for some of them. At least 12 observers of international festivals have confirmed their attendance at IDF,'€ said IDF executive director Maria Darmaningsih.

Simultaneously, the Film and Faculty School of the IKJ in cooperation with arts and film schools overseas presented the Student Film Festival. A lineup of 40 films of three categories '€” feature/short movies, documentary and animation '€” would be screened during the festival.

'€œIn four months of preparation, we have received 94 films. If not because of the deadline, we would have actually received some 300 entries. We would not only screen interesting, alternative movies but also give a chance for students to have a discussion with the filmmakers,'€ said film festival director Bambang Supriadi.

Keeping up with today'€™s world issue, the fine arts school and the postgraduate department will hold an international seminar on Visual Culture and Urban Life on Friday, focusing on the art of communication and its technology that is slowly replacing verbal language.

In the event, which is scheduled to be opened by Jakarta Art and Culture Foundation director Slamet Rahardjo Djarot, IKJ rector Wagiono Sunarto and author Seno Gumira Ajidarma would be among the speakers.

Parisian artists Jean Delsaux and Pascale Weber, Julian Goddard from Curtin University, Australia, and Park Han-him from Keimyung University, South Korea, would present local cases and new perspective in visual cultures.

Weber and Delsaux would later perform on-site performance around the bayan tree of the open theater plaza at Taman Ismail Marzuki art center in Cikini, Central Jakarta.

A workshop on scenography would be held at the performing arts campus inside the TIM complex in cooperation with HKU-School of Arts Utrecht, the Netherlands.

'€œThe festival will be an open link for Indonesian artists to the world stage,'€ said IKJ vice rector Melina Surya Dewi, who chairs the committee of IKJ International Festival.

For further details, log on exploreikj.ac.id, xvicture.wordpress.com and indonesiandancefest.org