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Futuristic Semar: Cast members of 'Mencari Semar' pose with director Rangga Riantiarno (top, third left), scenographer Deden Bulqini (top, fourth left), Bakti Budaya Djarum Foundation’s program manager Billy Gamaliel (top, center) and Teater Koma’s cofounder Ratna Riantiarno (top, fourth right) on July 31, 2025, after attending a press conference at Galeri Indonesia Kaya in Jakarta. JP/Sylviana Hamdani
Futuristic Semar: Cast members of 'Mencari Semar' pose with director Rangga Riantiarno (top, third left), scenographer Deden Bulqini (top, fourth left), Bakti Budaya Djarum Foundation’s program manager Billy Gamaliel (top, center) and Teater Koma’s cofounder Ratna Riantiarno (top, fourth right) on July 31, 2025, after attending a press conference at Galeri Indonesia Kaya in Jakarta. JP/Sylviana Hamdani
Art & Culture premium

‘Mencari Semar’: Teater Koma seeks ancient wisdom in the digital age

The play unfolds in the futuristic realm of the Nimacha Empire, where humans are gradually being overpowered by droids and robots.

4 days ago
Art & Culture premium

Artistic heritage meets modern beats at 2025 ‘Pagelaran Sabang Merauke’

Music director Elwin Hendrijanto says the show will fuse contemporary arrangements with traditional sounds like Kalimantan’s Karungut and the Batak song “Rambadia”.

6 days ago
Art & Culture premium

LIFEs 2025 explores national identity through art and literature

The Literature and Ideas Festival returns from Aug. 8-16 with "Menjadi Indonesia", featuring over 35 performers.

2 weeks ago

The Latest

Art & Culture

Struggling Cirque du Soleil returns to Mexico

Using face masks, sanitizing gel and social distancing, Cirque du Soleil artists in Mexico practice before a performance -- a rare sign of hope for the famous Canadian circus company.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Fashion and posters: Exhibitions go virtual amid pandemic

Art collective ecosystem Gudskul, like other arts foundations, has been deeply affected by the ongoing pandemic, forcing it to close its doors to visitors.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Erasmus Huis launches online arts and culture program

Launched as an alternative to its usual live performances and events, e-rasmus huis is the latest endeavor from Erasmus Huis, disseminating Dutch culture through a digital platform.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Visitors bypass Berlin museums despite star attractions

Berlin museums might house the iconic Nefertiti bust, the Ishtar gate of ancient Babylon or Rembrandt masterpieces, but they still trail global counterparts in popularity -- and the coronavirus is making things worse.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Larasati's live auction of artworks slated for late July

Larasati’s upcoming sale, Traditional, Modern and Contemporary Art, a live auction of artworks to be held in Jakarta on July 25 at 2:30 p.m., is available for inspection -- the preview online virtual exhibition is open July 16-25.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Minikino takes Youth Jury Camp online with YouTube webinars

The camp has gone online this year in light of the COVID-19 health protocols, and includes three public webinars on its YouTube channel.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Ancient Golan rock art sheds light on mysterious culture

The chance discovery of lines carved into the boulders of an ancient tomb in what is now the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights could offer new insight into an enigmatic culture that thrived thousands of years ago. 

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Hagia Sophia mosaics will be covered with curtains during prayers

Mosaics depicting Christian figures in Istanbul's ancient Hagia Sophia will be covered with curtains during Muslim prayers, as work to prepare the building for use as a mosque continues.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Thai metal workshop dazzles tourists with movie-inspired creations

Towering Transformers, life-sized Marvel superheroes and extraterrestrial lifeforms -- a "House of Steel Robots" in Thailand has made a name for itself by transforming scrap metal into dazzling sculptures inspired by Hollywood blockbusters.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Greek National Opera finds post-lockdown voice

The rich mezzo-soprano voice of Anita Rachvelishvili is scheduled to ring out on Saturday evening across the ancient ruins at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens. 

5 years ago
Art & Culture

It wasn't the sex: Bloodletting fatal for Raphael, study claims

A feverish Raphael suffering from "a coronavirus-like disease" died after failing to tell his doctors he had been secretly visiting lovers on freezing cold nights, leading them to wrongly prescribe bloodletting, a new study claims.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Dutch king may stop using carriage celebrating colonial past

Dutch King Willem-Alexander may stop using a ceremonial horse-drawn carriage with images celebrating the Netherlands' former rule over colonies, he said on Friday, following an upsurge in criticism of the "Golden Carriage".

5 years ago
Art & Culture

World's first e-pilgrimage at France's Lourdes shrine

France's Lourdes Roman Catholic shrine, on Thursday organised its first ever e-pilgrimage following the coronavirus crisis, drawing a virtual audience of 80 million from around the world.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Papuan artists raise their voices in virtual exhibition

A virtual exhibition by art group Udeido features 23 artists and spotlights racial injustice. 

5 years ago
Art & Culture

What does a geisha do with spare time? Read manga, play with cats

An iconic Japanese symbol, geisha are also dwindling, with women scared off by the rigors of training and traditional rules. 

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Cirque du Soleil accepts purchase offer from creditors

Canadian cultural icon Cirque du Soleil accepted a purchase offer from its creditors Thursday, which will serve as a minimum bid for an investors auction in August. 

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Floored by COVID-19, Cirque du Soleil eyes return to the high-wire

As the coronavirus pandemic ripped around the globe, Cirque du Soleil saw most of its operations grind to a halt in barely 48 hours.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

'Top Gun' helmet and 'Alien' spaceship in Hollywood props auction

Maverick's fighter jet helmet, Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber, Rocky's boxing gloves and an 11-foot "Alien" spaceship tipped to fetch half a million dollars will go up for auction in Los Angeles next month.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Banksy coronavirus graffiti removed from London train

British street artist Banksy's latest work, tackling the spread of coronavirus, that appeared inside a London Underground train carriage "some days ago" has been removed, according to transport operators.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Tintin and the mystery of the dueling mummies

The mummified corpse of Rascar Capac thrilled and terrified generations of young fans of the Tintin comic book story "The Seven Crystal Balls". Now, Herge's fictional Inca has sparked a row between rival Belgian tourist attractions, each of which displays a mummy they say inspired Tintin's creator.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Italy returns stolen Bataclan Banksy to France

Rome returned a stolen Banksy artwork to France on Tuesday after the famed street artist's homage to the victims of the 2015 Paris attacks was found in Italy.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Indonesia Comic Con 2020 postponed until next year

"We need time to prepare for the event to make it fun but at the same time also in line with the government’s COVID-19 protocols,” said ICC's project manager. 

5 years ago
Art & Culture

From chariot racing to opera: Verdi comes to Rome's Circus Maximus

Rome's Circus Maximus, once home to ancient chariot races, is preparing for a new season as an opera house as the coronavirus pandemic has forced organizers to seek huge venues that allow for social distancing.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Traveling coffee-cup memorial for Srebrenica's dead comes home

More than 8,000 traditional Bosnian coffee cups were installed as a memorial in the town of Srebrenica on Friday to mark the 25th anniversary of the massacre of Muslim men and boys by Serb forces near the end of Bosnia's war.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

'Sie Jin Kwie': Teater Koma revisits kindness, heroism in digital format

In lieu of a new stage production, Teater Koma has revived one of its most popular plays through a livestream "rerun".

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Turkey will cover Hagia Sophia mosaics during prayers: Ruling party spokesman

Mosaics in Istanbul's ancient Hagia Sophia will be covered by curtains or lasers during times of Muslim prayer, the spokesman for Turkey's ruling AK Party said on Monday, after President Tayyip Erdogan converted the museum into a mosque.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

National Ainu museum opens in Hokkaido after COVID delay

Japan's first national museum dedicated to the indigenous Ainu people of northern Japan opened Sunday after repeated delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Hagia Sophia the latest Muslim-Christian tussle over holy sites

Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia is to reopen for Muslim worship as a mosque after an almost nine-decade hiatus, in the latest historic tussle with Christianity over religious sites.The move adds to a long list of such conversions of holy sites over the centuries. The following are examples:   

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Mongolia holds traditional sports festival behind closed doors

Mongolia's annual Naadam sporting festival kicked off Saturday without a live audience for the first time in its 800-year history as COVID-19 fears gripped the Central Asian country.

5 years ago
Art & Culture

Pope joins criticism of Turkey turning Hagia Sophia into mosque

Pope Francis on Sunday joined an international chorus of condemnation of Turkey's decision to convert Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia landmark back into a mosque.

5 years ago