T

he Central Sulawesi provincial administration will hold a culture and tourism week in Tojo Una-Una regency later this month with the aim of promoting undersea wealth of the Togean Islands.

Provincial Culture and Tourism Agency head Suaib Djafar said Tojo Una-Una regency had the Togean Islands, which were popular among European tourists visiting the region to enjoy the beauty of the undersea world.

“This accounts for why we deliberately took undersea life as the central theme for the cultural and tourism week,” Suaib told The Jakarta Post.

He said with the theme, the fine arts and performing arts presented at the week long festival to be held from July 17 to 23 would all be created by taking the undersea world as inspiration.

For literary works, for example, the inspiration could be myths or legends related to the undersea world. For dance works, inspiration could come from the movements of sea animals and biota.

“In the fine arts world, undersea colors and life are of wide inspiration for the creation of paintings, handicrafts made from seashells or other undersea objects and for installation works,” he said.

Suaib said this year’s festival was arranged in such a way as to showcase the region’s traditional artistic diversity, the development of performing and fine arts as a cultural education medium and educational workshops on related subjects.

“In short, the culture and tourism week is to be made more as a laboratory for local arts and culture,”
Suaib said.

Suaib added that the Tojo Una-Una culture and tourism week was held as part of the annual Togean Festival to honor the host regency as the cultural and tourism ambassador for the other regencies in Central Sulawesi.

To synergize the two events, both the provincial and regency Culture and Tourism Agencies will have shared programs and workshops to look for an agreed point regarding how the events would be held in terms of concepts and management.

Among the agreements include a tour to Togean held at the end of the week in Tojo Una-Una to witness the opening ceremony of the Togean Festival.

Other programs to be held during the festival include a parade, a painting exhibition, a handicrafts exhibition, dance performances and workshops on performing art and fine arts.