Heritage pride: Viewers enjoy the decorative ambience during the Selisik Batik Pesisir exhibition at Bentara Budaya Jakarta.

There has been growing enthusiasm among Indonesians of all ages for batik in recent years.

A steady rise in enthusiasm for the traditional dyeing technique of batik began in 2009 when UNESCO declared it a world heritage.

Indonesians’ eagerness to wear batik following UNESCO’s decision was also triggered by nationalistic sentiment after neighboring country Malaysia claimed batik as its own. By intensely promoting and wearing batik, Indonesians have tried to take ownership of the dyeing technique.

Karsam was among batik experts who actively pushed for the inclusion of batik on UNESCO’s heritage list, which jump-started its popularity among contemporary Indonesians.

Born in Tuban, East Java, in 1968, Karsam grew up in a society that practically lived off the art of batik.

“Everyone around me knew how to create batik. All of my neighbors also produced and sold batik for a living,” Karsam told The Jakarta Post.

The intense interaction with batik artists in Tuban increased the love in his heart for the art. After earning a diploma in arts from the Teachers Training Institute (IKIP) in Malang, also in East Java, he went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree from the same institute, specializing in the art of batik.

“I decided to take a specialization in batik for my Bachelor’s degree because working to produce the cloth has always given me a unique and fun experience,” Karsam said.

Karsam then got a Master’s degree in wood sculpturing and completed his doctorate in batik in Malaysia. It was during this time in Malaysia that Karsam saw how Malaysians had more appreciation for batik than Indonesians.

“Before 2009, I could say that the batik industry in Indonesia was dying. It was like in a coma and there was not a lot of attention paid by Indonesians to their own traditional cloth,” Karsam said.

In the neighboring country, at that time, on the other hand, there was more commitment and interest toward batik, he said.

It was shown by the large number of schools and universities in Malaysia that had opened batik workshops, which were the perfect breeding ground for future batik artists. Meanwhile, educational institutions in Indonesia hardly included batik in their curriculum.

“After UNESCO included batik on its world’s heritage list, suddenly Indonesians began to show more appreciation. The batik industry experienced a massive boom. In Tuban, my hometown, all of the school kids now wear batik tulis as their uniforms,” he said.

The reawakening of the dying batik industry in Indonesia also received support from the government and banks following UNESCO’s inclusion.

Karsam - JP/Wendra Ajistyatama

Regional governments began to offer workshops on batik production for the public and banks showed their support by making it easier for batik producers and artists to attain loans for their businesses.

Despite the apparent boom in the Indonesian batik industry, Karsam stressed that there was still a lot of work that needed to be done.

On the production side, Karsam said there was an urgency for regeneration because those currently producing high-quality works were mostly old batik artists.

“People die and if we cannot breed new batik artists, then the art will vanish in the long run,” he said.

“To breed new batik artists, I think it is important for regional governments in batik- producing regions to include the art as part of the curriculum in public schools. At the very least, they should make it a regular extracurricular activity,” he added.

In terms of the public and consumers, Karsam said education on batik still needed improvement. He said there were still a lot of issues that needed to be addressed among the public and consumers.

For example, while the public and consumers have shown more enthusiasm, they still lack understanding that batik is more than just cloth. Someone who understood batik, Karsam said, would be able to regard it as a work of art of high value.

The lack of understanding, Karsam said, resulted in little awareness about the quality differences between printed batik and traditional batik, which is produced through the diligent work of an artist.

Customers often fool themselves by paying a lot more for printed batik than purchasing hand-drawn batik tulis, which has better quality and value.

“Customers must know that if they want to support the batik industry, they should purchase only high quality hand-drawn batik produced by real batik artists,” Karsam said.

“Therefore, I also suggest that we set some sort of standardization for batik prices based on their quality. This standardization should be set and regulated by the government so we no longer see sellers selling printed batik with outrageous price tags,” he said.

 — Photos by JP/Stevie Emilia