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Cultural fund to give Indonesian artists wings to fly
Budding artists may soon not have to encounter financial problems as the government is preparing an endowment fund to support artists and other cultural activists in producing their opus.
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Young musicians assist in the production of the second album of Dialita, a choir consisting of survivors of the 1965 tragedy in Indonesia. (JP/Rosa Panggabean)
D
hira Bongs, the stage name of West Java’s Bandung-based-singer-songwriter Nadhira Soraya Nasution, was elated in December upon hearing the news that she had obtained an opportunity to perform at the South by Southwest Conference and Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, United States.
“Unfortunately, the first thing to cross my mind was how I would pay for the trip to Austin. I was an independent artist with no record label supporting me financially at that time,” Dhira told The Jakarta Post.
For the SXSW trip, she would need to prepare Rp 300 million (US$21,431) for airplane tickets, visas and accommodation, among other things. She eventually obtained financial help for the trip from the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) and Siasat Partikelir—a creative collective that aims to present stories of youth movements and changes utilizing varied media platforms.
Despite the support, Dhira said she felt “exhausted” from having to face financial constraints for producing her works. She is also raising money for the production of her third album through crowdfunding site kolase.com.
Budding artists may soon not have to encounter similar problems as the government is preparing an endowment fund to support artists and other cultural activists in producing their opus.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo met with Indonesian musicians and celebrities at Bogor Palace on July 17. After the meeting, musician and producer Yovie Widianto told journalists that the country’s leader had conveyed his plan to disburse such funds “starting next year [to] bolster Indonesia’s creative [industry].”
According to the Education and Culture Ministry, the endowment fund will cover four areas, namely production and capacity building in the form of workshops or courses for artists, travel grants to participate in national and international events, as well as research and development.
