Indonesian artists attend Cultural Olympiad in Athens

 

Indonesian National Olympic Committee (KNIOK) is sending a group of Indonesian artists and cultural observers to participate in Cultural Olympiad 2004 which will take place in Athens , Greece .

 

In conjunction with the Summer Olympic Games to be held in Greece , several cultural events such as: art performance, philosophy and cultural oration, will be staged.  Indonesia has accepted the invitation from International Cultural Olympiad Commission which is currently headed by Greece .

 

Through the cooperation of its Ministry of Culture and International Olympic Committee and UNESCO, Greece has been trying to strengthen once again the basic spirit of Olympiad as a cultural event. The reason is the fact that Olympic Games which take place nowadays are more focused on business and politics. “Whereas, Olympic Games used to be a cultural event that was giving an idea of a multicultural dialog, showing the creativity with a spirit of peace and social adhesiveness” said Taufik Rahzen, chairman and curator of KNIOK.

 

Sport Olympic Games that are organized only once every four years, should not relinquish its long history. Modern shape of Olympiad held today is a continuation of classical Olympiad which was organized for the first time in the city of Olympia , Greece , in the year 667 BC. Taufik added that Indonesia belongs to the group of countries that are actively involved in organizing the cultural event. Last December, Indonesian group already prepared the preliminary event in Athens .

 

Among Indonesian participants in Athens there will be wayang theatre group and performance, exhibition and cultural oration. The main point of Indonesian program will be wayang, because it has already been awarded by UNESCO, acknowledged to be The World Masterpiece Intangible Heritage of Morality for Humanity. Wayang art. can also be found in Greece , under the name Karagiosis. This way, the visit of wayang group can be at the same time a possibility of comparative studies. A twelve year old Indonesian artist, Ida Made Adnyana Gentorang, who is a narrator and puppeteer of traditional shadow play, will show wayang beber Sliksajati.

 

The art of performance will be presented by Art Studio “Maha Bajra Sandhi” from Denpasar lead by Mr. Ida Wayan Oka Granoka. This group has been chosen to represent Indonesia because of its radical experiments in trying to revitalize archaic script in everyday life.  Edward Hutabarat, a designer, also joins the Indonesian contingent to arrange costumes for artists. International renowned contemporary sculptor, Heri Dono, will present his multimedia installation project called Trojan Horse.

 

Among other artists and cultural observers there will be: Trisutji Kamal, Ary Sutedja-David, Luluk Purwanto, Nanang Hp, Garin Nugroho, Rama Surya, Seno Joko Suyono and Romo Mudji Sutrisno.