The Bali Arts Festival is a celebration of Balinese art, culture and cuisine and Sandiago Uno, the Tourism and Creative Economy Minister, hopes it will be a trigger to rekindle the island’s economy.
First held in 1979, the Bali Arts Festival (Pesta Kesenian Bali – PKB) is a month-long affair and Indonesia’s longest running arts festival which is open to performers from around the world. This year is the 44th running of the event.
According to Antara News, Sandiago Uno, who was present at the opening parade said, “this really drives the economy, reinvigorates and restores the tourism sector, especially the creative economy.” He went on to thank all those involved saying, “I am very proud, and hopefully, this can open up business opportunities and accelerate job employments which were contracted due to the pandemic.”
More than 16,000-artists and 200-creative studios, groups, and art communities are involved including participants from Yogyakarta, Papua, Lombok, Sumatra and Jakarta. This years’ festival is themed “Danu Kerthi: Huluning Amreta,” which translate to water as the source of life. The event is scheduled to close on July 26.
This year there are two other traditional art agendas running simultaneously; the Bali World Cultural Celebrations (BWCC), from June 12 to June 25, 2022, and the art appreciation event Jantra Tradisi Bali from June 20 June to July 26, 2022.
Source: Antara News
