Australia and Indonesia Launch Collaborative Arts Management Resources

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer will today join the Kelola Foundation in launching three important arts management resources for Indonesia’s arts communities at an event to be held at the Jakarta Art District in Grand Indonesia, Jakarta. University of Melbourne’s Asialink has been working closely with its Indonesian partner the Kelola Foundation and a number of Australian arts institutions and the University of Technology Sydney to produce these significant and culturally appropriate arts management booklets in Indonesian.

The three booklets which cover Exhibition Touring; Festival and Event Management; and Community Cultural Development aim to fill gaps in information and build on existing local expertise on the subjects.

“These cross-cultural booklets, produced and translated into Indonesian with support from the Ford Foundation Jakarta, will be available directly from the Kelola Foundation and distributed to a number of arts-related and relevant tertiary institutions in Indonesia”, said Amna S Kusumo, Director of the Kelola Foundation in Jakarta. The Kelola Foundation has been supporting the Indonesian arts community by providing access to learning opportunities, funding, and information since 1999.

This joint effort builds on the already close relationship Australia shares with the Kelola Foundation which has included hosting of a number of Australian artists in residence and support for bilateral exchanges over the years.

“Artistic collaboration and cultural exchanges are an important part of the relationship between Indonesia and Australia. This latest collaboration will promote the professional development of Indonesian arts managers as well as cultural exchange initiatives,” Australian Ambassador Bill Farmer said.

Every year Asialink aims to promote mutual understanding in the Asian region by supporting about 40 Australian arts professionals to live and work in Asia through their Asialink Arts Residency Program. These artists include writers, performers, arts managers and artists.

Asialink’s 2010 Arts Residency Program based in Indonesia will have Australian artists living in Bali, Makassar and Yogyakarta. Their residency programs will include writing and poetry exchanges at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival; research into contemporary Indonesian portraiture; instrument building workshops; puppetry collaborations; and research into the street culture of Yogyakarta.

Media Enquiries:
Sanchi Davis, Cultural Attaché tel. (021) 2550 5260 mob. 0811 936 302