Journey on the Batik Road- Adiwastra Nusantara 2011

(Please click on images to enlarge)
   
Top: An outstanding Pekalongan batik (detail), which was part of a display of rare treasures from Hartono Sumarsono's batik collection (photo by Anne Burgess)

Bottom: Demonstrations and display courtesy of the Textile Museum of Jakarta (photo by Ian Reed)

Friday 17 June was significant as a result of our visit to Adiwastra Nusantara 2011 at the Jakarta Convention Centre.  This major textile exhibition in its fourth year was themed Wastra Adati which translates to traditional fabric.  Traditional fabrics are surviving against a flood of imports and as the chairman of the Indonesian Traditional Textile Society (Himpunan Wastraprema) Adiati Arifin said, "This proves people's appreciation of traditional fabrics is growing." (Jakarta Post 20/09/2011).  This year there were 400 participants celebrating their contribution to Indonesia's rich textile traditions.

We were fortunate to meet Benny Gratha while appreciating the displays and demonstrations presented by the Jakarta Textile Museum.  Benny is a volunteer at the Textile Museum and is very passionate about batik.  He shares his knowledge with much enthusiasm.

After discussing his role at the Textile Museum Benny guided us to the front section of the hall occupied by a breath-taking exhibition of works taken from Hartono Sumarsono's collection of Pesisir batiks.  The batiks were beautifully displayed and were accompanied by extensive information labels.  Benny introduced us to Hartono and we had an unique opportunity to discuss some of his treasures with him.

Thank you Benny for sharing your passion for batik with us and best wishes for your ongoing studies.

Also on display was a newly published book of Hartono's collection titled Batik Pesisir Pusaka Indonesia (ISBN: 978 - 979 - 91 - 0338 - 3).  This is a very fine text with excellent illustrations.  The author is Helen Ishwara.

In my previous Blog I wanted to also thank Mis Ari, S.Pd, the curator at the Jakarta Textile Museum.  We enjoyed discussing the exhibition with you and in particular, the various display techniques that were inventive and informative.