VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Embassy to Australia in Canberra promoted contemporary batik through a workshop on 15 August 2022 to celebrate the 77th Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia. The activity was attended by school teachers in Canberra and the wives of ambassadors from various countries who are currently serving in Canberra. This is a written statement from the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra received by Antara in Jakarta on Monday.

According to the Education and Culture Attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, Mukhamad Najib, the aim of the workshop was to introduce one of Indonesia's world heritages, namely batik, to teachers and the world community in Canberra.

Knowledge of contemporary batik is taught in a batik workshop at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra through activities to draw batik motifs with a contemporary thematic approach, not sticking to the well-known standard of batik motifs, such as parang, kawung, and sogan.

A batik instructor from Yogyakarta, Dias Prabu said that his batik motif is very suitable for the spirit of independence because contemporary batik art is free from old patterns.

According to Dias, the designs developed in contemporary batik can come from Indonesian folklore and legends. All stories are presented in a contemporary way but still do not lose their Indonesian identity. Especially for Australia, the batik pattern produced carries the theme of the relationship between Australia and Indonesia.

The participants of this contemporary batik workshop followed several stages of the manufacturing process, namely from sketching, printing, coloring, shedding, to drying. The process that took three hours to complete was enough to produce a complete batik work. After that, participants could bring their own creations home. Each participant who attended the workshop received a set of tools and materials to make batik drawings. The tools provided are cloth, wax, canting, and fittings for sag.

Teachers at Canberra schools said they enjoyed participating in the workshops. They expressed their great admiration for the art of batik and felt lucky to be able to try firsthand how to draw batik.