Eastern Indonesia - Northern Territory Partnership
The first stage of Asialink Arts' pilot Eastern Indonesia - Northern Territory Partnership took place in early 2007, with promising results. Building on the successes of the Northern Territory's Indigenous arts sector, the program brought together arts practitioners working with and in remote communities to develop strategies to encourage the transmission of traditional culture to future generations. The program encompassed a variety of culturally significant art forms that inform and complement the broader cultural systems of the two regions.
Through this program our aim has been to foster the creation of regional, national and international networks and markets that will provide long-term support for the communities involved and promote confidence and pride in their artistic traditions.
This Asialink project is part of the Eastern Indonesia-Northern Territory Partnership Program, funded by the Ford Foundation, Jakarta and Arts NT, and produced in partnership with Yayasan Kelola, Nomad Art Productions, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Charles Darwin University, Yilila, Red Flag Dancers, and supported by the Consulate of the Republic of Indonesia, Darwin.
Three projects form the core of this partnership:
- Arts Management Internship Program
- Visual Arts Project
- Performing Arts Project
Performing Arts Project: Tanah Merege
One component of Asialink Arts' pilot Eastern Indonesia - Northern Territory Partnership has been a performing arts project which saw Tony Gray (producer and musician, East Arnhem Land) and Grant Nundhirribala (musician and performer, East Arnhem Land) of Yilila and the Red Flag Dancers fame, working with a group of musicians/weavers in Watublapi, Flores on a collaborative recording and documentary project. To date three CDs by Watublapi bands have been mastered, and a fourth compilation released and distributed for sale in Indonesia and Australia. A collaborative CD (Yilila and Watublapi bands) has been recorded and will be released shortly.
The culmination of this project was the Tanah Merege performance at the 2008 Darwin Festivals, which more than 300 people attended.
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Watublapi musicians perform at Ta Teut Amarasi – Awakening exhibition opening, George Brown Botanical Gardens, Darwin Festival, August 2008. Photo courtesy Nomad Art Productions. |
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Watublapi musicians perform at Ta Teut Amarasi – Awakening exhibition opening, George Brown Botanical Gardens, Darwin Festival, August 2008. Photo courtesy Nomad Art Productions. |
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Grant Nundhirribala of Yilila and Red Flag Dancers, and Tony Gray, producer/manager recording Sanggar Bliran Sina in Watublapi, Flores. Photo: Tony Gray |
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Sanggar Bliran Sina in the studio, Watublapi, Flores Photo: Tony Gray |
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For further information regarding this program, please contact:
Arts Program
Asialink
Level 4, Sidney Myer Asia Centre
The University of Melbourne
Victoria, 3010
Telephone: (03) 8344 3578
Email: r.hinde@asialink.unimelb.edu.au