National Culture Week: Spirit for New Normal Nusantara’s Brilliant Spirit

The Spirit for New Normal

Titi Dj-

Nusantara’s Brilliant Spirit

The world’s citizens are now working on various ways out to answer the question of how to restore the “new normal” life before the Covid-19 pandemic. Adaptation efforts are carried out in all aspects. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology through the Directorate General of Culture in 2021 again held the National Culture Week (PKN) online as an adaptation to the life of the “new normal” in the midst of a pandemic. National Culture Week is present as a mandate of the 2018 Indonesian Cultural Congress to create an “inclusive interaction space for the promotion of culture.” National culture Week 2019 and 2020 raised the theme “Happy Indonesia Common Space”, while the theme of National Culture Week 2021 is “Brilliant Archipelago, Future Guide.” The theme was raised to answer the challenges of today’s life, especially in the field of meeting basic living needs: clothing, food, housing. By harnessing the rich potential of local culture, activities in National Culture Week are expected to be a sustainable solution to the problems of the world today.

Local wisdom from all our cultural heritage is expected to be a light that guides the way the Indonesian nation creates new fairness that does not just repeat the old reasonableness. Creating a new lifestyle means abandoning unsustainable practices in clothing, food, and housing. Here, culture offers valuable inspiration. In terms of clothing, we have a treasure trouser of sustainable clothing contained in various traditional weaving practices. The use of fiber and natural dyes without waste has long been practiced by indigenous peoples of the archipelago.

In terms of food, we also have a traditional food processing model that prioritizes the principle of permaculture (without waste) and diversity of foodstuffs outside of rice, wheat, corn. Land management that pays attention to the balance of ecosystems and the use of alternative foodstuffs such as sorghum and sago has been part of the practice of the archipelago community since thousands of years ago. Even in the context of architecture. Our vernacular housing treasures strongly emphasize the peculiarities of local geography and the public nature of the settlement. Through the pattern of communal archipelago occupancy, there contains valuable social technology: the search for common solutions to the problems faced by individual citizens. Cultural diversity is a means to solve various problems of the nation, providing guarantees of life safety for all citizens of the nation. Determining the national culture week theme was carried out after the implementation of discussion forums involving experts in their fields, namely Samuel Wattimena (clothing sector), Helianti Hilman (food sector), and Gregorius Antar Awal (housing sector). These sectors are the foundation for the implementation of main programs for national culture week, namely competitions, conferences and workshops, exhibitions, events and Regional Culture Week as a forum for cultural interaction from village to center that will net “Brilliant Archipelago” from each region in Indonesia.

Slank-

Indonesian cuisine for the world -

The Nation with Defense

Hilmar Farid, Director General of Culture said that the entire treasure of tradition today is the result of adaptation, innovation, and hybridization that make us as a nation who is getting stronger in facing various challenges in life. National Culture Week has a mission to make culture as a guide to the new normal. This cultural event is held in a hybrid way; online and offline. The peak of National Culture Week was held for 7 days, 19-26 November 2021. The series of events aired through various platforms, namely Indonesiana TV cultural channels on Indihome channel 200 (SD) and 916 (HD), PKN.id page, and also the Cultural Youtube channel. Opening and closing activities were broadcasted live through TVRI. 17 cultural competitions, 23 workshops, 11 symposium sessions, 60 performances, exhibitions and no less than 20 conference sessions enlivened the peak of National Culture Week 2021. In its implementation, the Directorate General of Culture cooperated with 70 local governments along with 3000 cultural actors who actively organized the Regional Culture Week which is also a series of National Culture Week preliminary activities.

The performance of “Napas Jiwa” by Atilah Soeryadjaya, Jay Subiakto, and Rama Soeprapto became the opening presentation of the 2021 National Culture Week series of Indonesian President Joko Widodo accompanied by Minister of Education Nadiem Makarim. A number of musicians such as Slank, Andien, Dere, Diskoria, Shine of Black, Godbless, Viky Sianipar and Voice of Baceprot took part in this activity. One of the mainstay programs carried out at the National Culture week this year was Ragam Budaya. This program was a variety show and star jamming that raises the potential of local wisdom as well as the rich cultural heritage of clothing, food, archipelago housing such as fashion shows, documentaries from nature to plates, traditional architecture, involving local communities and Indonesian artists.

A number of famous directors with reputations and achievements that have been recognized by the community also took part in the production process of this Cultural Variety, including Riri Riza (Alam Takambang Jadi Guru: Serambi Minangkabau); Hanung Bramantyo (Lingsir Wengi); Eugene Panji (Dulu x Hari Ini); Buyung Reza (Sumba Waingapu: Permata dari Indonesia); Priagita Ariangeara (Sandar di Semenanjung Para Daeng); Adrianto Sinaga (Nyanyian Danau); Robby Ertanto (Cinta Ditanam, Negeri Dijunjung); Ismail Basbeth (Banda Dari dekat Sekali); Lasja Susatyo (Lost Story Nias: Kisah Pulau Batu

Besar and Napas Bumi: Kalimantan); to Jay Subyakto, Rama Soeprapto, Hartati and Atilah Soeryadjaya (Napas Jiwa).

The production of Ragam Budaya shows takes place in a number of locations that are already known by the public as destinations that have cultural treasures such as: South Solok, South Sulawesi, South Nias, East Kalimantan, Borobudur, Banda Neira, Lake Toba, East Sumba, Muarajambi, Tana Toraja, and Labuan Bajo. Through the show of cultural wealth summarized into variety shows and also star jamming that talks and tells stories, it is expected to be an alternative show that can stir and foster people’s interest to know and love local wisdom in their respective regions. The work outlines how young people love their culture. Shows are wrapped in a modern way but not out of the existing tradition. How the work can show that tradition is cool, how tradition and history can be used as a contemporary show. We often place tradition as a thing of the past, and National Culture Week 2021 shows that tradition can be presented in a modern way, because tradition must always be worked on, because tradition is the root of the culture that must be preserved. Adaptations of cultural shows during the pandemic in fact gave rise to the positive side – even though they were aired online. Directors and cultural actors can present all the details of the show with the help of visualization through video.

The culture of the nation is indeed a well of inspiration that will not be exhausted. Archipelago culture contains experience from countless generations of predecessors who inhabited this archipelago thousands of years ago. Nusantara culture is a kind of laboratory where various survival strategies and problem solving are designed and piloted. Each of us inherits that living laboratory. It is time we look back at that hereditary laboratory in formulating the steps forward. The implementation of National Culture Week as a cultural-based performance in the midst of a pandemic situation is expected to ensure that the flame and spirit of culture are maintained in the midst of Indonesian society (Jessika Nadya Ogesveltry,

Directorate of Cultural Development and Utilization).

Collections from the Secretariat of the Directorate General of Culture

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