SAVE SANGGAR SENI JAKA BARU
Success! Project funded! Watch the resulting performance here and see list of donors below:
A Traditional arts collective located in Indramayu, West Java, Indonesia is in danger.
Nusantara Arts “Artist-to-Artist” Preservation and Richard North of Gamelan Sinar Surya in Santa Barbara are combining forces to help an important artist collective in West Java survive through Covid. They are at-risk of not being able to purchase food and may have to sell their unique instruments and puppets to do so.
Profile: SANGGAR SENI JAKA BARU Traditional arts collective
The Jaka Baru arts collective was founded in 1994 in the small village of Gadingan in the northern Indramayu district of the Cirebon cultural region of West Java, Indonesia. Consisting of 35 musicians, puppeteers and craftsman, they are lead by the highly respected Dalang Ki Warsad, one of a dwindling number of puppet masters of the ancient ceremonial Wayang Golek Cepak rod puppet theater once found throughout the Cirebon-Indramayu region.
They are a diverse group of artists, featuring performances of Indramayu style Topeng mask dancing, Berokan village trance dance, mask carving, puppet making, wood carving and even ornate basket weaving. But their main focus has always been performing the now rare Wayang Golek style of puppet theater, performed by Ki Dalang Warsad and his two sons Mas Rasnoto and Mas Onie.
The Situation
This West Java art collective is already off the beaten path and is a desa community near Indramayu. They are on a shoestring budget in the best of times and now with Covid as well as a devastating flood that destroyed parts of their compound they are in dire need of some money to survive and continue their practice of traditional arts.
Over the last year, all public performances have been greatly curtailed due to the COVID-19 epidemic. This has created a tremendous economic crisis and an existential threat to the 35-person Jaka Baru arts collective. It is our hope that through online streaming events this amazing group of artists can survive this difficult time so that they will be able to keep performing into the future. Thank you for your support.
The Goal – Raise $1,500 to commission an exciting worldwide broadcast Wayang Golek Cepak show.
Nusantara Arts Preservation has been raising funds during Covid times for out of work Indonesian musicians who are struggling financially. We support these musicians and artists by commissioning new works of art which are broadcast around the world digitally.
The “Artist to Artist” Re-imagined Online Gamelan Concert Series as well as our upcoming Javanese “Composers Wanted!” program were part of this effort that have helped musicians to the tune of $10,000 so far. Our goal is to commission SANGGAR SENI JAKA BARU to perform and record a new unique wayang Golek story with their unique instrumentation and performance style.
Thank you to our Project Funders:
Jaka Baru Benefactor
Anonymous
Jaka Baru Super Friend
Shota Fukuoka
Helen Rees
Carla Fabrizio
Andy McGraw
Jaka Baru Booster
Elizabeth Clendinning
Margot Lederer
Judy Naylor
Sumarsam
Wayang Golek Aficionado
Tom Braden
Daniel Owen
Ethan Schwartz
Ed Luna
Jan Di Girolamo
Usman Haq
Frances Kofod
Carla Scheele
Rae Ann Stahl
Xinwei Thow
Gamelan Preservationist
Rucina Ballinger
Stuart Frankel
Douglas Hudson
Henry Spiller