Samuel Wattimena's Designer Collaboration For Arts In Semarang

JAKARTA - Famous designer Samuel Wattimena invites traditional art activists in Semarang City, Central Java, to collaborate with various parties to strengthen the existence of art and local culture.

"I want to build a synergy between traditional art actors and members of the Indonesia Fashion Chamber (IFC) and Denok-Kenang," Samuel said at an event held in Semarang, as quoted by ANTARA.

Denok-Kenang is a Semarang City tourism ambassador tasked with promoting tourism and culture, similar to Abang-None in Jakarta.

During the meeting that took place during his recess, Samuel emphasized the importance of collaboration between art actors, fashion designers, and tourism ambassadors. He believes that these three elements can support each other to strengthen cultural preservation.

According to Samuel, designers who are members of the Semarang IFC can help traditional artists in terms of visuals and aesthetics so that they are better able to express the beauty of the archipelago culture. Meanwhile, Denok-Kenang plays a role in promoting these works of art to a wider audience.

"Kekayaan budaya ini harus terus dikenalkan kepada masyarakat. Saya berharap Denok-Kenang bisa menjadi jembatan dalam menyebarkan art tradisional," tuturnya.

Furthermore, he also hopes that fashion designers can get inspiration from traditional dances and other cultural elements to be applied in their works. He plans to hold an art and fashion performance as a tangible form of this collaboration in August.

Currently, said Samuel, there are only five traditional arts associations who are members of this initiative. However, he is committed to expanding collaboration by reaching more art communities in Semarang.

"For the time being, only five communities have joined. However, the actual number is much more. In the future, I will make direct visits to various art communities in Semarang to expand this cooperation," he said.

Meanwhile, Rudijito, a Jaranan traditional dance art activist in Semarang, revealed that there are more than 30 art communities in Atlas City, although not all of them have registered certificates (SKT) from the Culture and Tourism Office.

He also added that traditional art communities are spread across various sub-districts in the city of Semarang, with a fairly high concentration in areas such as Mijen, Candisari, Gunungpati, South Semarang, and Banyumanik.

"Tonight I deliberately coordinated these artists in order to get more attention from the Semarang City Government through Bung Sam (Samuel Wattimena). The hope is that traditional arts that almost die can return to life and develop amid the flow of modernization," he said.