Visit Pramono, IKJ Asks For Cultural Endowment Funds For Campus Development

JAKARTA - The Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ) asked DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung to allocate the Eternal Cultural Fund for the development of his campus. The request was conveyed by IKJ Chancellor Syamsul Maarif after Pramono's visit to the oldest art campus in Jakarta.

Syamsul assessed that the allocation of cultural endowment funds in the DKI Regional Budget should have been used to strengthen the role of IKJ as an education and art production center in Jakarta.

"Because there is an endowment of culture (in the DKI APBD), we will ask, request, that there is an endowment of culture fund that hopefully supports the development of the IKJ in the future," said Syamsul at IKJ, Cikini, Central Jakarta, Tuesday, November 4.

Then, Syamsul also mentioned the physical condition of the campus which he considered to have been neglected for a long time. One of them is the Faculty of Fine Arts building which has been stalled for years and has not been completed until now. He said Pramono had promised to follow up on this.

"There is a stalled building at the Faculty of Fine Arts which we have requested from the Governor and the Governor has ordered his staff to resume immediately," said Syamsul.

In addition to campus infrastructure, Syamsul asked the DKI Provincial Government to facilitate access between IKJ and Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM). According to him, the relationship between the two art areas will form a complete creative ecosystem under the management of the DKI Jakarta Culture Service.

"If these accesses are opened, the TIM becomes one ecosystem and the IKJ is in it. So the Jakarta Academy, then the Jakarta Arts Council and it is managed by the Culture Service," said Syamsul.

Responding to this, DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung confirmed that he would follow up on the IKJ proposal. He asked the campus to prepare a development blueprint so that the DKI Provincial Government could determine concrete forms of support.

"We ask IKJ to prepare what is the blueprint desired by IKJ, later we at City Hall will officially decide which one we will do, we will fulfill it," said Pramono.

Pramono also highlighted the arrangement of the Taman Ismail Marzuki and IKJ areas, which according to him had not been fully managed. He wants the art area to be reorganized so that it becomes a representative public space for residents to enjoy arts and culture.

"I will ask City Hall to start seeing the ecosystem in Taman Ismail Marzuki, including the IKJ, to be more open, neater, more comfortable, and for anyone who comes, people will have a good impression," he said.

On that occasion, Pramono also made clear the meaning of his plan to move the IKJ to the Kota Tua area which he stated some time ago. In fact, Pramono wants the Kota Tua area to be more activated as an art storefront for IKJ students with various activities to be held.

Therefore, it is not certain that formal educational activities for IKJ students will move from Cikini campus to Kota Tua. However, Pramono also allowed if IKJ wanted the DKI Provincial Government to prepare a classroom for students.

"We hope that the stage or storefront used by the IKJ, one of which is of course in Kota Tua. If there is a lecture room or what is there used, we will be happy to prepare it later," concluded Pramono.