BOGOR - The Minister of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia Fadli Zon emphasized the government's commitment to provide a decent and inclusive expression space for street musicians in public facilities. The commitment was conveyed while reviewing the activation of music spaces at Bogor Station, West Java, Saturday night, December 20.
Bogor Station is now used as a performance space for street musicians from the Street Musician Institute (IMJ), including musicians with disabilities.
According to Fadli, public spaces such as train stations have great potential to become cultural stages that can be widely accessed by the public.
He assessed that the presence of music in public spaces not only serves as entertainment for transportation service users, but also as a means of economic empowerment and increasing the dignity of street musicians who have gone through the process of training and curation.
During his visit to Bogor, Fadli highlighted the selection of Bogor Station as a strategic location. In addition to being a cultural heritage building, this station has a high passenger flow, reaching around 100 thousand people per day.
"On the sidelines of my working visit, after inaugurating the pencak silat center in Cisarua, I took the time to go to Bogor Station. We hope that there will be facilities for musicians to express themselves while entertaining passengers. Moreover, here there are friends of deaf musicians whose abilities are extraordinary," said Fadli.
Fadli explained that the musicians who performed in the public space did not come randomly. Through cooperation with IMJ, they attended training, workshops, and curation processes to ensure that the quality of the performance was maintained.
The Ministry of Culture through the Directorate General of Culture has also provided assistance in the form of musical instruments and sound systems to support similar activities in 11 to 12 cities in various regions.
"So people who play music are not just 'jreng-jreng', but are curated well. We saw Mas Kikin, a deaf person who memorized 150 songs and was able to sing for four hours. This is proof of the seriousness of their talent that we must give space," he said.
In the future, the Ministry of Culture plans to expand the use of public spaces for street musicians, not only at train stations managed by PT KAI, but also at airports and ports.
To improve professionalism, the government also plans to provide support in the form of uniforms for musicians who have been curated.
"Later we will help design the uniform so that it is more neat and easy to recognize, so that the collaboration can run better," said Fadli.
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