JAKARTA - The role of artists in cultural development does not stop at the creative process alone. They also have a strategic position in ensuring that the direction of cultural policy really answers the needs in the field.
One of the important instruments in the planning is the Regional Cultural Master Plan (PPKD), which serves as a basis for formulating cultural development strategies at the regional and national levels.
The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia emphasized that the preparation of the PPKD must involve artists actively so that the resulting policies do not deviate from the reality of the cultural ecosystem. The Special Staff of the Minister of Culture for Cultural Diplomacy and International Relations, Annisa Rengganis, said that artists are the parties who understand the real problems on the ground.
"The ones who understand the pain of the cultural ecosystem are the artists. Therefore, their involvement in the preparation of the PPKD is important so that the policy is not misdiagnosed. What is the pain? What is the cure?," he said in a statement received in Jakarta, Monday.
He highlighted that various cultural policies often do not align with real needs due to the lack of participation of artists in the process of preparing strategic documents.
On the same occasion, the Art Coalition launched a guidebook entitled "PDKT sama PPKD: Tips for the Success of Artists Intervening in Art Policy". This guide is intended to help art practitioners understand the important position of PPKD as a bridge between cultural practices and public policies.
The Advocacy Manager of the Art Coalition, Hafez Gumay, assessed that the voices of cultural actors are often not accommodated when culture is formalized into policy documents.
"When culture is included in policy documents, the voices of cultural actors are often lost. In fact, they are the ones who understand the problems on the ground the most," he said.
PPKD itself is one of the main references in the advancement of national culture as well as the basis for the preparation of the Culture Strategy. This document contains an overview of the actual cultural conditions in the region, including data collection on human resources, infrastructure, cultural development objects, to the identification of problems and policy recommendations.
Ideally, the preparation of PPKD is carried out with a participatory or bottom-up approach involving artists, academics, communities, and local governments. However, the Art Coalition notes that in a number of regions, the participation of artists has not yet taken place meaningfully.
The guidebook is expected to encourage artists to be more active in the process of regional development planning, including advocating for cultural needs through formal policy channels.
In terms of planning, the representative of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Bappeda, Maruhal Mangasi Tunas Sijabat, explained that including cultural issues in regional development documents is not an easy matter because it must compete with other sectors that are also priorities.
Meanwhile, the representative of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia added that another challenge lies in the limitations of the budget and the sustainability of the quality of document management in the midst of the dynamics of human resource turnover in local governments.
Therefore, PPKD is considered to require cross-sectoral collaboration and alternative funding schemes outside the APBD so that cultural programs can run consistently and sustainably.
Through the launch of this guide, the Art Coalition hopes that the PPKD will no longer be seen as merely an administrative document, but as a collective advocacy space that ensures that art policies are more participatory, relevant, and have a real impact on the cultural ecosystem in Indonesia.
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