COMPANY PROFILE
Purnati’s mission is to engage in all art fields including performing, visual arts, written word, music and film. Our focus is on early stage development of ground-breaking works fusing original stories and traditions in Asia with contemporary artistic vision. The foundation’s role is to inspire and create bridges of exchange and understanding between peoples, traditions and cultures.
STRATEGIES
- Facilitate early stage collaborative sessions
- Initiate multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary workshops and seminars
- Host educational and strategy seminars within our creative framework
- Publish original printed and musical works
- Open Research and Development for Asian cultural projects
- Promote Heritage and Preservation initiatives
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
Yayasan Bali Purnati offers itself to artists and cultural organizations. Because its setting is at the same time intimate and yet accommodating to large groups, it is perfect for workshops, seminars, think tanks, performances, and exhibitions. It has hosted a workshop for filmmakers from America and the BBC, a Wadaiko drum troupe of Nara, Japan, traditional and contemporary music and dance performances, a number of painters, actors and photographers residencies, and more.
The focus at Purnati is on the creative process, as participants explore new thoughts and concepts while networking with other guests aimed at international cultural, intellectual, and artistic exchange. Participants in Purnati programs have come from places as far as Belgium, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Italy and the United States. It has also been the birthplace and site of numerous meetings and workshops held under the direc-tions of the renowned theatre director Robert Wilson to develop I La Galigo, a theatre piece which was world-premiered in Singapore in March of 2004 and US premiered at the Lincoln Center Summer Festival in July 2005.
CULTURE AND HERITAGE
The Bali Purnati Center for the Arts was first officially dedicated, activated and occupied at the beginning of this millennium. One of its principle goals has been to study, interpret and document the cultural heritage of Bali and other parts of Indonesia in cooperation with both Indonesian and foreign artists. This has been accomplished through a range of artistic and community service activities. Indeed, the very first cultural event hosted by the center was a presentation of the great Gambuh operatic theatre form, which interpretations of Balinese-style Ramayana stories. Purnati has also been an active participant in local and regional arts festivals in which it has premiered new modern dance works performed by top Indonesian dance artists who usually perform more well-known traditional pieces. Among institutions which have participated in various intercultural and heritage workshops at Purnati have been groups as diverse as The Asian Cultural Council, The Japan Foundation, The Young Presidents Organizations, the Hermes fashion house of Paris, Change Performing Arts from Milan, Asia Society Philip-pines and International Marketing Communication Forum for Indonesian Performing Arts.
Notes on Founders, Directors, Staff and Friends of Purnati
The Bali Purnati Center for the Arts was created by and is being managed by an international Board of Founders-Directors. There are two founders-directors who live in Indonesia and manage its day-to-day activities: Restu I. Kusumaningrum, Chair of the foundation and Creative Director and Leonard Lueras, Creative Director. Kusumaningrum is an internationally known Indonesian dancer, choreographer, painter and landscape architect. During her career she has worked on creative projects involving visual and performance arts throughout the vast Indonesian archipelago and in many parts of the world. She has worked on col-laborative theatre works with directors Robert Wilson and Chen Shi-Zheng, composers Rahayu Supanggah and Tony Prabowo of Indonesia as well as numerous musicians and actors. Lueras is an American author-photographer-publisher based on the island of Bali who during the past 20 years has written, photographer or produced some 25 books about Indonesia and other countries in the Southeast Asia region including “Museum Treasures of Southeast Asia” in 2004.
The Bali Purnati Center for the Arts is supported by a board of international Co-Founders/Co-Directors who include Julian Polo Bizot (Paris), Xavier Castillo (Mi-ami and Mexico), William Eisenbeis (St. Louis and New York), Christopher Franck (Zurich and Singapore), Justin Smith (New York and London) and Alex Wingate (London). Founders/Directors are assisted by a Management Team which includes General Manager Mrs. Wayan Wartini, Staff Supervisor Mr. I Wayan Sumada, Indonesian Advisors: Mrs. Cok Istri Ratih, Mr. Anak Agung Gde Rai. Included among “Friends of Purnati” are the Lontar Foundation for Literature and the Arts in Jakarta, the Wianta Foundation for Fine Arts of Bali, the Sejati Foundation for Primitive Arts (Jakarta and Indonesian Papua), the Bhakti Lastario Foundation for Social and Community Works of Jakarta, Indonesia Heritage Trust, Christine Hakim Films, Manito Media of New York and the Prince Claus Foundation of the Netherlands.