A little year-end note for the Jakarta Academy Leon Agusta, Contributor, Jakarta
Even though it is now almost four decades old (officially opened on Aug. 24, 1968 by Governor Ali Sadikin), for people in general, the Jakarta Academy (Akademi Jakarta: AJ) may sound unfamiliar. Many young people today do not know what Jakarta Academy is. At several point news involving Jakarta Academy has emerged, but they were not stories that put the Jakarta Academy in its proper light as a respectable board of artists/cultural academicians. The appreciation toward Jakarta Academy in society today seems insignificant. Yet, there used to be a time when Jakarta Academy was highly praised-way back when Ali Sadikin was still the governor of Jakarta. That era has passed; things have changed. What followed that era were controversies. Once every three years, when the time came to name new members of the Jakarta Arts Council (Dewan Kesenian Jakarta: DKJ) to be changed, various opinions surfaced regarding Jakarta Academy's right to appoint those members. The year 2002 was a year of tension in this regard. Many disagreed with the Jakarta Academy's methods for choosing the members of the Jakarta Art Council. Those who opposed were always the loudest. Some even thought that it would be best if the artists did the picking, just like they did in 1968. A group that calls themselves Masyarakat Seniman Jakarta (Jakarta Artists Community) tried to push that concept, and (as expected) was unsuccessful. There were only three active members in the Jakarta Academy in 2002: Iravati Sudiarso, Ramadhan KH, and Taufik Abdullah, and yet they managed to form the new DKJ under the captainship of Ratna Sarumpaet. The leadership of this woman activist brought in a disciplined, rigorous atmosphere, but sometimes deviated from the established working system of the institution. At one point, paintings were moved from DKJ to her house for safety measures, because their maintenance was apparently unsatisfactory. The maintenance cost, however, was still charged to DKJ. As expected, this decision was protested by the artists, especially the painters. The critics were of the opinion that this just proved that Jakarta Academy's choice of personnel was questionable, and the paintings were finally returned to the Jakarta Art Council's office. Initially, there were 10 inaugural members of the Jakarta Academy. They comprised artists/cultural academicians who, according to DKJ, met the following requirements: established in any field of arts/culture; proven to continuously excel in that field; and generally known as a cultural intellect. Those first 10 were Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana (Director), Moh. Said Rekso Hadioprodjo (Vice Director), and Mochtar Lubis (Vice Director), with Affandi, Asrul Sani, D. Djajakusuma, H.B. Jassin, Popo Iskandar, Rusli, and Soedjatmoko as members. It is indubitable that these artists were the gems of their time. Their names exuded authority and accountability. It is worth noting here that the early years of the Jakarta Arts Center -- Taman Ismail Marzuki are often referred to as "the honeymoon", which lasted until Ali Sadikin left the office of governor of Jakarta. There was no anticipation of what should be done after the inevitable end of this honeymoon. After Sadikin, still inevitably, the process of Golkar-ization made its way into Jakarta Arts Center. Pancasila became the sole principle in every aspect of life in this country. The artists got their Pancasila courses (P4), including the writers. The honeymoon turned into years of tension and hesitation in dealing with the new bureaucracy that was more political in nature than anything else. Meanwhile, a number of the elders at the Jakarta Academy died, one after the other. Affandi, Said, and Takdir passed away. Jakarta Academy chose their replacements. Budiardji and Mukti Ali became two new members. Soedjatmoko then retired because he was appointed as the new rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo. He was replaced by Umar Kayam. The membership of Jakarta Academy began to resemble a random patchwork quilt pattern. Until its new formation in 2002, with 27 members, Jakarta Academy's membership had never exceeded 10 people. Unfortunately, many of the newly named members were not in good health, such as Asrul Sani, Mochtar Lubis, and Mukti Ali. The three of them died in 2004; Rusli in 2005, Ramadhan KH in 2006, and Koesnadi Hardjasoemantri in 2007. Now there are only 21 members, with Taufik Abdullah as Director, and Goenawan Mohamad and Misbah Yusa Biran as Vice Directors. Questions could be posed: When looking in the mirror, how does Jakarta Academy see itself? Several people, such as Ignas Kleden, Nono Anwar Makarim, Sitor Situmorang, and Mochtar Pabottingi, seem to avoid Jakarta Academy events. Some others do not seem to meet the "well-known cultural intellect" requisite. How will Jakarta Academy solve its internal problems? The Jakarta Academy ceremony that bestowed Sutardji Calzoum Bachri and Ali Sadikin awards on Dec. 10 underlined the reasons why Jakarta Academy must pull through its current identity crisis. Amid the mass amnesia about its better days and doubts about its current ability, the ceremony re-announced the existence of Jakarta Academy, showing that it is still meaningful. The pros and cons regarding the art awards have been around since Rendra (1975), and probably will always be. What is clear is that eventually the presentation of the awards became little more than a matter of routine-since 2003 they have been handed out regularly, with two being given out in 2004, and three in 2006. Yet, because the presentation has become so routine, the award's prestige has declined. This year's prizes, however, have, somehow, seemed to have the potential to revive a bit of the glory of Jakarta Academy's better days. A case in point is the cultural oration by Sutardji Calzoum Bachri that has emerged from the event as an important factor in reviving and enhancing the appreciation towards this awards ceremony. He articulately expressed his attitude toward and place in the history of our arts, especially literature. However, the same cannot be said for the award presentation ceremony for poet Sutardji and former governor Ali Sadikin. The selection of the venue, Teater Kecil (Little Theater), alone spotlighted the chronic diseases of poor planning and poor implementation that have plagued the Jakarta Academy secretariat from the outset. No matter how valid and appropriate the bestowing of the Jakarta Academy Charter of Merit for Groundbreaking Efforts in Culture and Civilization on Ali Sadikin, the cramped venue, with its narrow rows of chairs allowing very little space to move, let alone allow old friends to congratulate the governor properly with handshakes and warm greetings. Even the highly respected governor being honored that evening found it difficult to move around. It was a disgrace. Not that the art center is not a good place to hold prestigious events of this vast import. Sutardji's 66th birthday celebration on July 19, planned, managed and presented by Yayasan Panggung Melayu (the Melayu Stage Foundation), took place in the art center's Graha Bakti Budaya theater. Over a thousand guests, among them ministers, governors, regents, and community figures of various backgrounds, were accommodated in a space and setting completely appropriate for celebrating togetherness in the way artists and their community should be celebrating. To compare those events would be contrasting amateurs with professionals. In reality, although the awards event did allow the public to catch a brief glimpse of the brilliance of the world of art and culture and its importance to the continuing development of Indonesian civilization, Jakarta Academy's secretariat missed a prime opportunity to set up a much bigger comeback for the think tank just because of poor planning and presentation. The various fresh and critical ideas from the individuals present that night, which were supposed to be heard directly by a larger chosen audience, fell on the ears of only 80 people. Why? Why is it that this important event was so poorly publicized and badly scheduled in such a cramped venue, taking things so sadly awry? The truth is, Jakarta Academy has been needing a real, functional secretariat for so very long; one that can work effectively with the intelligence, spirit, system, and equipment needed. The secretariat should be such that the Jakarta Academy members should be able to communicate with it whenever, from wherever. Considering that the members of the Jakarta Academy are highly mobile, a professional secretariat has to be able to create a working network. With all the available information technology, everything should be easier. This demand would really not be at all hard to meet in terms of human resources and means. The most difficult thing is to make Jakarta Academy realize this so that corrections and changes can be made. Finally, as a small note for the end of the year, Jakarta Academy should conduct a dialogue with the current governor of Jakarta regarding the ongoing situation and condition of the Jakarta Arts Center and formulate a cooperative commitment to eliminate the administrative and procedural elements that trap the Jakarta Arts Center management and the Jakarta Art Council in a bureaucratic jumble. The bureaucrats tasked with facilitating art and cultural activities must learn to take into consideration that art events and performances are not a matter of routine, they are creative efforts; prestigious efforts that require in-depth, careful planning and professional presentation. Often, out of misunderstanding, the bureaucrats have seemed to be paying no attention to this, and tensions have become unavoidable. Most often, the bureaucrats have had the clout to push through what they considered appropriate, but this has not always meant that their decisions and policies are right or apt in terms of the important and pivotal role played in society by the arts and culture. The Jakarta Academy provides the one true ray of hope for the art and culture community to put the Jakarta Arts Center onto a new path of development toward making Jakarta another cultural center of the world. This goal was a part of the vision of Ali Sadikin and was also mentioned over and over again by former governor Sutiyoso. Now is the time for everyone to stop just talking about the problems and to take concrete action toward transforming Jakarta Academy and the Jakarta Arts Center into the dynamic and authoritative vehicles necessary to powering a well-planned, meaningful and life altering cultural movement for Indonesia. Comments could also be sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20071223.T38&irec=38 mediacare http://www.mediacare.biz [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
