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Indonesia is rich in commodities such as oil, gas, gold and tin, but a handful of government officials think its most powerful resources are cultural. 

They belong to a dynamic young body called the Creative Economy Agency, or BEKRAF (an acronym derived from its Indonesian name) that was created in 2015 by President Joko Widodo to promote Indonesia’s cultural output both at home and abroad.

“Oil and gas are finite resources. The only thing that lasts forever is creativity,” said Boni Pudjianto, BEKRAF’s director for international markets. 

BEKRAF’s staff was appointed meritocratically through an open call to government officers, regardless of background. Boni, for instance, has a doctorate in engineering and was posted at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology before he joined BEKRAF. 

“It’s an experimental agency,” he said. “It’s a new model for a governmental body.” 

BEKRAF wants to promote the arts of the world’s fourth largest country more effectively to a global audience.

The agency was behind Indonesia’s acclaimed pavilion at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale, called “Sunyata: The Poetics of Emptiness.” It was Indonesia’s second time at the biennale, following a debut effort in 2014. This entry was overseen from start to finish by BEKRAF, from the selection of six curators to the opening ceremony on May 25. 

“Indonesia is trying to put our architecture at the same level as [that of] other countries,” said Boni, in Venice last month. “And we want to leverage this exposure on the international stage to promote the field back home.”

Key industries

BEKRAF is a “quasi-governmental institution,” according to Boni, that combines representatives of the private sector with competitively chosen government officials. 

It supports Indonesian exhibits at international fairs like Venice’s art and architecture biennales, as well as sundry fashion weeks, expos and film festivals. BEKRAF also backs small businesses and enterprises in creative sectors, like the upstart batik (traditional wax-resist dyed cloth) brand called Rajasamas Batik. 

“Any major festival in the world, we want to participate in it and show the best contemporary art in Indonesia,” said Triawan Munuf, BEKRAF’s chairman. So far, he said, what people know of Indonesian culture, if anything, is Bali (the Hindu-majority island that is popular with tourists) and traditional arts like wayang kulit, or shadow-puppet drama. “But we also have to show our state of the art projects, although it’s not something we can change overnight.”

For example, the late Nelson Mandela famously wore batik, said Triawan. “But we weren’t able to catalyze that into more interest in the batik industry.”

It’s a cautionary tale about relying on any silver bullet to raise an industry’s profile. His vision runs on a longer time frame of years and decades, and on backing many horses across all the creative industries: food, fashion, architecture, art, film, video games and so on.

BEKRAF’s current slate of supported programs includes startup funding workshops in seven cities, a performance by the Jakarta City Philharmonic, an installation of an “Indonesia Music Market” in Cannes, and a booth at the world’s largest technology exhibition in Taiwan.

One early success that Triawan cites is that BEKRAF has helped increase the number of Indonesian films that are seen by Indonesians themselves.

“We went from about 5 percent [of films shown in Indonesian theaters that are made in Indonesia] three years ago to 20 percent today,” he said. BEKRAF deployed incentives like removing films from the “negative investments” list in 2016, and opening the movie industry for foreign investment. “By next year, I hope that number is 50 percent,” Triawan said.

Plans to expand

Arts and culture once fell under the purview of Indonesia’s tourism ministry, but Widodo created BEKRAF as a stand-alone body to further his greater goal of economic growth. 

Indonesia’s creative industries contributed 990.4 trillion Indonesian rupiah, or $71 billion, to the country’s GDP in 2017, about 7.6 percent of the total, and provided jobs for 16.2 million people.

But almost 98 percent of creative industry businesses only market their products locally, according to BEKRAF, due in part to funding and intellectual property constraints. Dealing with those issues on a granular level is BEKRAF’s next big task, beyond big-ticket events like the biennale. 

BEKRAF reportedly got off to a rough start in 2015, taking six months to fill its senior leadership and facing a budget that barely covered its daily operations. But within three years, it has grown into its identity as a unique body within Indonesia’s governing apparatus. 

In Venice, Triawan concluded the inauguration of the Indonesia pavilion, which took the form of an expansive, white, Tvyek-paper parabola, by strolling through some of the neighboring exhibits. He passed the Italian pavilion, which unfolded through several chambers of a warehouse in the Arsenale complex and included dioramas, screens, hanging mobiles, rolling film clips and oblong tables of sculptural objects. Its cerebral and eclectic approach contrasted with Indonesia’s, which primed simplicity and striking visuals. 

Triawan was impressed.

“In 10 years,” he said, gesturing around the warehouse, “We must be like this, too.” Boni agreed.

“We love Italy,” he said. “They are not the most industralized country in Europe. But their products have a special touch of craftsmanship, just like in Indonesia. Everyone knows what ‘Made in Italy’ means. We want them to know what ‘Made in Indonesia’ means, too.”
…

Indonesia is rich in commodities such as oil, gas, gold and tin, but a handful of government officials think its most powerful resources are cultural. 

They belong to a dynamic young body called the Creative Economy Agency, or BEKRAF (an acronym derived from its Indonesian name) that was created in 2015 by President Joko Widodo to promote Indonesia’s cultural output both at home and abroad.

“Oil and gas are finite resources. The only thing that lasts forever is creativity,” said Boni Pudjianto, BEKRAF’s director for international markets. 

BEKRAF’s staff was appointed meritocratically through an open call to government officers, regardless of background. Boni, for instance, has a doctorate in engineering and was posted at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology before he joined BEKRAF. 

“It’s an experimental agency,” he said. “It’s a new model for a governmental body.” 

BEKRAF wants to promote the arts of the world’s fourth largest country more effectively to a global audience.

The agency was behind Indonesia’s acclaimed pavilion at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale, called “Sunyata: The Poetics of Emptiness.” It was Indonesia’s second time at the biennale, following a debut effort in 2014. This entry was overseen from start to finish by BEKRAF, from the selection of six curators to the opening ceremony on May 25. 

“Indonesia is trying to put our architecture at the same level as [that of] other countries,” said Boni, in Venice last month. “And we want to leverage this exposure on the international stage to promote the field back home.”

Key industries

BEKRAF is a “quasi-governmental institution,” according to Boni, that combines representatives of the private sector with competitively chosen government officials. 

It supports Indonesian exhibits at international fairs like Venice’s art and architecture biennales, as well as sundry fashion weeks, expos and film festivals. BEKRAF also backs small businesses and enterprises in creative sectors, like the upstart batik (traditional wax-resist dyed cloth) brand called Rajasamas Batik. 

“Any major festival in the world, we want to participate in it and show the best contemporary art in Indonesia,” said Triawan Munuf, BEKRAF’s chairman. So far, he said, what people know of Indonesian culture, if anything, is Bali (the Hindu-majority island that is popular with tourists) and traditional arts like wayang kulit, or shadow-puppet drama. “But we also have to show our state of the art projects, although it’s not something we can change overnight.”

For example, the late Nelson Mandela famously wore batik, said Triawan. “But we weren’t able to catalyze that into more interest in the batik industry.”

It’s a cautionary tale about relying on any silver bullet to raise an industry’s profile. His vision runs on a longer time frame of years and decades, and on backing many horses across all the creative industries: food, fashion, architecture, art, film, video games and so on.

BEKRAF’s current slate of supported programs includes startup funding workshops in seven cities, a performance by the Jakarta City Philharmonic, an installation of an “Indonesia Music Market” in Cannes, and a booth at the world’s largest technology exhibition in Taiwan.

One early success that Triawan cites is that BEKRAF has helped increase the number of Indonesian films that are seen by Indonesians themselves.

“We went from about 5 percent [of films shown in Indonesian theaters that are made in Indonesia] three years ago to 20 percent today,” he said. BEKRAF deployed incentives like removing films from the “negative investments” list in 2016, and opening the movie industry for foreign investment. “By next year, I hope that number is 50 percent,” Triawan said.

Plans to expand

Arts and culture once fell under the purview of Indonesia’s tourism ministry, but Widodo created BEKRAF as a stand-alone body to further his greater goal of economic growth. 

Indonesia’s creative industries contributed 990.4 trillion Indonesian rupiah, or $71 billion, to the country’s GDP in 2017, about 7.6 percent of the total, and provided jobs for 16.2 million people.

But almost 98 percent of creative industry businesses only market their products locally, according to BEKRAF, due in part to funding and intellectual property constraints. Dealing with those issues on a granular level is BEKRAF’s next big task, beyond big-ticket events like the biennale. 

BEKRAF reportedly got off to a rough start in 2015, taking six months to fill its senior leadership and facing a budget that barely covered its daily operations. But within three years, it has grown into its identity as a unique body within Indonesia’s governing apparatus. 

In Venice, Triawan concluded the inauguration of the Indonesia pavilion, which took the form of an expansive, white, Tvyek-paper parabola, by strolling through some of the neighboring exhibits. He passed the Italian pavilion, which unfolded through several chambers of a warehouse in the Arsenale complex and included dioramas, screens, hanging mobiles, rolling film clips and oblong tables of sculptural objects. Its cerebral and eclectic approach contrasted with Indonesia’s, which primed simplicity and striking visuals. 

Triawan was impressed.

“In 10 years,” he said, gesturing around the warehouse, “We must be like this, too.” Boni agreed.

“We love Italy,” he said. “They are not the most industralized country in Europe. But their products have a special touch of craftsmanship, just like in Indonesia. Everyone knows what ‘Made in Italy’ means. We want them to know what ‘Made in Indonesia’ means, too.”
…

Eighth-grade teacher Ari Mascarenhas could have picked high-tech gadgets or modern apps to help his students learn Portuguese, but he instead went old school with the World Cup sticker book.

He’s been a fan since 1986 — when he was 8 — and the attraction for the collectibles has trickled down generations and endured for adults who still trade the stickers in Brazil, the United States and other countries.

Mascarenhas said his soccer-loving students develop critical language skills by studying every part of the 80-page book filled with team rosters, country flags and historical info. They read stats, names and other information while associating it with colors, illustrations and other visual cues.

“With the sticker book, they see that language goes beyond verbal. I loved the way they interacted swapping stickers, so I thought this year I could use an analog cue in this digital world,” said Mascarenhas, a teacher at German-Brazilian Colegio Humboldt in Sao Paulo.

The book’s popularity has spread as the World Cup nears its opening in Russia on June 14, despite sticker prices nearly doubling in some countries, including Brazil. That led to some grumbling in the South American nation, which has been in a financial crisis for the past three years with widespread poverty. Still, most of the 7 million sticker books put on the market quickly sold.

Panini, the Italian collectibles company that publishes the books, declined to say how profitable the World Cup books are, but the company itself had revenue of 631 million euros ($743 million U.S. dollars) in 2016, with products sold in more than 120 countries. Brazil is the largest market for the sticker books, followed by the United States with its sizable Latino population and England.

The allure for the books is similar to baseball or Pokemon cards — challenging fans to complete the set. Each book has spots for 681 stickers depicting things like stadiums, players, host cities. The stickers themselves are sold in packs of six.

The days leading up to the tournament have become crunch time for collectors.

Making trades

Actress Bruna Marquezine, the girlfriend of Brazil superstar Neymar, noticed high demand of stickers depicting the player. So, she decided to swap stickers autographed by her boyfriend for those she still needs.

“I know this is cheating a little, but I will not have my sticker book incomplete this time,” Marquezine joked on social media as she lured swappers.

Experts say fans would need to buy about 970 packs to fill their books without trades, because of the rarity of some of the stickers, though Panini CEO Mark Warsop said there’s no difference in the frequency of stickers.

Mathematics professor Sebastiao de Amorim of the Universidade de Campinas said some stickers being hard to find is part of what makes collecting them enticing.  Some are even sold at inflated prices.

“The minimum figure to complete the album is of 137 packages, but the odds of getting that, especially because some stickers are harder to find, are the same of winning the lottery,” De Amorim said.

Digital version

Panini is also hoping that a digital, mobile version of its paper product gains steam, like Pokemon and other titles that have proven popular in multiple formats. 

Panini’s sticker book app was downloaded more than 1.5 million times, introducing new ways to get stickers for users, including product placements. Warsop said he thinks it will pick up during future World Cups.

“The nice thing about the digital is that you can also swap and trade wherever you are,” he said. “We want people to trade even if they are not in the same place.”

Widespread use might be a way off for adults who are currently introducing the hobby to kids.

“I can’t sell my stickers there [on the app]. People want paper,” said salesman Renato Chaves, who took a van with more than 4,000 stickers to sell outside Brazil’s training camp in Teresopolis, outside Rio de Janeiro.

Georgia Bulgackov, a 13-year-old student learning from the sticker book in Sao Paulo, said it’s amazing to learn from a toy.

“What we love is to mix learning with something from our daily life, that made me understand more what the teacher wanted,” she said.

Mascarenhas, her teacher, said he hopes his pupils can stretch their interaction with the sticker book to other parts of their lives.

“There are not many products that bring people together. In such a divisive world we can still swap, trade and have something in common,” he said.
…

Eighth-grade teacher Ari Mascarenhas could have picked high-tech gadgets or modern apps to help his students learn Portuguese, but he instead went old school with the World Cup sticker book.

He’s been a fan since 1986 — when he was 8 — and the attraction for the collectibles has trickled down generations and endured for adults who still trade the stickers in Brazil, the United States and other countries.

Mascarenhas said his soccer-loving students develop critical language skills by studying every part of the 80-page book filled with team rosters, country flags and historical info. They read stats, names and other information while associating it with colors, illustrations and other visual cues.

“With the sticker book, they see that language goes beyond verbal. I loved the way they interacted swapping stickers, so I thought this year I could use an analog cue in this digital world,” said Mascarenhas, a teacher at German-Brazilian Colegio Humboldt in Sao Paulo.

The book’s popularity has spread as the World Cup nears its opening in Russia on June 14, despite sticker prices nearly doubling in some countries, including Brazil. That led to some grumbling in the South American nation, which has been in a financial crisis for the past three years with widespread poverty. Still, most of the 7 million sticker books put on the market quickly sold.

Panini, the Italian collectibles company that publishes the books, declined to say how profitable the World Cup books are, but the company itself had revenue of 631 million euros ($743 million U.S. dollars) in 2016, with products sold in more than 120 countries. Brazil is the largest market for the sticker books, followed by the United States with its sizable Latino population and England.

The allure for the books is similar to baseball or Pokemon cards — challenging fans to complete the set. Each book has spots for 681 stickers depicting things like stadiums, players, host cities. The stickers themselves are sold in packs of six.

The days leading up to the tournament have become crunch time for collectors.

Making trades

Actress Bruna Marquezine, the girlfriend of Brazil superstar Neymar, noticed high demand of stickers depicting the player. So, she decided to swap stickers autographed by her boyfriend for those she still needs.

“I know this is cheating a little, but I will not have my sticker book incomplete this time,” Marquezine joked on social media as she lured swappers.

Experts say fans would need to buy about 970 packs to fill their books without trades, because of the rarity of some of the stickers, though Panini CEO Mark Warsop said there’s no difference in the frequency of stickers.

Mathematics professor Sebastiao de Amorim of the Universidade de Campinas said some stickers being hard to find is part of what makes collecting them enticing.  Some are even sold at inflated prices.

“The minimum figure to complete the album is of 137 packages, but the odds of getting that, especially because some stickers are harder to find, are the same of winning the lottery,” De Amorim said.

Digital version

Panini is also hoping that a digital, mobile version of its paper product gains steam, like Pokemon and other titles that have proven popular in multiple formats. 

Panini’s sticker book app was downloaded more than 1.5 million times, introducing new ways to get stickers for users, including product placements. Warsop said he thinks it will pick up during future World Cups.

“The nice thing about the digital is that you can also swap and trade wherever you are,” he said. “We want people to trade even if they are not in the same place.”

Widespread use might be a way off for adults who are currently introducing the hobby to kids.

“I can’t sell my stickers there [on the app]. People want paper,” said salesman Renato Chaves, who took a van with more than 4,000 stickers to sell outside Brazil’s training camp in Teresopolis, outside Rio de Janeiro.

Georgia Bulgackov, a 13-year-old student learning from the sticker book in Sao Paulo, said it’s amazing to learn from a toy.

“What we love is to mix learning with something from our daily life, that made me understand more what the teacher wanted,” she said.

Mascarenhas, her teacher, said he hopes his pupils can stretch their interaction with the sticker book to other parts of their lives.

“There are not many products that bring people together. In such a divisive world we can still swap, trade and have something in common,” he said.
…

Described as bright, thoughtful and bold – the art that Mike Van Hall makes is both unexpected and accessible. But what makes his art unique is that you don’t have to go to a museum to admire it – just pop by a grocery store and walk down the beer isle. Mike is an artist, and beer cans are his canvas. Anna Rice has the story.
…

Described as bright, thoughtful and bold – the art that Mike Van Hall makes is both unexpected and accessible. But what makes his art unique is that you don’t have to go to a museum to admire it – just pop by a grocery store and walk down the beer isle. Mike is an artist, and beer cans are his canvas. Anna Rice has the story.
…

The Band’s Visit, a musical about a an Egyptian police orchestra booked for a concert in an Israeli town, but end up in the wrong town, took home the prize for the best new musical at Sunday’s Tony Awards honoring Broadway performances

The stars of The Band’s Visit – Katrina Lenk and Tony Shalhoub – won the top acting in a musical prizes. 

Based on at 2007 Israeli film of the same name, The Band’s Visit beat out Frozen, Mean Girls, and SpongeBob SquarePants. 

Once On This Island won the best musical revival Tony.The 1990 calypso-infused musical triumphed over My Fair Lady and Carousel. 

“(Let’s) just bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked,” Andrew Garfield said when he won a Tony Award for best leading actor in a play for his work in Angels In America, the revival of Tony Kushner’s monumental drama about life, love, AIDS and homosexuality in the 1980s. 

Garfield’s remark was a reference to the recent Supreme Court decision in favor of a baker’s right to refuse to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding. 

The awards show turned political once again when actor Robert De Niro came on stage to introduce a performance by special Tony winner Bruce Springsteen. 

De Niro shouted an obscenity about the president of the United States and received a standing ovation. He said it again to more cheers. The CBS-TV censors bleeped out the obscenity for television viewers. 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two won prizes for best play, best director of a play, best sound design, best lighting design, best scenic design, and best costume design. 

Broadway veteran Nathan Lane won the Tony Award for best featured actor in a play for his work in Angels in America.

Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles co-hosted for this year’s awards ceremony.

Eighty-two year old British actress Glenda Jackson won her first Tony for her role in the revival of Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women. 

Laurie Metcalf won best featured actress in a play for Three Tall Women. Metcalf won a Tony last year for A Doll’s House, Part 2. 

But in the midst of Broadway’s magical night, one award was presented for outstanding off-Broadway work. The recipient was Melody Hertzfeld, the head of the drama department at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 

The drama teacher was recognized for saving dozens of children from the deadly mass shooting at the school that claimed 17 lives. She is credited for saving more than 65 students by guiding them to safety and keeping them out of harm’s way for more than two hours. 

She received the 2018 Excellence in Theatrical Education award, which honors an educator “who has demonstrated monumental impact on the lives of students.” It comes with a $10,000 prize for the winner’s theater program. 
…

The Band’s Visit, a musical about a an Egyptian police orchestra booked for a concert in an Israeli town, but end up in the wrong town, took home the prize for the best new musical at Sunday’s Tony Awards honoring Broadway performances

The stars of The Band’s Visit – Katrina Lenk and Tony Shalhoub – won the top acting in a musical prizes. 

Based on at 2007 Israeli film of the same name, The Band’s Visit beat out Frozen, Mean Girls, and SpongeBob SquarePants. 

Once On This Island won the best musical revival Tony.The 1990 calypso-infused musical triumphed over My Fair Lady and Carousel. 

“(Let’s) just bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked,” Andrew Garfield said when he won a Tony Award for best leading actor in a play for his work in Angels In America, the revival of Tony Kushner’s monumental drama about life, love, AIDS and homosexuality in the 1980s. 

Garfield’s remark was a reference to the recent Supreme Court decision in favor of a baker’s right to refuse to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding. 

The awards show turned political once again when actor Robert De Niro came on stage to introduce a performance by special Tony winner Bruce Springsteen. 

De Niro shouted an obscenity about the president of the United States and received a standing ovation. He said it again to more cheers. The CBS-TV censors bleeped out the obscenity for television viewers. 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two won prizes for best play, best director of a play, best sound design, best lighting design, best scenic design, and best costume design. 

Broadway veteran Nathan Lane won the Tony Award for best featured actor in a play for his work in Angels in America.

Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles co-hosted for this year’s awards ceremony.

Eighty-two year old British actress Glenda Jackson won her first Tony for her role in the revival of Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women. 

Laurie Metcalf won best featured actress in a play for Three Tall Women. Metcalf won a Tony last year for A Doll’s House, Part 2. 

But in the midst of Broadway’s magical night, one award was presented for outstanding off-Broadway work. The recipient was Melody Hertzfeld, the head of the drama department at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 

The drama teacher was recognized for saving dozens of children from the deadly mass shooting at the school that claimed 17 lives. She is credited for saving more than 65 students by guiding them to safety and keeping them out of harm’s way for more than two hours. 

She received the 2018 Excellence in Theatrical Education award, which honors an educator “who has demonstrated monumental impact on the lives of students.” It comes with a $10,000 prize for the winner’s theater program. 
…

“(Let’s) just bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked,” Andrew Garfield said when he won a Tony Award Sunday night in New York for best leading actor in a play for his work in Angels In America, the revival of Tony Kushner’s monumental drama about AIDS and homosexuality in the 1980s. 

Garfield’s remark was a reference to last week’s Supreme Court decision in favor of a baker’s right to refuse to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding. 

Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles are the co-hosts for this year’s awards ceremony for the best performances on Broadway. 

A band of Egyptian musicians, a sea sponge, an ice princess, mean girls and a magical child named Harry Potter are among those vying Sunday for the highest honors bestowed on Broadway theater: the Tony Awards. 

Broadway veteran Nathan Lane won the Tony Award for best featured actor in a play for his work in Angels in America. 

Eighty-two year old British actress Glenda Jackson won her first Tony for her role in the revival of Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women. 

Laurie Metcalf won best featured actress in a play for Three Tall Women. Metcalf won a Tony last year for A Doll’s House, Part 2. 

But in the midst of Broadway’s magical night, one award was presented for outstanding off-Broadway work. The recipient was Melody Hertzfeld, the head of the drama department at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 

The drama teacher was recognized for saving dozens of children from the deadly mass shooting at the school that claimed 17 lives. She is credited for saving more than 65 students by guiding them to safety and keeping them out of harm’s way for more than two hours. 

She received the 2018 Excellence in Theatrical Education award, which honors an educator “who has demonstrated monumental impact on the lives of students.” It comes with a $10,000 prize for the winner’s theater program. 
…