500 Jakarta children to perform at Kampung Art

JAKARTA. At least 500 children and teenagers from Jakarta from various backgrounds are slated to perform during the Kampung Art Festival, to be held in Cikini, Central Jakarta, on Saturday.

“They are street children or those who could not complete their education, and are now members of Anak Akar Studio. They will be presenting street art performances with the country's legends as the theme,” Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency head Arie Budhiman said at City Hall on Thursday.

Studio head Susilo Adi Negoro said that the performance would be presented on Jl. Cikini, Menteng, Central Jakarta.

“They will start in Tugu Tani at 3 p.m. and will end at Taman Ismail Marzuki at 6 p.m. We won’t close the road so vehicles can pass by while enjoying the children’s performance,” he said.

Various tales from across the archipelago will be performed by the children and teenagers.

“They will perform various tales from different regions, such as Malin Kundang,” he said, referring to a legend from West Sumatra about a rebellious son who was cursed by his mother and turned into stone.

Susilo said that the children had gone through intensive workshops and training in the studio, supervised by veteran local artists.

A performer, Yulinar, said that she would be performing Sangkuriang, a Sundanese tale about a son who was kicked out from the house by her mother and eventually fell in love with her when he grew up.

“There will be three characters: Sangkuriang, his mother Dayang Sumbi and the dog Tumang. We have prepared this for a month and a half,” she said.

Yulinar added that the performers prepared the concept, make-up and props by themselves.

“We recycled and reused stuff and turned them into our stage props,” she cited.

“We look forward to performing the story at the festival,” Leman, another performer, said.

Susilo said that children from Papua, West Java, Central Java and East Java would also join the local performers.

“We wish that the event will be a melting pot for children and teenagers from across the country and, locally, it will be an event that will provide a space for them to develop their artistic skills,” Susilo said.(Sita W Dewi)