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Umbul Umbul Festival 27th to 29th August

The Arti Foundation based in Denpasar Bali is organizing the Umbul Umbul festival from the 27th - 29th August 2004 with local, National and International dimensions in its program, The festival is a celebration of art, honouring the diversity of life on the island, on the Indonesian Archipelago and on Planet Earth. Organised by the Rainbow Project from Switzerland, the festival is intended as a forum for artists and people from different cultures around the world to consciously create new networks and fresh inspiration for planetary peace. Members of AIAA, Byron Bay, got together to paint their own umbul-umbul as a peace offering to send to Bali, along with 24 other umbul umbul's that were sent out to schools all around Australia.

AIAA has been very happy to help the Arti Foundation by promoting and distributing the Umbul Umbul flags to interested schools and artists throughout Australia.

Schools that are sending Umbul Umbul to Bali to take part in the festival are: Katherina Popp: Isolated and Distance Ed. Perth WA, Fernleigh Public School NSW, Gawler High School SA, Kerry Street Community School WA, Pinjarra Senior High School WA, Richard Charlwood WA, Kerry Street Community School WA, John Septimus Roe Community School WA, Governor Stirling Senior High School WA.

The image below shows Radha painting the Umbul Umbul in her garden studio. Radha works voluntarily with the AIAA team and she designed and co-ordinated the painting of an Umbul Umbul which represent's 'Australia Indonesia Arts Alliance' at the festival.

The creation of the Umbul-Umbul is a way of expressing concerns about the future of life on Earth as well as the creation and exhibition of umbul-umbuls and music concerts from different cultures all around the world. The festival also features performances and discussions focussing on humanity, art, nature and spirituality.

There will be an exhibition of umbul-umbuls at the Puputan Badung Memorial Park from the afternoon of Day One and throughout Day Two.The Umbul-Umbuls will also be exhibited at Sanur Beachside on Day Three.The umbul-umbuls created at the park will be allocated around a central mandala of traditional Balinese Umbul-umbuls creating a form of a lotus.

The umbul-umbuls represent hope, meaning, and strength which nourish our hearts, generating an energy that everyone will be able to take home to their villages, provinces or countries, to build a tommorrow that is kinder than today, for mankind and the planet!

by Radha Koch.

Umbul Umbul website: www.artifoundation.org