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Siapa Arimba?

Arif Hidayat and Margaret Bradley established Arimba Culture Exchange in 1991 as an ongoing project to assist cultural exchange between Australia and Indonesia, bringing Australia and Indonesia closer together through the arts.

Arimba Culture Exchange aims to develop Australian understanding of Indonesian culture and Indonesian understanding of Australian culture by:

· actively promoting cultural exchange at a person-to-person level between Australian and Indonesian artists
· encouraging exchange of ideas at a personal level between artists from Australia and Indonesia
· introducing Indonesian contemporary culture to a wide audience in Australia
· developing contact between Australian Aboriginal and Indonesian communities.
Arimba Culture Exchange's cultural activities provide important support in enhancing the Australia-Indonesia relationship at a person-to-person level between artists and the public both in Australia and Indonesia. Our mission is cultural exchange involving Indonesians and Australians in organising and performing to promote traditional and modern culture in the arts and develop crosscultural skills through joint performance, workshopping and discussion. Our activities are made possible through the continued support of Insearch, University of Technology, Sydney. Arimba Culture Exchange has developed a profile across the Indonesian and Australian communities both in Australia and Indonesia.

Arimba Culture Exchange projects have included producing and assisting the following highly successful visits from Indonesia to Australia:

· the poet/playwright Rendra's tour of four states in 1992
· Indra Utama, choreographer and lecturer from ASKI, Padang Panjang in West Sumatra in 1993
· the dancers Agung Alit Wihaya, I Wayan Tembres, I Wayan Purwanto and Ratndai Piniasih from Bali
· the directors Dindon from Teater Kubur, Jakarta and Fred Wibowo from Studio Audio Visual Puskat, Yogjakarta in 1993
· the painter Dede Supria in 1993
· the playwright, Ratna Sarumpaet in 1994
· the jazz fusion group, Krakatau in 1997
· Krakatau's Australian tour to Brisbane Festival, Byron Bay, Sydney Carnivale and Canberra in 2000;

and from Australia to Indonesia:

· Entr'Acte Theatre to Jakarta, Solo and Padang Panjang in 1992
· the choreographer Paul Saliba from NAISDA to Bali
· the directors Robert and Mary Draffin from Theatreworks in Melbourne to Java and Bali
· Jigsaw Theatre's Treehouse tour to Kalimantan, East Java and Jakarta in 1993
· Robert Lloyd's attendance at Jakarta's International Drum Festival in 1993
· Export Oz's events for Australia Today Indonesia 94 in 1994
· Deborah Pollard's performance project 1995
· Ta Duy Binh's stay at Bengkel Teater Rendra in 1995
· Kinetic Energy Dance Theatre's Indonesian tour to Medan, Yogyakarta and Jakarta in 1996
· Guy Strazzullo Trio's tour to Jakarta International Jazz festival in 1997 with workshops and performances in Jakarta and Bandung
· Arif Hidayat's Asia Link Arts Management Residency at Farabi Music School Jakarta in 1999.

Arimba Culture Exchange has an ongoing production project of Music, Dance and Theatre showcasing Australian/Indonesian crosscultural works by various Australian and Indonesian artists including:

· The Circle at Metro, Sydney in March 1995 featuring Robert Lloyd and Leigh Giles, Sawung Jabo and Friends, Tyo Mally Band, Meritja, Deborah Pollard, Monica Wulff, Nyoman Sumerti and Jimmy Sadeli
· Dynamic Rhythms from Indonesia featuring Sawung Jabo and Sirkus Barock, and Meritja at the Harbourside Brasserie in March 1996
· A visit to Sydney by Krakatau, Indonesia's leading jazz fusion group to perform at Manly Jazz Festival and the Harbourside Brasserie in early October 1997
· Guy Strazzullo Trio CD launch at the Harbourside Brasserie in March 1998 and subsequent release by Aquarius Records in Indonesia
· Awakening, Benefit Night for Indonesia at the Harbourside Brasserie in June 1998
· Rhythms for Peace, Benefit for East Timor - East Timorese, Indonesian and Australian Artists in Solidarity at the Harbourside Brasserie in September 1999.
Arimba Culture Exchange has also assisted the following projects:

· Robyn Fallick's translation of Ratna Sarumpaet's work Marsinah into English funded by the Literature Board of the Australia Council
· in liaison, consultancy and pre-production for Andrish St Clare's Trepang project documenting the history of Australian Aboriginal and Indonesian contact through theatre, dance and music
· the 1996 Indonesian Consulate's Indonesian National Day celebrations including performances at the Airport Sheraton
· cultural performances in celebration of ASEAN's 30th Anniversary at Darling Harbour and Indonesia's National Day at The Rocks in 1997
· in marketing and production for The Horned Matriarch, The Story of Reno Nilam in 1998
· touring Exploring Indonesian Music school performances to over two hundred schools in NSW, ACT and Victoria since 1995
· Indonesian tour by Trio Madois - Margaret Bradley, Dody Satya Ekagustdiman and Ismet Ruchimat - of performances and workshops in universities, schools, hotels and other venues to East Kalimantan, Medan, Jakarta and Bandung in 1997
· Trio Madois performances at Beat International Gamelan Festival and Third Composing Women's Festival in Wellington, New Zealand in March 1999
· in consulting, interpreting and liaising for The Theft of Sita at Adelaide Festival 2000, Hanover Expo 2000 and Melbourne International Festival.

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2000, a year for awards for Australian-Indonesian collaborations in Melbourne
By Arif and Margaret at Arimba Culture Exchange

For the first time since reformasi, Indonesian artists featured in several major productions in Australia in the year 2000. Ong Ken Sen's Desdomena premiered at the Adelaide Festival in March with the Javanese dancer Miroto playing a major role while another premiere, the Australian-Indonesian collaboration, The Theft of Sita was a highlight of the Festival.

Based on the story of Sita's kidnapping in the Ramayana, The Theft of Sita was a multimedia presentation combining several huge screens, computer-generated video imagery and over 100 puppets from traditional Balinese characters such as Twalen and Merde to those designed recently in Australia such as log-eating creatures and a torso with a car for a head. Steeped in an ancient tradition, the Balinese wayang kulit (shadow puppetry) underpinned this performance from the classical opening scenes showing the earth at the beginning of time through to the powerful closing images which led to Indonesia's recent reformasi. The dalang (puppeteer) I Made Sidia, appearing at the heart of this collaboration, took both cast and audience on a wild adventure as he told the story in three languages; English, Indonesian and Balinese.

Director Nigel Jamieson and composer Paul Grabowsky collaborated with the Balinese puppeteer, I Made Sidia and the Balinese composer I Gede Yudane to head the team of Australian and Balinese puppeteers and musicians. Four Australian puppeteers, five Balinese musicians (suling, gong, vocals, kendang, gender wayang, ceng-ceng, gambuh) and six Australian musicians (percussion, vocals, guitar synth, violin, saxophone and trombone) rehearsed, performed and lived together for three seasons at Adelaide Festival in March, Hanover Expo in October and Melbourne Festival in November. Arif Hidayat from Arimba Culture Exchange was the cultural consultant and interpreter who supervised the process from the beginning so that the production ran smoothly.

There was no denying the success of the project when The Theft of Sita received The Age award for Creative Excellence at the 2000 Melbourne International Festival. A strong team had developed from the Australian-Indonesian exchange.

Another Australian -Indonesian collaboration between a theatre group from Bandung working with Melbourne-based Australian artists, Happy 1000 was warmly received by the Melbourne Fringe Festival audiences and also took out an award.

The success of these Australian-Indonesian collaborations demonstrates the need for continued support of this significant work in times of turbulent Australian-Indonesian relations so that person-to-person ties continue to build between our neighbouring countries and strengthen the existing links.

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Krakatau's Australian Tour 2000
By Arif and Margaret at Arimba Culture Exchange

Krakatau were true to their namesake and "exploded" on the Australian scene with amazing results and cries of "awesome". Everyone who saw them is still talking about the wonderful show, music and musicians that are Krakatau, and want them to return within the year. The tour truly was a Magical Match.

No one could have imagined how warmly Krakatau were received and how eagerly the call, "Encore!" resounded throughout venues both large and small. From Noosa to Brisbane, Byron Bay to Canberra and Sydney, the audiences loved Krakatau and danced to their "awesome" sound. Some were stunned by the look of the instruments and the costuming, let alone the rich tapestry of sounds that emerged from this inspiring group. Krakatau's presentation was tight, slick and sophisticated, communicating new ideas about Indonesian contemporary culture to their Australian audiences.

Margaret was honored to be able to appear with her teachers and friends throughout their tour. It was a dream come true and according to Dwiki Dharmawan, the collaboration brought a new dimension and mystique to their performances. Our work together was just one example of the ongoing close relations which Australian and Indonesian artists enjoy. Krakatau's tour went off with a bang and Australian audiences eagerly await their return.

The workshops held at Queensland Conservatorium, Byron Bay Community, Canberra School of Music and Sydney University were also a great success with students and musicians inspired by Krakatau's contemporary sound and the way the Sundanese tradition reinvents itself.

Krakatau's Australian Tour 2000 was made possible through the ongoing partnership between Arimba Culture Exchange and Kita Music with sponsorship from Qantas Airways, the Queensland Government, Thiess Contractors and Insearch University of Technology Sydney.

Contact: Arif and Margaret
Arimba Culture Exchange
Email: arimbace@dot.net.au