The Political Economy of the Performing Arts in Contemporary Bali

Abstract

Colonial and early postcolonial accounts often regarded the performing arts in Bali as an autonomous field, furthering anthropological romances of the Balinese as the ultimate cultural beings, seemingly disinterested in politics and power. Many contemporary accounts of the arts have either presented an image of the Balinese as self-consciously apolitical or, through a narrow focus on repertoires, have illustrated the arts as a pure, bounded arena. I argue that the diverse meanings invested in the performing arts reflect changes in the statecivil nexus and transformations in the landscape of ethnic and religious relations in Indonesia. For artists, their work provides a conduit through which to critique politics and politicians. For politicians, appeals to and support from performing artists provides a mode of establishing credibility. In Bali, the performing arts represent a site for analysing changes in political organisation and expression and for investigating the status of emergent democracy and entrenching Islam. I chronicle the 2008 gubernatorial elections and the candidates' appeals to and leverage of artists, describing how politicians seek to portray themselves as the paternal protector of an island whose unique culture is under constant threat. In 2008 issues of intellectual property, multiculturalism and religious fundamentalism, and their relationship to the arts, were the most salient issues in this discourse. This is followed by an account of the convoluted and controversial elections at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts and the passage of the 2008 anti-pornography bill and the Balinese resistance against it.

Counter Hegemony of Cultural Art Innovation against Art in Digital Media

“…This drama was performed for the first time at an odalan ceremony at Pura Puseh (temple) Gianyar, 24 February 1966. Then a cultural figurehead in Bali named I Gusti Nyoman Bagus Panji declared that the official name was Drama Gong [24]. In a very short time, the Drama Gong became a popular show in public life, from the 1970s to the 1980s [25].…”

Bali Tolak Reklamasi: The local adoption of global protest

“…Whereas generally there is a long tradition of art as a means to express political critique (Jenkins and Catra, 2004; McGraw, 2009; Rubin and Sedana, 2007: 2), the loudness and the forceful visibility of these events as well as the close linkage of musicians and activism are revolutionary and new for Bali. The youth activists are fed up with their parents’ generation’s passivity, enforced apoliticism and the government’s sales policy.…”

Language and Power: How Democracy and Pluralism Shape Patterns of Minority Political Representation in Bali, Indonesia

“…This number of Muslims in the province of Bali certainly has an impact on the representation of seats in the House of Representatives (DPR-RI) or the Regional Representatives Council (DPD-RI) at the district, provincial and central levels (McGraw 2009). In the 2019 legislative elections, a Muslim candidate was in the running for representation of the Muslim community in Bali province.…”

“…Also, in any social relationship, the main goal is to get elected and to obtain votes (Ahmed 2020;Tremblay et al 2018). Researchers understand the use of language as a symbol as well as an effort to reach a power that is part of the political communication strategy (Creese 2019;McGraw 2009). Moreover, language is also used as a regulator of politeness and political thought, which at least becomes a study worthy of research (Reuter 2009;Sofyan et al 2023).…”