Various of Indonesian Batik Featured in 2018 Solo Batik Carnival

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The 2018 Solo Batik Carnival is set to be held in June and will feature the diversity of Indonesian batik. The theme of the carnival this year is `Ika Paramartha` and is included in Indonesia`s 100 Wonderful Event.

“Ika is taken from Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (national slogan: unity in diversity), while Paramartha means the good things that unite us,” said Lia Imelda, President of the Solo Batik Carnival Foundation on Wednesday, February 14.

According to Lia, the current political and social climate that is prone to spark conflict drove them to pick this specific theme which can hopefully unite the country’s ethnic, religious, racial and societal group.

Event coordinator Ragowo Ade Kurniawan said that past events highly featured uniquely Solo batik. However, it will now feature batik from eight regions such as Sumatra, Kalimantan, Irian Jaya, Nusa Tenggara, Bali, Java, and Jakarta.

“We want the SBC participants to be featured as creators, designers, and showmen. So it’s not just merely ordering and paying for a costume,” said Ragowo.

He explained that the term is to have batik dominate 75 percent of participants costumes. However, event organizers banned the use of the traditional and famous batik tulis (hand-written batik) for a costume in the event since it would deviate from the batik’s image.

ANTARA