BOGOR RAYA DAILY – The artistic director of the 2026 Venice Biennale, Willem Dafoe, is said to be interested in the strong character of Indonesian performing arts.
This was conveyed by the Artistic Director of Bumi Purnati, Restu Imansari Kusumaningrum, at a press conference on the departure of the Indonesian production to Italy.
According to Restu, Willem Dafoe sees that Indonesia has something different compared to other countries in the world of performing arts.
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This uniqueness comes through a combination of dance, traditional music, acting, and silat martial arts which are performed collaboratively on stage.
This year’s festival has the theme “Alter-Native” which talks about change and the origins of culture as an important identity in modern society.
Indonesia is considered very relevant to this theme because it presents works that are strongly rooted in local traditions but packaged with a contemporary approach.
Also Read: Under the Volcano Brings the Krakatoa Tragedy to the World Stage of the 2026 Venice Biennale
The two Indonesian works that appeared were Under the Volcano And Hikayat Perahu / The Tale of Boat.
Both performances will be performed twice each during the festival in Venice in June 2026.***
