Umbul Umbul Festival | Uniting the Colors of the World
In August 2004, Arti Foundation in Bali - inviting the Rainbow Project in Switzerland for cooperation - will produce the Umbul Umbul Festival as a forum for the creationand exhibition of umbul-umbuls, with performances, discussions and a procession.

The festival brings together alert people from different cultures with conscious minds to meet and exchange information, and to create new networks. In 1989, the Rainbow Project - an art and culture network - brought the umbul-umbul in the colors of the rainbow to Switzerland. Since then the Rainbow Project has been aiming to inspire people from all over the world to create their own colorful umbul-umbuls. Now, in 2004, all the colors will be gathered at the Umbul Umbul Festival in Bali.

The Five Major Events of the Festival
Umbul Umbul Exhibition
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 exhibited at the park will be allocated around a central mandala of traditional Balinese umbul-umbuls creating a form of a lotus, and will consist of the following five categories:

o Traditional Balinese Umbul Umbul

o Rainbow Project with the umbul-umbuls in the colors of the rainbow as a bridge between
   tradition and the contemporary world.

o Messages from the Children of the World: umbul-umbuls created by school children,
   from Bali, from other provinces of Indonesia, and from various other countries.

o Now We Move Forward: umbul-umbuls brought by the invited participants.

o Umbul Umbuls of the Contest: umbul-umbuls created at the Umbul Umbul Contest.

Umbul Umbul Contest
The contest will have a Student and an Adults Division. The festival committee will be visiting various schools as candidate participants throughout Bali to introduce the festival and to provide information to help find a theme for their umbul-umbuls. Umbul-umbuls will be completed on Day Two when material and guidance will be provided. Prize winners will be announced on Day Three. The umbul-umbuls will be judged according to their arti-stic design and concept.

Performances
Day Two at the Puputan Badung Memorial Park will consist of four stages including an opening ceremony, an opening performance, concerts by the invited musicians representing the sound of the world - and also performances of music, dance, poetry reading… by the festival participants. Settling with the participants, the festival committee will do their best to provide for the requirements of each group. There will be performances and concerts on Day Three as well on the beachside before the closingceremony.

Discussions
On Day Two at the Puputan Badung Memorial Park, there will be sessions for discussions where topics concerning humanity, arts, nature and spirituality related to Bali and the rest of the world will be highlighted. The festival committee will invite various speakers to be presenters and all participants are encouraged to take part in this session. Journalists from different medias will be invited also to witness the event and spread the word.

Umbul Umbul Procession
In the morning of Day Three, there will be a procession of umbul-umbuls created by the participants starting from the Puputan Badung Memorial Park to the Sanur Beachside. The procession will be accompanied by musical entertainment prepared by the festival committee, invited musicians and participant groups. After the procession, the umbul-umbuls will be exhibited on the beachside.

Context of the Festival
The people living on the island of Bali, along with people from the other parts of Indonesia, are facing differences on many levels. Ethnicity, religion, politics and economics are major issues of conflict throughout the archipelago and have resulted in many tragedies. However, we see that this is not only an Indonesian problem but has a wider global impact, which is getting out of hand. It seems that mankind has become ignorant of his relation to the Mother Earth and has become blind to the diversity of its content. Whatever race, religion, nationality, or political orientation we are, in order to bring love, peace and humanity back into the world, we must look for the umbul-umbul to plant in our hearts again.

Three Central Balinese Concepts Behind the Umbul Umbul Festival The Nawa Sanga
The nawa sanga is a key concept in Bali where different Hindu deities are positioned at the eight cardinal directions and at the centre, each representing a certain color, letter, sound and weapon. The nawa sanga is a representation of the cosmos in many dimensions, but put simply, the formation of the deities and their manifestations in the many colors seems to remind us that there is place for everyone on the earth.

The concept will come to life at the Puputan Badung Memorial Park, where the setting of the festival will take form of a lotus flower, reflecting the nawa sanga, symbolizing "order" or "completeness".

The Message of the Penjor
The penjor, the origin of the form of umbul-umbul, is a tall, beautiful structure made from a bamboo pole and decorated with palm leaves used on holy days in Bali. With its foot rooted to the ground, the body grows high towards the sky, with a gentle curve towards its nodding head. As it gently sways in the wind, the penjor tells us: the wiser we become, the more we should lower our heads in humbleness. To be united in diversity and for reconciliation, should we not be following the message of the penjor? In the festival, the umbul-umbuls are used as a media for messages of many colors, but its distinct form itself reminds us that in whatever circumstances, no one is superior to others, and we can all give "meaning" to life.

The Symbol of the Naga
An umbul-umbul often bears the picture of the naga - a snake-dragon. Legend tells us that the naga came to Bali from China many years ago when a Balinese king named Jayapangus took a bride from China. This is an example of the many notable adaptations in Balinese culture from outside influences which has come to flourish in their own right on this beautiful island. The Antaboga, as the dragon-snake god is called in Bali, is believed to be the guardian of mother earth, and the umbul-umbul became its vehicle supporting the contents of earth, protecting it from destruction, symbolizing great strength. It is also interesting to note that the mythical figure of the dragon has accompanied mankind for thousands of years, along with the phenomenon of the rainbow. In nearly every one of the indigenous cultures on earth, we find the existence of the dragon and the rainbow. The Rainbow Project has manifested the coming together of the two symbols in their creation of the umbul-umbuls in the colors of the rainbow.

Participants Welcome
The Umbul Umbul Festival is free of charge to everyone who wishes to witness.

Participants by Invitation
The festival committee will select artists working in different medias from Bali, other parts of Indonesia and overseas, who will be invited to participate in the festival. They are invited to bring or send one completed umbul-umbul to be exhibited during the festival. Those who participate directly, will be asked to give a performance or lead a discussion with a topic of their choice. In return they will be provided with bamboo for their umbul-umbuls, accommodation, local transport, mineral water and meals. The festival committee will also invite musicians from different cultures - playing a typical instrument of their tradition to be present during the festival for concerts, performances and the Umbul Umbul Procession. To fulfill the category "Messages from the Children of the Earth" in the Umbul Umbul Exhibition, the festival committee will contact and invite various schools throughout the world to send completed umbul-umbuls to be exhibited.

Participants for the Contest
The contest is open to groups of adults and students over junior high school level from Bali, but those who wish to participate in the contest from other parts of Indonesia and overseas are welcome. Groups are encouraged to prepare a simple musical entertainment for the Umbul Umbul Procession on Day Three. They are also welcomed to perform on stage. Material for the creation of the umbul-umbul, mineral water and meals will be provided. After the festival, these participants will take back their painted umbul-umbuls to their home: spreading the news of the festival.

Individual/Group Participants for the Umbul Umbul Exhibition
Individual or groups who own or wish to create an umbul-umbul of their own are welcome to participate in the festival as well. Their umbul-umbuls will be exhibited during the festival, and arrangements for performing on stage or participation in discussions and the procession can be coordinated.

Documentation
There will be visual and audio documentation of all activities of the Umbul Umbul Festival, which will be followed by a printed publication with photographs and text.

Umbul Umbul Festival Program, August 27 - 29, 2004 | Uniting the Colors of the World
Puputan Badung Memorial Park (Central Denpasar) and Sanur Beachside.

Day One at Puputan Badung Memorial Park
City Cleaning o Allocation of the umbul-umbuls by invited participants to be exhibited o Audio-visual presentation by the Rainbow Project: The Journey of the Umbul Umbul into the World o Shadow Puppet Theater oa.o.

Day Two at Puputan Badung Memorial Park
Umbul Umbul Contest: Participants paint their own umbul-umbuls, which will be added to the exhibition o Opening of the festival by the mayor of Denpasar o Performances of Music, Dance, Poetry Reading o Discussions o a.o.

Day Three at Sanur Beachside
Umbul Umbul Procession from Puputan Badung Memorial Park to Sanur Beachsideo Exhibition of the umbul-umbuls on the Beachside o Beachside Cleaning o Performances of Music, Dance, oa.o. oAnnouncement of Umbul Umbul Contest prize winnersoClosing of the festival by the mayor of Denpasar.

About the Festival Conceptor
The Umbul Umbul Festival was conceptualized by Arti Foundation, Bali and Rainbow Project, Switzerland.

Arti Foundation, founded 1998, is an organization committed to the conservation and development of Balinese performing arts and culture in general, highlighting the challenge to stay true to cultural heritage while remaining creative in an increasingly globalized age. Under the direction of Kadek Suardana, the foundation has been producing innovative stage works based on tradition, being performed in Indonesia and abroad. It is also deeply involved in the creation of many local events, intending to work with friends throughout Bali and beyond, so that its activities continue to have impact and meaning for everyone involved.

Kadek Suardana, 1956. Stage director and composer, co-founder of the Arti Foundation. Created music for Australian and Swedish dance companies, winner of VIDIA Award in 1998 for best illustration music for television movie. With a deep understanding of Balinese traditional arts and experience in modern theater, his music reflects ethnic identity but with new means of expression. www.artifoundation.org

Rainbow Project is an art and culture initiative in 3433 Schwanden, Switzerland, founded in 1989. Since then the project has developed a network to exchange ideas, experiences and knowledge - locally, regionally and worldwide. Umbul-umbuls, printed in the colors of the rainbow or painted by children, artists and interested people, are one of its important tools for focusing and signaling intercultural communication providing a framework for people to interact with each other's visions and projects.

Thomas Bertschi Lobsang, 1944. Artist and visual designer. Has traveled and worked in many countries and cultures, since 1987 mainly in Bali. In 1974 established his own independent workshop within a LifeArt Community in the Swiss Emmental region. Awards received for literary, photographic and film works. Founder of the Rainbow Project. Crucial aspects of his work are the initiation, choreography and design of process oriented cultural events.
www.rainbow-project.ch

Organizing Committee
Arti Foundation, Art Centre, Jl. Nusa Indah, Denpasar, Bali
Phone +62 361 236619
Fax +62 361 264089