Bali Art Center
The Bali Art Center is also known as Taman Wedhi Budaya and houses the cultural building complex of Bali. It is an embodiment of the traditional Balinese architecture too.
Where is it located?
The Taman Wedhi Budaya (Bali Art Center) is located in East Denpasar, the capital city of Bali. The Art Center is situated at Jalan Nusa Indah in the Sumerta Kelod Village. This place is 1.5 km east of the city of Denpasar and hence not very difficult to reach. One can reach it through Abian Kapas as well. This is also the venue for the annual Bali Arts Festival that is held from the middle of June for a whole month until the middle of July. The Bali Arts Center covers a total of 5 hectares of land which is divided into 3 zones.
History
This wonderful building complex started with the Cultural Park in 1973. It was commemorated by the Pesta Kesenian Bali or the Bali Artistry Party which was held a month later. The whole months was marked with traditional dance performances, exhibitions, cultural activities and parades. In fact the opening ceremony was marked with an artistic parade that started at the Puputan Park and continued up to the Art Center, a distance of 2 km through the town, delivering the message of cultural preservation to the Balinese population. The closed stage, Ksirarnawa was inaugurated on the 17th of July 1986. It was formed on the idea of Prof. Dr. Ida Bagus Mantra to conserve Balinese traditional culture.
Zonal Divisions
The Art Center comprises mainly of 3 zones. The first is called the Sacred or tranquil zone comprising of the Widya Kusuma Library Building, Taman Beji Temple, Ayodya Stage, Slonding Pavilion and the Pepaosan Amerta Saraswati Pavilion. Another important zone is the Demi tranquil zone comprising of Gili pavilion, the water tower, the electric transformer, Bale Kambang or the floating pavilion, Mandhara Giri Bhuvana, which is the main exhibition hall, Gajah Mina Bridge, Wantilan Hall, Kumbakarna Kerebut Sculpture, Painting Studio, artist dormitory, Krya Krya Sembrani Occaishcrawa Building and kids’ playground.
The home of art and the venue of the art festival
Bali Art Center in itself is a major tourist attraction. But what make it so special are the two colossal art performance locations. The first one is the Ardhacandra amphitheater which measures 2000 square meters can house as many as 7000 spectators. It is generally used for sendratari or dance and drama performances, drama gong, festival of gong kebyar along with music. The space underneath the amphitheater is used as a great showroom that is used during the annual Bali Arts festival for the exhibition of exquisite handicraft products from small scale industries.
The Ksirarnawa or the closed stage measures 5500 square meters and the upper chamber can house up to 1500 people. It is generally used for seminars and conferences. It has gazebos for relaxing, studios for painting, dance, and theater exercise and for western workshops. There is another small stage called Angsoka stage in front of Ardhacandra for smaller performances.