Surakarta
About the Creative City:
Surakarta harnesses the rich potential within its cultural assets and creative economy, characterized by its 387 ateliers involving 1,081 artists. These ateliers cover a range of artistic disciplines, including traditional musicians, dancers, singers, theatre actors, painters, and sculptors. The city's commitment to nurturing artistic talent is evident in its well-established training spaces for crafts and folk arts.
Since 1910, Surakarta has been committed to organizing folk art performances, notably the Wayang Orang Opera, with regular shows at the Sriwedari Wayang Orang Building. The city has become a hub for folk arts performances, with open pavilions in every neighbourhood facilitating routine training and performances. Larger venues, such as the Central Javanese Culture and Balekambang Park Tourist area, showcase Ramayana Dance Dramas on full moon nights.
Surakarta is renowned for its traditional batik textile production, a cornerstone of folk crafts. With 192 batik workshops and two batik villages, Kampung Batik Laweyan and Kampung Batik Kauman, the city thrives as a centre for this artistic expression. The government's support extends to providing gamelan orchestra instruments to neighbourhood centres and junior high schools for karawitan music activities.
Rooted in the history of the Mataram kingdom, Surakarta’s citizens maintain strong ties to Javanese culture, including crafts and folk art. The creative economy thrives in sectors such as performing arts, crafts, culinary, and fashion, fostering broad stakeholder involvement. Despite challenges posed by the pandemic, Surakarta adapted, hosting 84 creative economy events between 2020 and 2022 and planning at least 48 national and international events for 2023.
Added Value:
As a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art, Surakarta is dedicated:
To leverage the field of Crafts and Folk Art as a key driver for sustainable urban development;
To enhance the education among the youth of cultural traditions; and
To utilize the Network to help promote knowledge exchange, job opportunities, and economic growth.
