Hosted by Undiksha, Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha Singaraja. With the support of Yayasan Pelestarian Warisan Budaya Bali Utara (Bali), foundation Irama, BAKE society (the Netherlands).

Undiksha, Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha Singaraja presents the first International Conference and Festival on the ‘Cultural Identity of Buleleng’. Both Conference and Festival take place in the Bali Taman Hotel, Lovina Beach. Its aim is to (re-)discover the cultural heritage of the Buleleng regency, to describe, discuss and expose its artistic identity, and to stimulate the revitalization of its performing arts in particular. Highlights include a mabarung (competition) between east and west Buleleng gong kebyar orchestras, an evening featuring rare and sacred ensembles, and the presentation of contemporary and newly commissioned works. All concerts feature seniman tua (old masters). In the context of the conference, lecture-demonstrations will be given on the specific characteristics of North Balinese performing arts, and its interactions with south Bali. The conference also marks the opening of Roots of North Balinese culture, an exhibition of old photographs of parba, drawings, prasi and other works that have been preserved in Dutch libraries.

We still welcome contributions to the conference. Let yourself be inspired by the program below! We strongly hope that all known performers and scholars in the field will consider participating. We also hope young experts and artists will be present in large numbers.

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