Affandi Celebrations: Yogyakarta, Central Java

Not far from the airport, as you head into the centre of town, you cannot miss the home of Affandi; the internationally renowned artist and a legend in Indonesia. The building is like a fairytale castle perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the river.

The family of the late noted Indonesian painter Affandi plans to hold a series of cultural events over the next month in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his birth. A shadow puppet performance on May 19 at the Affandi Museum on Jl. Adi Sucipto in Yogyakarta will mark the start of the events according to an article in the Jakarta Post.

On the next day there will be a painting competition for children to celebrate Affandi’s affection for the young.

“Bapak (father) paid a lot of attention to children. One day when he was concentrating on a painting, he heard a child crying, looking for his mother. He stopped painting to find the mother,” said Juki Affandi, one of the artist’s children.

Affandi was born in 1907 and died in 1990.

The Affandi Museum’s production director, Yuswantoro, said that the commemorations would climax with a performance of the colossal drama Banjaran Sukrosono at Prambanan Temple.

“Sukrosono, a noted figure in the shadow puppet performance world, was considered by Affandi to be a mirror of himself,” Yuswantoro, adding that similar events would also be held overseas, including in Singapore.