In the creation of art performances, the Balinese have been inspired by everything in their surroundings, including nature, myths and legend. In fact, some daily activities have been brought to the stage in the form of eye catching dance performances.  Before the massive growth of tourism in Bali, the Balinese people used to live on […]

On the 3rd of March 2018, situated at the heart of Denpasar, right in front of the governor’s official residence, a cultural art carnival was held a...

March is special in Bali. The 17th of March is the first day of Saka New Year 1940. Saka Year is from the Balinese Lunar Calendar System which consist...

The music of the gamelan is an equally rich and complex tradition. Like dance it makes itself accessible to a variety of skill levels. There are roles...

Chapter 27 Statues and Carvings Text & Illustration by Bruce Granquist The temple walls often contain long carved reliefs that tell the stories of...

There are other preparations besides preparing the temple grounds, other important elements of ritual life that can take years to develop and perfect....

It looked almost like an Indian Kumbh Mela with the whole of Bali’s southeast coast covered with people dressed in white. Right to the misty distanc...

It’s six thirty am and we are meeting at the carpark of Tirtha Empul, Bali’s most well known holy spring. This Hindu Balinese water temple in the ...

  While visitors in the south brave Bali’s holiest mountain, the volcanic, Gunung Agung continues to engage, fascinate and terrify visitors and...

There are in Bali several kinds of traditional healers. The closest to the Western idea of a doctor is the balian usada: his knowledge rests on the co...

Gung Lingsir, the old prince of Abian Gombal, was now back outside, sitting cross – legged on the verandah of his old pesaren pavilion. He was l...

One of the main problems when talking about Balinese “religion” is related to the very fact of “defining” it, and beyond, to the fact that by ...

Art plays distinctive and irreplaceable roles within the development of a healthy society. Art offers us oppor-tunities to be inspired, become more ed...

Artist liina klauss, together with Potato Head Beach Club Bali, created a visually stunning installation name ‘5000 soles’ from rubbish that washe...

The Bali art infrastructure is undergoing important transformation. This renewal is a timely, yet a long and unique process, the intended outcome, how...

It was with great sadness that I heard of the sudden and unexpected passing of Made Wijaya, my long time friend and columnist of both NOW! Jakarta and...

Last month, at a Bongkasa high priest’s cremation, I saw a contemporary-cum-ceremonial dance performance staged around the funeral pyre. It resemble...

Many of the late pedanda’s disciples are wearing commemoratives t-shirts emblazed with the message ‘Death is life’s friend’. Balinese history ...