ibnchannel.id – Ahead of the grand international cultural conference, Culture, Heritage, Arts, Narratives, Diplomacy, and Innovations (CHANDI) 2025, a series of events began with a People’s Party held at the Taman Werdhi Budaya Art Center in Denpasar and Discovery Mall in Kuta. The two-day Party, held on August 29 and 30, 2025, opened CHANDI 2025, featuring a number of performances by artists and cultural figures.
The event began with a magnificent performance of “Barong Rangda,” a contemporary ethnic Balinese dance, by Balinese performers. Barong and Rangda were originally two types of holy art in Bali. The Barong and Rangda are normally maintained inside the temple complex and only performed on specific days. In addition to traditional and modern cultural acts, guests to the People’s Festival can explore and enjoy Indonesian gastronomic delights at small and medium enterprise (MSME) stands, as well as Balinese souvenir crafts.
The Secretary General of Culture, Bambang Wibawarta, in his remarks, stated that the People’s Festival, which opened on Friday (August 29th), will be held over two days in two locations: the Taman Werdhi Budaya Art Center in Denpasar, and the Discovery Mall in Kuta. “Then, on September 2nd, 2025, there will be a welcome dinner, and on September 3rd, 2025, the opening of CHANDI 2025, which hopefully will be attended by the President,” he added.
Secretary General Bambang added that the CHANDI 2025 event has been planned since the Ministry of Culture was founded last year. He stated that this is an international event involving all components of the Ministry of Culture.
“Hopefully, this CHANDI event can continue to be held in the future, and perhaps become an annual event, so that Indonesia will be better known. This will have an impact on the preservation, development, utilization, and even cultural diplomacy, so that Indonesia has a clear position internationally, that we are a cultural superpower, that we have the strength of more than 1,300 ethnic groups, more than hundreds of thousands of existing cultures, which will certainly have a significant impact on the economy and the welfare of our people,” Secretary General Bambang emphasized.
The Head of the Bali Provincial Culture Office, I Gede Arya Sugiartha, in his remarks, conveyed that the Bali Regional Government welcomed and expressed its highest appreciation to the Ministry of Culture for holding CHANDI 2025 in Bali.
According to him, this is one of the largest cultural events in Indonesia held on the Island of the Gods.
“We are grateful and provide extraordinary support to the Ministry of Culture, and once again, the existence of the Ministry of Culture. The Bali Cultural Congress has recommended the establishment of the Ministry of Culture several times.
So now that there is a Ministry of Culture, the Balinese people are certainly the most delighted with this,” he said.
The opening of the 2025 CHANDI People’s Festival was also attended by the Minister’s Special Staff for Media and Public Communication, M. Asrian Mirza; the Head of the Public Relations Bureau, Ibnu Hamad; the Secretary of the Directorate General for Cultural and Tradition Protection, Wawan Yogaswara; the Director of History and Museums, Agus Mulyana; the Director of Cultural Heritage, I Made Dharma Suteja; the Director of Empowerment of Cultural Values and Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, Yayuk Sri Budi Rahayu; Head of the Cultural Media Center, Abu Chanifah; and officials from the Ministry of Culture.
In addition to traditional dance performances such as the ‘Barong Rangda’ Dance, attendees were also captivated by other performances that enlivened the event, including the Kecak Mini Ramayana Dance, the Satya Brastha Dance, and Bonbon Skoozy, Joni Agung & Double T Band, and closing with a performance by Ipang.
The traditional and contemporary performances presented at the People’s Festival are an effort to preserve the diverse regional cultures and make them more widely known. This aligns with the background of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia’s CHANDI 2025, which will take place from September 2-5, 2025, at The Meru Sanur, Bali.***
