Art central

Few places live and breathe art like Bali’s Ubud village. Natasha Dragun revisits this creative enclave, and its best spots to practice, collect and learn about art. Photographer Barry Kusuma follows cover models Ilma and Ita around Ubud’s finest art attractions

PICTURED: Many of Bali’s vibrant green, intricately-tiered rice terraces, such as these at Tegalalang, are now protected lands. Besides feeding local people, they have long inspired visiting artists and photographers

MODELS: ILMAWATI, ITA FROM SEVEN MANAGEMENT HAIR AND MAKE-UP: HAIRUDIN

Ilma (left) wears: Dress from Just Jeans; Flats from VNC
Ita (right) wears: Dress from Brand61; Flats from Mandy’s

Ilma (left) wears: Top from Infinity (Amandari); Leggings from Cotton On; Heels from Iconinety9

Ita (right) wears: Top and shorts from Proklamasi (courtesy of Amandari Resort)

The approach to Ubud gradually prepares you for what’s to come. The road leaves the coast, narrowing as it snakes inland toward the heart of Bali. Between pockets of dense jungle appear clusters of handicraft stores – first potted plants then outdoor furniture, then homewares. Then art. The first sight of Ubud is of an endless parade of galleries and workshops, boutiques and arty cafes, garlanded by ornate temples, towering palms, papaya trees – and fringed by those shimmering green fields of rice.

It’s hard not to get swept up in Ubud’s creative fervor. “I think artists come to Ubud because there are so many inspiring scenes,” says Liv Gussing, the general manager of Amandari, one of Ubud’s first luxury resorts. “Combined with amazing color and light, there is no end of opportunity here.” Nestled amid rainforest overlooking Sayan village’s Ayung River, Amandari is among a handful of boutique properties known for embracing Ubud’s arts scene. Every afternoon, kids from a nearby school descend on the resort for dance lessons, provided for free by a hotel staff member.

LEFT AND RIGHT: Bali’s Monkey Forest features fantastic sculptures, such as these Komodo dragons; For young Balinese, like these performers at Amandari, art is a natural part of the culture

This affinity for art and culture is not new. Ubud, home to just 8,000 people, has long been known as the artistic heart of Bali, attracting painters, sculptors and musicians for hundreds of years. Significant supporters of the arts, the late 19th century royal family nurtured a creative scene that still resonates across the community today. “In the 1930s, the king invited artists to come and live in Ubud, and they bought lots of inspiration to the culture,” explains Koman Neka, the owner of three art-filled hotels in Ubud. “The royal family always nurtured art and culture, so art just became part of life.”

Koman’s grandfather, Suteja Neka, was retained by the king as the royal kris knife carver, and later went on to open the Neka Art Museum in 1982, housing the likes of Abdul Aziz and Anak Agung Gede Sobrat, and a collection of kris knives considered the largest of its kind in the world.

In a similar fashion, the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA) was opened by Balinese art collector Agung Rai, who traveled the world to purchase the Indonesian artworks off shore, which today fill his vast property. Laid out like an eclectic Garden of Eden for art, ARMA features an elegant trio of light-filled gallery spaces, offering a survey of Balinese and Javanese works from past and living masters – plus pieces by foreign artists who have lived on Bali. As with Ubud itself, modern art lives shoulder to shoulder with the classics in ARMA, whose garden space is dotted with brightly colored modern sculptural installations – making for a pleasing visual contrast to the traditional architecture, carved frescos, and rice padi backdrops.

Ita (left) wears: Dress from Body and Soul; Heels from Icon Ninety9
Ilma (right) wears: Dress from Rolling Stock; Heels from Everbest

Across town, Gaya Fusion in Sayan is devoted exclusively to contemporary works from an eclectic mix of local and international artists, while encouraging visitors to get creative themselves. Gaya Anak Anak, held every Sunday, is a free arts-and-crafts program for kids. The gallery also hosts regular theater, dance and music events – while its nearby active Gaya Ceramics studio is available for tours and lessons on request.

Once you’ve finished exploring and creating, Gaya’s upstairs cafe makes a great place to enjoy some local delicacies, surrounded by painting and ceramic works created nearby. Many of Ubud’s other restaurants and cafes have developed into arty showrooms too, giving new meaning to the notion of ‘art courses.’ Cafe Tutmak is a hip space with regularly changing painting exhibitions; Coffee and Silver has a superb collection of locally made jewelry sculptures; while Three Monkeys should not be missed, offering both rich cultural insights and excellent cuisine.

Ubud’s local art scene seems to flourish on the town’s lack of pace. Unlike in Kuta or Seminyak, nothing seems to happen in a hurry here. “It’s ideal for artists,” says Koman. “Real art cannot be copied or rushed.” This relaxed approach to daily life is what attracted the town’s first international artists back in the early 20th century. Russian-born painter and musician Walter Spies, well represented at ARMA, decamped here for 15 years from 1927, followed later in the 1960s by renowned Dutch artist Arie Smit, who went on to found the Young Artists Movement. Smit is still an Ubud resident, at the age of 94.

Today’s young artists still come in search of the same inspiration. Australian painter and sculptor Chris Miller came to Ubud on a whim, and has spent the best part of five years here, opening a small gallery-cum-studio, New Earth. “I fell in love with Ubud instantly. You meet new artists here all the time,” he says. Across town, Pranato’s Gallery conducts weekly life-drawing classes, hugely popular with residents like Chris as well as holidaymakers who want to take a little bit of Ubud away with them when they leave.

Around the corner from Pranato’s studio, the Bali Center for Artistic Creativity hosts creative courses, ranging from short painting classes to multi-day, university accredited workshops. Jo Philips, a writer on holiday from London, booked onto a painting course at the center. “I was feeling a bit stale at home, and wanted to immerse myself in an arty community to get some inspiration,” she says. “It’s not about being good or bad – my works aren’t great. It’s about being surrounded by creative people; meeting and being tutored by Bali’s best artists, and spending days soaking up art in Ubud’s gorgeous galleries.”

While many classes are held on the grounds of the small gallery-cum-studio, some workshops involve excursions into the countryside. Trips see students venturing five kilometers out of town to set up easels overlooking the breathtaking Tegalalang rice terraces, with their endless tiers of emerald-green fields. Some students also brave the popular Monkey Forest – while the primates here are notoriously cheeky, the setting is as serene as they come, with towering tropical trees quilting crumbling Hindu shrines, in a quiet only broken by the playful animals crashing above you.

Many of these shrines and gateways have their origins in the small villages on the outskirts of Ubud. Mas, a five-minute drive from the center of town, is renowned for its wood carving, and is home to a handful of artists’ studios, such as Mr Puja’s. “It can take five months to create one life-size carving,” says Nyoman, Mr Puja’s gallery manager. He casts his arm across a semi-open workshop where dozens of apprentices sit cross-legged, cradling hunks of sandalwood, ebony, hibiscus and teak. “These are real artists. They don’t copy – they create from the imagination, using skills learned from their parents.” All of Mr Puja’s artists are from the village of Mas, Nyoman says, trained from one generation to the next. “Good artists grow naturally, not from a formal school,” he notes.

Liv Gussing agrees. “I think that ‘the artist within’ is developed and nurtured at such an early age here. I mean, just look at these young dancers,” she says, admiring a group of kids no older than 10 performing a legong dance for a group of tourists. “This is Ubud. This is why people come here.”

CONTACTS

Agung Rai Museum of Art
Jln Raya Pengosekan tel: (0)976-659 www.armamuseum.com

Amandari
Jln Raya Kedewatan, Bali 80571, tel: (0)361 975 333 www.amanresorts.com

Bali Center for Artistic Creativity
Jln Raya Petalu tel: (0)361 970 034 www.baliartcourses.com

Panorama Tours
Panorama Building 4th floor, 63 Jln Tomang Raya, Jakarta tel: (0)21 569 58585 www.panorama-tours.com

Pranato’s Gallery
tel: (0)361 970 827

Cafe Tutmak
Jln Dewi Sita tel: (0)361 975 754

Coffee and Silver
Jln Monkey Forest tel: (0)975 354

Gaya Fusion
Jln Raya Sayan tel: (0)361 745 1413 www.gayafusion.com

Komaneka at Bisma
Jln Bisma tel: (0)361 971 933 www.komaneka.com

Neka Art Museum
Jln Raya Campuhan tel: (0)361 975 074 www.museumneka.com

Sika Contemporary
Jln Raya Campuhan tel: (0)361 975 727

Blue Moon Gallery
Jln Tirta Tawar, Banjar Kutuh Kaja tel: (0)361 976 727

Three Monkeys Cafe
Jln Monkey Forest tel: (0)361 974 830