Most of Museum Bali’s collections are ethnographical objects of Bali consisting of equipments and tools of religious ceremonies, sacred dances, parts of a sacred building such as temple, etc, similar to those which are still having sacred functions in the present society. In order to appreciate the sense of their sacredness, and to observe the local norms as well, that collections in Museum Bali are generally displayed following the existing concept of Trimandala, the three divisions of an area, i.e. utama mandala, the primary or the holiest part of the area, referring to the mountain direction (kaja), madya mandala, middle area (tengah), and nista mandala, the profane area (kelod) the ocean direction. This concept in Balinese society life is applied to the palemahan desa, a village layout, as well as to the palemahan pawongan, layout of a house compound. Besides horizontally, the concept also applies vertically.

Specially for the exhibition in Denpasar Building where we exhibit collections which do not have any sacred characteristics, besides the. concept of Trimandala we also use periodisation in displaying the collections.

(more…)

Introducing the NEW Yhi Spa at Melia Bali Villas & Spa Resort! Newly refurbished, Yhi Spa offers an entire different concept from the previous Melia Bali Spa.

Dreamy, serene, and rejuvenation are to anticipate once we step our foot at Yhi Spa. Opens on the beginning of June, Yhi Spa offers 10 private Treatment rooms, a spacious Beauty room, 2 Steamed rooms, Lounge for relaxation, Jacuzzi room, and an outdoor reflexology treatment.

Ala carte menu ranges from Javanese lulur, Balinese massage, Yhi Spa Signature massage, and many more. The exotic sounds of tropical birds and playful fluttering colorful butterflies will entertain the guests while enjoying a healthy meal with traditional beverage.

(more…)

The Bulgari Resort Bali, a secluded all villa cliffside retreat, will welcome guests in October 2006. The 59-villa resort is located on the southern tip of the Jimbaran Peninsula, close to the Temple of Uluwatu; an exclusive and intimate setting for guests seeking the ultimate in privacy and luxury.

The Bulgari Resort Bali will reflect the traditional Balinese architecture combined with a sophisticated contemporary design, using indigenous stones, native wood finishes and refined craft-made fabrics exclusively created for the Bulgari Resort.

The West Bali National Park, established in 1941, covers 77,000 hectares of wooded slopes, savannah, rainforest, monsoon forest, mangrove swamp and coastal flats, and is the only remaining natural habitat of the endangered jalak putih, the Bali Starling (Leucopsar rothschildi). It is also home to 200 species of plant, rusa deer, kancil, barking deer, long-tailed macaques, civets, monkeys, wild boars, and the last of the island’s wild banteng from which the deer-like Balinese cattle are descended. It was here that the last known Bali tiger shot and killed in 1937.

(more…)

East - West : Trough Woman
Curator by: Aminudin TH. Siregar.

Hansen Thiam Sun, born in Toho, West Borneo, is a pioneer artist of minimalism painting in Indonesia. This written evidence can be found in testimonial section at his website. There you can also read that most of his art work have been exhibited in many countries such as Brazil,USA, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. Now, in Sanggingan-Ubud, he established gallery with his own name: Hansen Art Gallery.

Through the years, especially since studied in USA in 1980s, Hansen tends to create non-representational paintings. If we compare his latest paintings that will discuss later, esthetically Hansen’s paintings have changed significantly. Or maybe slowly, he begin to leave the genre abstract and minimalist, although if we take closer look at his latest paintings, that footprints still can be seen.

(more…)

Bali on Saturday ended its month-long art festival from June 17 to July 15, involving over a thousand of artists from Bali, other Indonesian regions as well as those from foreign countries.

Head of Bali Tourist Agency I Made Santa said Saturday that the festival, had managed attracted thousands of visitors — both foreign and local tourists.

The main activities of the festival included carnival, cultural performances, art gatherings, exhibition for small and medium enterprises.

According to Made, there are 15 foreign and 13 local cultural troupes took part in the event.

There are 160 small and medium business people took part in the exhibition with total transaction reached Rp 4.01 billion  (US$431,183) as compared to Rp 3.6 billion of last year’s transaction.