Tomorrow, Saturday (6/14/08) Bali Art Festival, a month-long festival participated by all regencies in the province of Bali and from other provinces in Indonesia and several foreign participants, like USA, Korea, Japan, Australia, will be opened with a grand opening ceremony that involve 3000 artist from all over the paradise island of Bali. This opening ceremony will be held in front of the Monumen Perjuangan Rakyat Bali (Bali People Struggle Monument, at Renon Square Denpasar. The main attractions of this opening ceremony is the parade various art performances and cultural treasures from each participants of Bali Art Festival that usually involve thousands of artists.

The Bali Art Festival 2008 will be held from June 14 until July 12 in Bali Art Center Werdhi Budaya at Jalan Nusa Indah Denpasar. The theme of Bali Art Festival 2008 as the cultural event overall is “Citta Wretti Nirodha—Self Restrain toward Balance and Harmony”.

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The proliferation of handicraft industry in Bali, for many people is considered the side effect of tourism. It is true that when the tourism of Bali experienced its darkest moment after the first and second Bali bomb, handicrafts industry has its hardest time when many workshops and factories stop their activities, the some art shops and galleries closed, and some continue to operate with a hope of recovery of tourism.

It is also true that in the earliest stage of tourism in Bali, the handicraft market of Bali was overloaded with local traditional products for the consumption of visitors who come to Bali. However, handicraft industries in Bali develops and became less ethno-centric, more modern and cope with the demand of the costumer with the magical words “made to order” and at the end the handicraft industry in Bali find that they begins to make products for export and they have another source of income besides the local market.

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