Artistic figures proposed for the Bali Arts Festival are evaluated each leadership period

Denpasar (National Archipelagic Wire) - Art figure Prof. Dr. I Made Bandem and Prof. Dr. I Wayan Dibia proposed that the Bali Arts Festival (PKB) be evaluated every leadership period rather than being held every two years.

"Every minimum period of this PKB we need to evaluate, plan it, implement it, and also the results because this PKB is based on regional regulations, an evaluation team is created, and also looks at the phenomenon of the development of our arts," said Prof. Bandem in the 2026 PWI and Kawiya PKB Cultural Discussion in Denpasar, Friday.

The senior artist and PKB curator expressed his disagreement if the solution was to change the PKB, which has been routine every year for 48 years, to once every two years, because many great Balinese artists are queuing up to get the opportunity to perform.

"There have been proposals like that for a long time, but now we are facing a global world, the world of social media, PKB once a year, children are already looking for ways to learn, they are already skilled, so every year PKB should become a research institution on Balinese arts," said Prof Bandem.

What should be done to answer the monotonous PKB narrative, according to him, is to analyze the offerings that suit people's interests.

Like the 2026 PKB where the barong ket performance went viral and made the Ardha Candra Bali Cultural Park stage packed, even though if you look at the previous year, the baleganjur performance received the biggest attention.

Seeing this, the arts figure proposed a reform to explore the potential of art, one of which came to mind was the musicalization of poetry combined with Balinese musical instruments.

The process of reconstructing traditional arts that are almost extinct is also increasing, so what needs to be encouraged to ensure the arts festival continues is its quality.

One of the things highlighted by the curator is the Bali Cultural Center, an area that is being built by the Bali Provincial Government to accommodate PKB in the future.

For 48 years, the largest annual arts festival in Bali has been predominantly held at the Taman Budaya Art Center, while the stage and area are very limited, so more space is needed to display more art.