The Yogyakarta Crafts and Batik Agency, under the Industry Ministry’s Industrial Service Standardization and Policy Agency, and the Indonesian Consulate General in Chicago, US, recently organized a batik design competition to introduce batik to US citizens.

“We expected the batik pattern design competition to introduce Indonesian batik to the general public in the United States and present feedback to us about the batik patterns preferred in the US,” Yogyakarta Crafts and Batik Agency head Hendra Yetty said in Yogyakarta on Wednesday.

Submissions for the batik pattern design competition themed “Best of Both Worlds: How Batik Bridges the Two Nations” were opened in October 2021. The organizers targeted Indonesians in Indonesia, the Indonesian diaspora, and US nationals to join the competition, the agency head informed.

Out of the 250 submissions, the organizers selected the top 12 designs for the final selection stage, and the three winners will be announced on Wednesday (December 29, 2021), she said.

“Besides introducing Indonesian batik, the competition has also been organized to probe Indonesian batik’s market potential in the US; hence, batik industry actors can understand preferred batik designs in the states (US) and satisfy their batik demand,” Yetty said.

The batik industry makes a major contribution to the national economy and provides job opportunities for thousands of people, she highlighted.

The industry, which is dominated by small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), employs 200 thousand people in 47 business units scattered across 101 regional batik centers nationwide, she informed.

“The batik industry has been prioritized for further development as the industry has provided a great leverage for national economic growth,” the agency head said.

Besides contributing to the national economy, the national batik industry has become a global market leader and Indonesia’s batik products are renowned in several countries, she added.

“Batik is the identity of Indonesians as this craft has been recognized as UNESCO’s Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Furthermore, as batik is part of our creative industry, the art continues to be developed by the society,” Yetty remarked.

Source: Antara News