Jakarta, IO – The 2023 Festival Sastra Yogyakarta (FSY), or Yogyakarta Literary Festival, was officially launched by the Regional Secretary, Ir. Aman Yuriadijaya, M.M., at the Balai Bahasa Yogyakarta, on Thursday evening, October 26, 2023.
“The performance offers a strong literary vibe, where writers can celebrate and enjoy a spectacular and highly artistic literary performance. The ambiance is so welcoming that visitors and literary enthusiasts can sit comfortably on mats and enjoy a cup of hot tea and coffee from the ‘angkringan’ menu,” said Aman.
In addition to the various “angkringan” menus, visitors may enjoy a variety of entertainments, such as musical performances by Panji Sakti, plays at the Kembang Gula theater, performances of Javanese-language fairy tales by Fara, Binar, and Sheva from the Jogja Acting Studio, and exhibits of artwork from the Kinanti Sekar Art Studio.
The FSY festival attracted public attention, as many senior writers from Yogyakarta were seen attending and enjoying the event.
In the opening performance of the 2023 FSY, the Head of the Yogyakarta City Cultural Agency, Yetti Martanti, S.Sos., M.M., took on the role of the ‘Mother of Culture’, and delivered a poetic speech about a mother’s hopes for her children, in building the nation’s culture.
The performance was then followed by a’mbedhol tela’ ceremony, performed by the Secretary of the Yogyakarta City Government when he handed over the cassava plant to the Head of the Yogyakarta City Cultural Agency and Ramayda Akmal, one of the judges of the National Poetry Competition of the 2023 FSY. The cassava symbolized sustenance in building Indonesian culture.”
Following the event, S.Sos and M.M. Yetti Martanti said that the FSY event displayed strong teamwork and a sense of community. “This event manifests our love and commitment to literature and blends our strong bonds of brotherhood and cooperation,” she stated.
The event also serves as a “meet and greet event” for writers in Yogyakarta, one that also involves literary figures, academics, students, village residents, artists, and cultural activists.
Yetti emphasized that every year, this festival creates spaces for writers and artists to share ideas and inspirations that will impact the future of art and culture. “The festival witnessed the remarkable growth of cultures. We are growing our local writers and artists in numbers and diversity,” she concluded.
She continued on to point out that other community members involved in this event include writers, authors, literature lovers, media, literary book sellers, literary illustrators, literary sites, and artifacts. “This festival is no longer exclusively ours but belongs to the entire literary and cultural community that continues to thrive in the city of Yogyakarta,” she stated.
“SILA” is the theme for the 2023 FSY, following the previous year’s theme of “MULIH” (returning). Sila means to be sitting cross-legged, contemplative, listening, and seeing things in depth. The 2023 FSY implies an inward look toward oneself and reflects the sight in the form of this literary gathering in Yogyakarta.
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One of the breakthroughs made by FSY 2023 is the revival of the poetry competition that was once popular in the city of Yogyakarta. The National Poetry Competition is a new program at FSY that unexpectedly attracted an overwhelming number of participants.
Ir. Aman Yuriadijaya, M.M., the Secretary of the Regional Government, expressed his gratitude and welcomed the occasion. As Aman stated, “The Yogyakarta Literary Festival continues to be a beacon that invites people to appreciate and celebrate cultural roots in an ever-changing era where technology and globalization are changing before our very eyes.”
“May the 2023 FSY become an unforgettable celebration in providing the profound meaning of life,” he said. (des)