Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said last Sunday (20 February) that the government will increase incentives for artists, especially dalang or wayang puppeteers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The plan was made after the government received aspirations from the Indonesian Dalang Association (Pepadi). Wayang has seen a  reduced number of responders and audience members due to the pandemic. 

“If health protocols can be maintained, the government will continue to encourage this performing arts to run, especially once the PPKM reaches level 2," said Airlangga in an official statement. 

The puppeteers also mentioned that they are seeking more support and incentives from the government in order to sustain the continuity of wayang art products produced by  micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

They also hoped that the government would soon issue policies that would favour efforts to promote cultural arts, especially wayang, given the fact that there are a lot of workers from different industries that are involved in wayang performances. This includes the gamelan industry and the tourism industry. 

Lastly, they shared the importance of creating policies to preserve Javanese culture, especially wayang. In response, Airlangga said the ministry will push the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology to give special attention to wayang  as a performing art.

The development efforts can be in the form of learning art, gamelan, dance and language. In wayang performances, a combination of languages ​​is also needed in order to be popular among millennials.

During the pandemic, wayang shows are performed live with just a limited number of spectators. Airlangga then suggests hybrid wayang shows so it could also be watched online. Better publication and promotion are also needed in order to reach a wider audience. 

Airlangga further said that a combination of languages might also be carried out in order to reach a wider audience, especially millennials, as not everyone could understand Javanese.   “In wayang performances, a combination of languages might also be needed to reach more audiences, especially millennials. In addition to Javanese, Indonesian could also be used to make wayang shows more interesting,” Airlangga stated.