Bay of Plenty residents have a unique opportunity to learn to two Indonesian-flavoured activities in Tauranga.

Bay of Plenty Indonesia Community Inc is hosting two Batik workshops, plus an all-welcome Angklung showcase on Saturday, August 31, at the Creative Community Campus at Tauranga’s Historic Village.

BOPIC chair Syully Dobson says her group is hosting the events after demand stemmed from their 2023 Tauranga Indonesian Festival.

“At that time the painting exhibition and batik demo session were cancelled because our batik instructor (was) in Hawke’s Bay due to Cyclone Gabrielle’s impact.

“More than 700 people attended the festival and, many were looking forward to our batik session, so for this reason BOPIC decided to hold a batik workshop exclusively.”

The Indonesian Batik workshops will be 10am-12pm and 1pm-3pm on August 31 at the Kawakawa room.

The Angklung showcase will be held the same day from 12pm-1pm. A $10 ticket will gain participants entry to both events. The Angklung showcase is at the Jam Factory.

What is Batik?

Syully says the word ‘batik’ is derived from the Javanese word ‘Amba’ which means to write, and the suffix ‘Titik’ means little dot or to make dots. “Batik is a wax drawing or writing technique, a way of decorating cloth by covering it with a wax layer and then continuing with dyeing the cloth.

“The waxed areas keep the original colour of the cloth and when the wax is removed, it creates the contrast between the dyed and undyed area, forming the unique pattern called Batik cloth.”

This Batik workshops will see people learn Indonesian batik making techniques called ‘Batik Tulis’ with a very simple process because the original process will take one-three months.

“During the lunch break, Indonesian light refreshments will be served, and we will have an Angklung showcase,” says Syully.

“Angklung is an Indonesian musical instrument made from bamboo originally from West Java.”

Tika Silva, Asa Porter, Syully Dobson, Astik Doran and Aurora Kamarga invite the community to get involved in their cultural events on August 31. Photo: John Borren.

Syully will conduct the interactive Angklung with the audience. “This event will be open to the public – the more the merrier.”

Syully says the BOP Indonesia Community Inc expresses gratitude to Tauranga City Council’s Creative Communities Scheme and Incubator Creative Hub in helping make the events happen.

For reservations, visit: www.facebook.com/events/410413094960793 Or see:

www.facebook.com/events/423281613979384