Finding America's Best Batik Designers

Jakarta Globe, May 03, 2011

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Whether it's Bill Clinton or Jessica Alba, it's clear a myriad of Americans have already been won over by batik. With this in mind, the Indonesian Embassy in the US is holding a batik design competition for American citizens.

A woman draws a batik pattern in Solo.
(Photo: Jurnasyanto Sukarn, JG)

The American Batik Design Competition is aimed at creating a marriage of Indonesia's time-honored batik motif and America's diverse culture. While the end product may still manifest a trait of the original motifs, the design is expected to exhibit American spirit and values.

"The 21st century will be an era of confluence and fusion between cultures,” Ambassador Dino Patti Djalal said during the launch of the event last month.

“This is a perfect time for the rich heritage of Indonesian batik to meet American contemporary designs."

Participants, American citizens 16-years-old and above, have to submit their designs — just the digital design, not on an actual textile — before August 1.

While usual fashion elements such as colorfulness, imagery and composition factor in, key to winning the competition is how the design conveys the contextual meaning of American values through batik.

And of course, the design should be friendly enough to be inked on an actual fabric.

Once the winners have been announced, the digital design will be handed over to the skilled Indonesian batik artists to be translated into a hand-made batik.

The event was first launched on April 8 in Washington DC, and then further introduced in New York and San Francisco, before going to Houston and Chicago this month.

Three first-place winners of the competition will fly to from the US to Indonesia for a two-week batik excursion in a number of cities, while having their designs showcased to aficionados in an exhibition in San Francisco, Washington DC and Jakarta.

For the complete rules and guidelines, click here.

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