Talk about Jazz and Art Deco: Romantic Decorating the City of Bandung

Bandros appeared on the screen – not bandros food, but a Bandung Tour on Bus car – along with the relaxing strains of jazz music. The video was the opening for a webinar with a unique title: Romantika Jazz and Art Deco Bandung in Works, which was initiated by the Faculty of Art and Design, Maranatha Christian University on December 18, 2021. This virtual event was attended by around 150 participants from various backgrounds.

The first session was “Art Deco Bandung: The Spirit of Creative Freedom” presented by Djefry W. Dana, a renowned architect and author of the book Mystery of Art Deco Bandung. Initially, Djefry displayed Bandung city buildings that had a typical colonial appearance or Dutch colonial style. Djefry exemplifies this style with the Bandung mayor’s office building whose triangular roof is supported by pillars, symbolizing Dutch and European rule in Bandung. However, after that came the modern Art Deco style that adorned buildings such as the Savoy Homann Hotel, Puri Isola at UPI and Sarinah Building. This new architectural style that contrasts from the colonial style seems to be an expression of the Indonesian nation’s spirit of freedom from colonialism.

The “Art Deco” part of this webinar has been thoroughly discussed by Djefry earlier, but there is still a “jazz” part that has not been discussed. The resource person for this topic is Kang Djaelani, a lecturer from Pasundan University and the Director of the Indonesian Window Cultural Institute. According to him, jazz culture cannot develop alone and must be nurtured. Fortunately, Bandung turned out to be a suitable place for the growth of music. There are many historical milestones for jazz culture in Bandung that were possible thanks to the support of many parties: musicians, educational institutions, communities, and others. Even so, Kang Djaelani believes that Bandung’s music ecosystem can still be improved by holding more events for jazz music. He hopes that there will be cooperation between the government and the musician community so that these ideals can be realized.

Actually, this webinar is a pre-event of the Hajad Jagad “Semesta Growing” which is regularly held every two years. Romantika Jazz and Art Deco Bandung in Karya opened Hajad Jagad along with the launch of a physical-virtual hybrid exhibition containing the best works of FSRD UK Maranatha students together with the Music Art Study Program of Pasundan University and Jendela Ide.

The series of events from the Hajad Jagad “Semesta Growing” featuring collaborations between study programs and between fields of science are expected to inspire the wider community in its peak event in 2022. For that, let’s look forward to the next event!

(Erika Ernawan and Stanislaus Joshua)