“What if art could change the world?” That’s the question Ary Okta posed when founding Palakali Creative Art Studio & Gallery. This isn’t just a gallery. It’s a hub of artistic education that has been actively contributing to the world of education since 2008.
Palakali Creative focuses on art and design activities. It provides a space for creativity to flourish. From the outside you are greeted by a tall green gate. Entering the 1500 square meter area, you’re welcomed by waving green leaves from beautiful trees.
Local culture and environmental friendliness are fundamental concepts here. The creative process is always emphasized. Palakali Creative values the appreciation of artwork. They regularly organize exhibitions and other events to showcase the work.
Children learn to make traditional toys. They use materials from the surrounding nature. They might create a car from orange peel or a mask from banana fronds. A necklace might be made from cassava stems or a collage from leaves. Palakali Creative also teaches how to process used goods into something of artistic value.
Ary says not to let leftover items go to waste. He encourages reusing items to produce functional objects. Examples of materials used are plywood cans cardboard newspapers and used bottles. Ary demonstrates how to make dolls from used bottles. If you want to channel your hobby of painting, Palakali Creative provides painting equipment such as crayons and paints. Children are invited to paint in the open air.
Ary says that painting with free expression emphasizes processing creative ideas. It promotes exploration of materials and media. The resulting paintings are amazing. Many works of art are displayed on the way to the creative studio on the second floor. In the studio, many handicrafts and paintings are displayed. They are worth millions of rupiah.
Palakali Creative also has a batik workshop. You can create batik tulis and batik jumput with free motifs and traditions. They also teach how to make handicrafts from clay. Ary explains that they explore clay formation by hand. They use simple tools such as twigs leaves and stones.
There are enrichment classes. These include film design and dance theater classes. To present the cultural side, children are introduced to traditional games. These games are now starting to be abandoned. Examples are gasing bamboo flute egrang gobak sodor jumping rope betengan congklak bekelan egrang bakiak gandeng engklar and gundu.
Many learning values can be taken from Palakali Creative. Children are trained to create and imagine. They learn patience mutual assistance togetherness and honesty. They learn to appreciate work. They definitely learn to appreciate the universe.
During the creative process, children are accompanied by instructors. The instructors do not directly teach techniques. Instead they invite and accompany them in the process of producing a work of art. Ary says that they are given the widest possible freedom to create and imagine.
As a new paradigm in Indonesian art education, Palakali Creative Art Community is expected to enrich national education. It can be enjoyed by more children throughout Indonesia. It can involve more parties in its development. Ary concludes that the implementation of education is not just the responsibility of the government. It is the responsibility of all components of this nation. This ensures that Indonesian children dare to have ideas develop express explore and visualize ideas. They will become creative and high-quality Indonesian children in the future.
Besides teaching children to make handicrafts together, Palakali Creative also opens private courses. These are for anyone who wants to learn to paint make handicrafts from used goods and draw. Each training participant is charged Rp. 100000 per meeting. Palakali Creative also has ArtArt Cafe. This cafe was built using recycled materials.
Palakali Creative offers art classes. You can develop your creativity. Choose the art class that suits your interests. There are six types of projects that you can participate in. These range from recycling creations to clay. Classes last two to four hours per project. They are open every Saturday. Monday to Friday is by appointment. Projects include recycling clay comic drawing painting art craft and sewing.
Palakali Creative teaches basic art techniques. They deepen knowledge of materials. You will understand and practice how to process materials. They teach how to create works with meaning and value. They use the FADRI concept. This is inspired by design thinking.
Palakali Creative taught Qais Zaidan how to think creatively. It taught him to be sensitive to the surrounding environment.