The Creative Power of Surabaya Artists During the Pandemic

HUMAS PEMKOT SURABAYA

The Surabaya Art and Culture Parade show which took place virtually at the Cultural Hall Building on Saturday (17/10/2020) night with the guest star of the Mayor of Surabaya Tri Rismaharini.

Over the past month, Kartolo (76), a senior actor of ludruk, one of the theatrical genres in East Java, has found a new way to perform ludruk to entertain the public. As the community mobility restrictions were strictly enforced to suppress the transmission of Covid-19, he turned to YouTube to show his ludruk performance.

”Tuku tape ya nang Jagir, aku wong sugih tapi rada kentir [Buy tape (fermented food), yes, in Jagir, I\'m a rich person, but a bit crazy)," he said in the PPKM (Polah Pikir Kartolo Maneh) episode on the Cak Kartolo Channel, YouTube, which was uploaded on 22 July, this year.

Kartolo\'s "PPKM" episode is the ninth of 13 episodes uploaded to the Cak Kartolo Channel in the past month. In Surabaya, the implementation of the emergency community mobility restrictions (PPKM Darurat), which was later followed by the PPKM level 4, has hampered the creativity of most art and cultural activists in the city, including Kartolo. They have been forced to move all their creative power to spaces free of Covid-19 transmission, online platforms.

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Like the parikan or the opening rhyme of the "PPKM" episode, the artists and cultural circles in Surabaya are like rich people, but a bit crazy. They are rich in the sense that they have a lot of ideas and creative power, but crazy because of the pressure caused by the pandemic that never subsides.

To channel their creativity, Kartolo and a number of other artists uploaded their plays to YouTube. For the production process, the man who was born in Pasuruan, 2 July, 1945, was supported by a creative team, including his wife Ning Tini and comedian Pulung Sisswantara.

Each story has a specific theme with a video duration of 6-10 minutes.

The scenes were sometime recorded at his home in Kupang Jaya, on roads and public spaces with the permission from the authorities especially the Covid-19 task force. Each video shoot can cover 3-6 stories. Each story has a specific theme with a video duration of 6-10 minutes.

"It hasn\'t made [money] yet, but at least a lot of people can watch it on YouTube. Cak Kartolo is happy to be able to entertain again even though the earnings have not been satisfactory," Ning Tini said on Wednesday (4/8/2021).

KOMPAS/AMBROSIUS HARTO

Meimura, a ludruk player distributes masks during socialization of the dangers of Covid-19 at Simo Market, Jalan Pacuan Kuda, Surabaya, East Java, on Thursday (13/8/2020).

Continuing to work and to produce creative works amid the difficult situation has also become the principle of life of other senior ludruk player Meimura. He felt that if he just kept silent and did nothing he would easily get achy, gout, depressed and even sick.

"It can be strange and have many diseases," said Meimura, who opened the Indonesian Independent Children\'s Studio (Samin) in his village, Gunung Anyar Emas in March, 2021.

During the pandemic, when ludruk or other traditional plays could not be performed, Meimura travels from market to market to disseminate information about the Covid-19 prevention health protocol. Performing as "Besut Rusmini", he rhymes around the market while distributing face masks.

Residents who do not wear masks are ridiculed with parikan or rhymes. For example, ”maskeran harga mati, gak maskeran isa mati [Wearing a mask is a must, not wearing a mask can die]”.

From his residence, Meimura also creates content for the play "Besut Rusmini" to be uploaded to his Instagram account @meimura.ragiltheatre. From the story, it is clear that the message to be shared is that humans, including artists and culture activists should not lose, let alone give up on the pandemic that has claimed the lives of 4.27 million people in the world.

PEMERINTAH KOTA SURABAYA

Patrol music performances broadcast live via social media in the Surabaya Cultural Arts Parade at Balai Pemuda, Surabaya, East Java, on Sunday (12/20/2020).

According to senior traditional dancer Dini Ariati, leader of the Remo Laboratory Studio, Surabaya, online activities are currently the best solution for practicing and preserving traditional dances. Before the pandemic, her studio routinely held dancing performance at the East Java Cultural Park. During the pandemic, the activities were moved to a shopping center, but they were later prohibited.

"Dance classes are currently held through Zoom with more participants than before the pandemic," said Dini.

In the Zoom application, there can be more participants, but there are obstacles in monitoring their dance movement in order to meet the standard.

Before the pandemic, participants were limited because the limited space at the training area. In the Zoom application, there can be more participants, but there are obstacles in monitoring their dance movement in order to meet the standard.

Assistance

The difficulties experienced by art workers during the pandemic have also become a concern for the Surabaya city government. Various programs have been introduced to help them.

The Surabaya mayor, Eri Cahyadi, for example, has continued the policy to hire cultural artists as arts instructors for the community through online activities. They receive a payment of Rp 150,000 per hour. In a week, there is a minimum of 7 hours of activities, which are regularly monitored. The instructors should also report their activities as a form of accountability.

KOMPAS/AMBROSIUS HARTO

Meimura, the ludruk artist changed costumes and plays from Rusmini to Besut to socialize the dangers of Covid-19 while distributing cloth masks at Simo Market, Jalan Pacuan Kuda, Surabaya, East Java, Thursday (13/8/2020).

Another program is the Cultural Arts Parade, which was held virtually between September and December 2020. The parade activities involved 500 art workers. For each performance, they received an honorarium as an appreciation. The event held every Saturday or Sunday night consisted of ludruk, karawitan (traditional music), theater, pop music and dance.

These activities also provided healthy entertainment for residents at home. By staying at home, the mobility of the residents could be limited so that transmission of Covid-19 could be reduced.

In the virtual world or the real world, cultural arts activities are basically intended to entertain the people or act as “medicine” that can increase immunity. The creative power of art workers in Surabaya during the pandemic was meant not only for themselves, but also for anyone who enjoyed it.

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi).