REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DENPASAR -- Nine Balinese artists were bestowed the Dharma Kusuma Award, the Province's highest accolade for their achievements in arts and culture by the Balinese Administration during the commemoration of Bali's 56th Anniversary on Thursday.
"The artists who are granted the award must have been doing their work (in arts and culture) for at least eight years and producing works of art that are based on the standard guideline (known as "pakem", a traditional puppet story) in the society, despite dedicating their work to develop arts and culture," Head of Culture Office of Bali Provincial Administration Ketut Suastika stated here on Thursday.
Three karawitan musicians, Pande Made Sukerta of Buleleng District, the late I Wayan Maru of Klungkung District, and Ida Bagus Nyoman Mas of Badung District, were granted the 2014 Dharma Kusuma Award.
The award was also bestowed on two dance artists, Ni Wayan Murdi of Denpasar District and I Wayan Kalam of Tabanan District.
Meanwhile, two sculptors, I Ketut Muja of Gianyar District and I Gede Wibawa of Jembrana District, were also granted the award.
Late I Dewa Made Daging of Bangli District and I Made Degung of Karangasem District were bestowed the award for their contribution in the field of regional literature.
The awards were directly handed by Balinese Governor Made Mangku Pastika.
The awardees received charters, 10-gram golden badges, and Rp eight million worth of cash money.
The awards for the deceased artists were handed over to their family representatives.
"Their names were proposed by each district administration before being selected by the provincial team. Each district administration proposed five names for the provincial selection," Suastika remarked.
Despite the administration requirement, the selection team also took public opinion into consideration and directly observed the work of the artists.
The Dharma Kusuma Award was also the implementation of the main program of Bali Province in the field of arts and culture, Suastika added.
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