Batik Nyonyas Talks
Women, Art, and Enterprise: Batik Makers Today
This lecture is free.
Registration (with a $10 refundable deposit) is required.
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Women in Indonesia have been at the forefront of batik art and commerce since the 19th century. While UNESCO’s inclusion of Indonesian batik to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 bolstered the industry, contemporary female makers face significant challenges – including competition from printed textiles and the need to adopt sustainable business practices. In navigating these challenges, they honour their heritage while pushing the creative boundaries of batik making.
In this talk, contemporary makers Carmanita, Widianti Widjaja, and Insana Habibie discuss how they preserve old patterns while also introducing innovative designs. The women and their work are a testament to the timeless appeal of batik and its capacity for reinvention.
About the speakers
Carmanita is a fashion designer, batik maker, and granddaughter of the celebrated Indonesian composer and batik maker Ibu Soed. She began working as a designer in 1987 and continues to champion batik and arashi shibori (pole-wrapped dye) textiles, made in a Jakarta workshop that she inherited from her grandmother. She showcases her work at a store and her studio in Jakarta.
Widianti Widjaja comes from a family of batik makers, including her parents, Mulyadi Widjaja and Istijanti Setiono, and grandparents, Oey Soe Tjoen and Kwee Tjoen Giok (better known as Kwee Nettie). She carries on her grandfather’s design legacy out of the workshop he established in Kedungwuni, while exploring her own artistic voice through new works.
Insana Habibie is the founder of Limaran Batik Tenun Sutera and L-Couture. Originally trained as an architect, Insana learned about batik in Pekalongan. She collaborates with workshops in Jakarta, Cirebon, Pekalongan, and Surakarta for the different drawing, dyeing, waxing, and blocking processes involved in batik making. She produces capsule collections of one-of-a-kind pieces, presented only at special events.
About the moderator
Peter Lee is the author of Sarong Kebaya: Peranakan Fashion in an Interconnected World, 1500–1900 and co-author of Port Cities: Multicultural Emporiums of Asia, 1500–1900, both published by ACM. He is the Founding Curator of NUS Baba House and host of The Mark of Empire on CNA.
Image from left to right:
Carmanita. Sari, 2023. Cotton (drawn batik). Signed: Carmanita. Collection of Carmanita.
Oey Soe Tjoen by Widianti Widjaja. Portrait of Ahok BTP, 2019. Cotton (drawn batik). Signed: Oey Kiem Lian 03. 18 OST. Collection of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.
Limaran Batik Tenun Sutera by Insana Habibie. Hanging, 2019. Silk (drawn batik). Signed: Limaran Batik Tenun Sutera by INSANA HABIBIE 2019. Collection of Insana Habibie.
This talk is organised in conjunction with
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