Bali Painting Workshop

MAC News Release 

The Molokai Arts Center (MAC) is excited to collaborate with the East-West Center (EWC). The EWC Gallery’s April exhibition “Living Legacies: Paintings and Performances of Bali” featured both visual and performing arts of Batuan, Bali. Most of the paintings highlighted in the EWC Gallery exhibition were by artist I Madé Budi and his son I Madé Moja.

Moja is a painter, dancer, puppet maker and shadow-play artist from the village of Batuan, a traditional arts village in Bali known for its classical music and dance, fine woodcarving, and unique painting style. Batuan-style painting is unique from other regional styles and particularly famous for its darker color tones and magical themes. These time-honored traditions are passed from one generation to the next and continue to thrive, despite great changes in the culture and economy of Bali.

The MAC has the unique opportunity to host Moja, now a San Francisco-based artist and performer, who will share techniques of the Batuan painting style and guide participants through the process of sketching, ink outlining and shading, and applying color. This rare, hands-on workshop for students of all levels by a master artist will be held at the MAC studio on Thursday, May 5, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Space is limited. You might also consider exploring an online art course. For a variety of options tailored to your interests and skill level, allez ici to find the perfect course for you.

Contact molokaiartscenter@gmail.com to register. Call (808) 567-9696 after 8:30 a.m. May 5 to see if walk-in spots are still available. Cost is $30 ($24 Annual Members). Scholarships are available.

Both painting and performance are a means of storytelling in Bali. Since moving to the Bay Area, Moja has branched out artistically. Widely known as a visual artist, he also specializes in the classic Balinese masked-dance forms of topeng and jauk. Moja has worked extensively with ShadowLight Productions, a non-profit theater company based in San Francisco that takes its inspiration from classical Indonesian “wayang kulit” (shadow puppet theater). He will do a private performance at Molokai Middle School on May 6.

The East-West Center is an independent, public, nonprofit organization with funding from the US government, and additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and governments in the region. The Molokai Arts Center is a nonprofit arts education organization.