In this article: Lily Yulianti Farid Luna Vidya
Written by Caitlin Hughes
Originally published in Inside Indonesia.
Aug 09, 2024
Written by Caitlin Hughes
Originally published in Inside Indonesia.
Aug 09, 2024
Benteng (Fort) Rotterdam is a cream-brick, red-roofed fortress complex on the historic, harbourside edge of Makassar, South Sulawesi. The seventeenth-century Dutch colonial fort does not look out of place in a part of Makassar where Chinese, Dutch, and local South Sulawesi architecture stands alongside glassy, high-rise hotels. Today the Fort is Makassar’s most famous landmark, an enduring symbol of tempo doeloe (the olden times).
When I first visited Fort Rotterdam last October it was a searing hot day at the end of the dry season and the place was eerily quiet. When I returned for the opening night of the 2024 Makassar International Writers Festival (MIWF) in late May this year, the ambience was very different. It was a clear, cool night. Crowds of people milled around the site. Someone told me that opening night is always ‘like a giant reunion’ for the local arts community and the public. There were rows of food stalls and coloured signs and banners and the main stage was decorated with bright cartoons.
Since it began in 2011, MIWF has witnessed a remarkable growth. The festival was established by the late Dr Lily Yulianti Farid, a writer and academic, through Rumata’ Artspace – a multidisciplinary ‘artspace,’ which she co-founded with prominent film director Riri Riza at the Riza family’s old home in Gunung Sari Baru, Makassar. Although some outside observers perceive MIWF to be a ‘spinoff’ event from Bali’s famous Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (established 2006), the reality is very different.
When I first visited Fort Rotterdam last October it was a searing hot day at the end of the dry season and the place was eerily quiet. When I returned for the opening night of the 2024 Makassar International Writers Festival (MIWF) in late May this year, the ambience was very different. It was a clear, cool night. Crowds of people milled around the site. Someone told me that opening night is always ‘like a giant reunion’ for the local arts community and the public. There were rows of food stalls and coloured signs and banners and the main stage was decorated with bright cartoons.
Since it began in 2011, MIWF has witnessed a remarkable growth. The festival was established by the late Dr Lily Yulianti Farid, a writer and academic, through Rumata’ Artspace – a multidisciplinary ‘artspace,’ which she co-founded with prominent film director Riri Riza at the Riza family’s old home in Gunung Sari Baru, Makassar. Although some outside observers perceive MIWF to be a ‘spinoff’ event from Bali’s famous Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (established 2006), the reality is very different.
Read the full article here.