Nusantara Arts’s new Bronze Javanese Gamelan instruments and collection of 207 wayang kulit shadow puppets are now in Buffalo.
After an incredibly long journey that lasted 4 months on the ocean coming all the way from Indonesia, a few dedicated Nusantara Arts volunteers, board members and executive director Matt Dunning went and received the 7,000lb shipment in Maryland last weekend.
Watch the video above of them putting together these beautiful instruments
Nusantara Arts, Inc. (NAI) is an organization that shares Javanese music, art, culture and traditional learning methods with WNY and beyond. Gamelan is a traditional Indonesian instrument group referred to as a gong orchestra, and one of the oldest instruments in the world.
NAI is the only Javanese arts organization on the East Coast of the United States.
Nusantara Arts launched the Bronze Campaign to raise $40,000 in 2020 to locate, purchase, and ship a set of bronze Javanese gamelan music instruments and set of 197 wayang kulit shadow puppets from Indonesia to Buffalo, NY. They located the instruments with the help of Pak Wakidi, one of the foremost Javanese drummers of all time.
The goal of the campaign was to create a sustainable future for the organization.
The bronze set will be used for community music practices, digital performances, live audience performances, and in-house educational opportunities.
The puppets belonged to Ki Gandhung (alm) in Cawas, Klaten, Central Java who is the younger brother of Ki Tomo Pandoyo, one of the top 20 dhalang puppet masters in Indonesia.
Ki Gandhung bought another box of puppets and decided to sell this one. Sadly, soon after they purchased the puppets Ki passed away from an illness.
Nusantara Arts will use these puppets to honor his memory.
