TBIG's Love for Indonesian Batik

Talk about the culture that we've inherited from the world would be endless. In an attempt to conserve Indonesian culture and heritage, we, as Indonesians have the right to strengthen the claim of our ownership of batik in the eyes of the world.  Batik is a world heritage acknowledged by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on October 2, 2009.  It is an art of creating a pattern or image (specifically handmade) that beautifully reflects Indonesian culture and is done by applying a type of wax called malam onto a cloth using a device called a canting or cap.

The spirit of preserving the art of batik has inspired the Indonesia’s creative minds to create batik that is both innovative and inspiring. As part of our commitment towards Corporate Social Responsibility in the field of culture through the Bangun Budaya Bersama (Building Culture Together) campaign, TBiG is accorded the unique opportunity to invite creative individuals to explore their potential through competition. The Lomba Desain Batik TBiG (TBiG Batik Design Competition) that the Company is launching provides TBiG with the means to contribute towards preserving batik as a cultural art form.  We sincerely hope that this event will, together with the participation of the community, run smoothly.

The TBiG Batik design competition was held from April 10 to May 10, 2013, covering various parts of Indonesia such as Jakarta, Central Java, East Java, Papua and invited students, the general public as well as batik craftsmen to participate.  TBiG also sought to attract participants through numerous advertisements and promotional materials regarding the competition through the distribution of sketchbooks to universities and the art community in Central and East Java as well as through the social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Around 182 artworks were received by the Committee, which proceeded to carry out the selection process. "We are very pleased with the enthusiasm of the participants in this competition. The jury panel will have to work hard to initially select the 10 finalists before finally selecting a winner.  The level of creativity shown by the participants is amazing," stated Herman Setya Budi, TBiG’s President Director.

After undergoing through a tough selection process that uses the criteria set by the panel of judges, the winner of the Batik Design Competition was finally announced on Wednesday (22/5) in La Codefin, Kemang, Jakarta.  The 4 major grading criteria for this competition include creativity or the level of innovation that was shown through the work, originality, philosophy, and pattern.  The panel of judges finally determined that Sukriyadi from Semarang was the winner of the competition.  In addition to being named the winner, Sukriyadi also received a prize in the form of a 13" Macbook Pro.

The philosophy that Sukriyadi sought to visualize through his work, which incorporated TBiG’s logo, was to add the concept of flowers, the sun, clouds, and waves.  The flowers represented the fact that TBiG will continue to grow on a national and international scale.  The flowers also symbolized growth, optimism and the company's ability to benefit the society around them.  The Logo that was placed right next to the clouds symbolized TBiG as a source of life and energy.  The clouds and waves represented the Company's products which has achieved success.  The golden TBiG logo that was repeatedly shown in the design is a symbol for hope that TBiG will become a sizeable company in the future.

TBiG’s Corporate Communications Manager, Wiyanna, added that "The idea to hold the Batik Design Competition is based with the understanding that the logo and brand value of a corporation is a new concept in Indonesia.  Therefore, (this event) hopefully enhances the promotion of batik by companies, while simultaneously initiate a new trend by corporations to create their own batik design as part of their identity in addition to their original logo."

The panel of judges that were involved in selecting the winner for this competition included Wiyanna, the Corporate Communications Manager of PT Tower Bersama Infrastructure, Tbk; Asmoro Damais, a  Batik expert as well the owner of Galeri Batik Akik; Poppy Savitri,  Secretary to the Director General for Media and Design-based Creative Economy; Tumbu Ramelan, a batik collector from the Yayasan Batik Indonesia as well as the Head of the National Batik Gallery; Caroline F. Sunarko,  a creative and visual design (DKV) practitioner and lecturer for a number of universities in Indonesia.

The material for the Company’s uniforms that is expected to be created will be based on the winning design from this competition and will be produced at the Rumah Batik TBiG situated in Desa Wiradesa, Pekalongan using the cap or printing techniques that uses a special type of wax called malam that is a unique characteristic of the batik culture.  Rumah Batik TBiG provides training for batik craftsmen in order to achieve a marketable product and provides training in entrepreneurship through a cooperative forum.