Resource Spotlight | The Virtual Museum of Balinese Painting
The Virtual Museum of Balinese Painting brings the unique art of Bali to the world as well as providing Balinese communities with an invaluable cultural resource. The Virtual Museum is an online database of Balinese paintings which documents public and private collections held in different parts of the world.
The project began as a collaboration between researchers at the University of Sydney and the Australian Museum, together with input from the holder of a private collection of artworks painted in the village of Batuan in central Bali.
Some of the first entries showcased the ancient classical art of the village of Kamasan, Klungkung in east Bali. Kamasan paintings have been documented in a number of important collections such as the Australian Museum's Forge Collection, and the collections of the American Museum of Natural History, the Leiden Ethnographic Museum, and the Tropen Museum in Amsterdam.
The Bali Cultural Service (Dinas Kebudayaan Bali) has provided valuable support for the project and granted permission to include the relatively unknown public collections in Bali, especially that of the Museum Bali, the island's most important cultural repository. The incorporation of a database of works which belonged to the collection of Leo Haks further enhanced the scope of the project. The project was funded by a grant from the Australian Research Council and was led by the University of Sydney's Adrian Vickers and Peter Worsley, together with Siobhan Campbell and staff from Australian Museum, in particular Stan Florek. The late Thomas Freitag played an indispensable role in the whole project. The website uses Heurist database software, and has been designed by Steven Hayes with programming by Steve White. Bruce Granquist, Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan, James Watson and Safrina Thristiawati carried out important research support.
Experiencing Balinese Culture
The government-run Bali Culture Service provides information on key events and places of cultural interest, such as the annual Balinese Cultural Festival (Pesta Kesenian Bali), held in June/July.
Major private art museums on Bali include the Museum Puri Lukisan, the Neka Art Museum, and the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA) in Ubud, the Nyoman Gunarsa Museum in Klungkung, and the Museum Pasifika in Nusa Dua.