Purwokerto – On Wednesday, June 4, 2025, the Laboratorium Pertunjukan Seni of Fakultas Ilmu Budaya (FIB) at Universitas Jenderal Soedirman (Unsoed) collaborated with Sanggar Jagabaya Nuswantara to hold the sixth series of Pawiyatan activities titled “Management of Traditional Performance Art Production in the Digital Era and Its Preservation Efforts” at the Aula Gedung Bambang Lelono. The event, attended by students from the Sastra Jepang study programme and students from SMKN 3 Banyumas, began with remarks from the Dean of Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Prof. Dr. Ely Triasih Rahayu, S.S., M.Hum. She warmly welcomed this initiative and collaboration, expressing the hope that FIB can become a place for collaborative arts and cultural activities to come together. “All nine study programmes in FIB will support the preservation and development of arts and culture, particularly Banyumasan culture,” said Prof. Ely. Subsequent remarks were delivered by Virna Wurihandayani, AMd. as leader of Sanggar Jagabaya Nuswantara and Heppy Budi Kurniawan, S.Sn., M.Pd. as Head of SMKN 3 Banyumas.
This event served as the occasion for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between FIB Unsoed, Sanggar Jagabaya Nuswantara, and SMK Negeri 3 Banyumas. This collaboration will focus on the development of arts and culture, traditional performances, and the use of digital technology to support the local arts industry. The Head of SMK Negeri 3 Banyumas, Heppy Budi Kurniawan, stated that the MoU aims to strengthen the synergy of education and culture, create opportunities for students to pursue further studies at Unsoed, and develop their artistic potential. SMKN 3 Banyumas is known as a preserver of culture, with programmes in karawitan (traditional Javanese gamelan music), dance, and puppetry, and is currently developing a broadcasting programme to promote Banyumas culture through media and film.
The activity was moderated by Dr. Lynda Susana, S.S., M.Hum., a lecturer in the Sastra Inggris study programme at FIB Unsoed. Lynda conveyed that this activity represents the efforts of cultural advocates to introduce management in traditional arts. The main speaker at this event, Ridwan Bungsu, Art Director of Sanggar Jagabaya Nuswantara, highlighted the importance of production management in traditional performance arts. According to him, the success of a production depends on close collaboration between creative and production teams. Sometimes many arts studios focus more on the artistic aspect and neglect production, so works often do not meet expectations. “Without strong production support, artistic works will not reach their full potential,” said Ridwan. Ridwan encouraged more seminars and workshops to increase artists’ understanding of production management in order to create quality works.
The event also featured an ebeg (traditional horse dance) performance titled “Sing Eling” to remind audiences of the philosophical meaning of traditional art as a reminder of self-awareness. Ridwan emphasized the importance of young people understanding the essence of ebeg so it is not misused, referring to a recent incident of violence that occurred following a performance.
The Head of Laboratorium Pertunjukan Seni at Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Exwan Andriyan Verrysaputro, S.Pd., M.Pd. stated that Pawiyatan #6 is a programme of work from the Laboratorium Pertunjukan dan Seni. Pawiyatan serves as a forum for discussion and dialogue on arts and culture. For this sixth Pawiyatan, the Laboratorium Pertunjukan dan Seni engaged Sanggar Jagabaya Nuswantara and SMKN 3 Banyumas with the aim of conducting collaboration and partnership with practitioners and advocates of arts and culture in Banyumas. Exwan stated, “The Laboratorium Pertunjukan dan Seni team hopes that this activity will be a ‘gateway’ for future collaborative activities. These activities can take the form of discussions held within Pawiyatan activities or arts performances held under the Pagelaran programme. In addition, we also hope that this activity will be one that is ndayani, migunani, and murakabi, which means impactful, beneficial, and sustainable.”