CONCEPT DESCRIPTION

Ubud is the primary inland region for Bali travel.  Many of the major luxury resort brands have followed Aman to this location along the Ayung River.  It is also the artistic hub, filled with galleries, museums, artisans, restaurants, and tourist activity providers. (See map below.) In Ubud we shall feature Art In Life, classical and contemporary Balinese performing and visual art — re-energizing the community’s involvement establishing our Living Museum and shall anchor the Gyan Vihara Culinary Institute and its gastronomic art.

A destination drawing on contemporary performing, visual art, & gastronomic holistic lifestyle achieving healthfulness and happiness harmonizing the individual’s inner quest for optimal levels of health, wellness, and spiritual growth with an appreciation for and interaction with indigenous communities and environments. In turn, the guest, now a “sojourner”, becomes an active, contributing participant rather than a mere consumer of local and global sustainability and wellbeing. 

In life we are energized by art in multiple ways — visual (fine art, and architectural), performing (musically, theatricality, dance), and culinary. Where do typical culinary senses (tactile, taste, odiferous, visual, textural, temperature) end and experience begin?  In the Modernist context there is no demarcation between these senses — when successful, they are an amalgamation, and thus evoke the additional sense of “entertainment” when successfully executed. Particular to the Harmony Project, this amalgamation is now exponentially heighten by the juxtaposition of complementary art forms. Resident artisans shall include culinary artists in association with the Culinary Institute for the mentioned three principle reasons. However we shall add two more: x to entertain and embrace (provoke) dialogue among the clients and between the performers (chef, artist, musicians, actors) and the clients, and y to deliver wellness — food as medicine. We shall integrate Modernist culinary art with healing (and perhaps call it too an art form) to yield a powerful combination.

ACQUIRE PERMATA PROPERTY

Acquiring the 10-key Permata Ayung property (4 acer, 4-year old resort) and buying an additional 2.5 hectors for the construction of 15 more keys the Ubud location will be established.

After 2 years of construction the 10 key, 4 acre, 8 villa estate opened in 2017. Dutch businessman Henk de Vries and his wife relocated historic indigenous dwellings from Java and Borneo containing teak and ironwood, carved terraces, lintels and details that tell the hands of the artisans and previous occupants. Initially conceived as a private retreat for the family and close relatives designer Egbert Pos completed the installation.

With upgrade Art in Life shall utilize the historic dwellings as historic Indonesian settings for contemporary art commissions, amalgamating the archipelago artistically. 

SEMANA RIVERFRONT FARM PROPERTY

Two site-visits have been conducted at this 8 acre collection of land parcels gently terracing down to the Ayung River.  A verdant set of farming terraces form a horseshoe facing the river on the west.  Along the east is dense growth encompassing the village temple.  Two access roads to Ubud’s Jalan Raya Rengosekan road provide a pleasant set-back.

Here we have the opportunity to build afresh a set of sojourner villas in the traditional family compound format (below) performing art venues, galleries, artist studios and Gyan Vihara Culinary Institute kitchens.

1. Central courtyard - Natah 

2. Family Shrine - Sanggah Kemulan 

3. North - main sleeping room of the head of the household (four wall enclosed)- Bale daja or meten 

4. West pavilion - Bale dangin or sikepat (Sometimes used ceremonies, such as weddings, or for day-bed).

5. East pavilion - Bale dauh or tiang sanga 

6. South pavilion - Bale delod or sekenam  (Sometimes used for the preparation of ceremony, and associated items such as canning or banter).

FAMILY COMPOUND

The family compound -- The Balinese house looks inward – the outside is simply a high wall. Inside there is a garden and a separate small building or bale for each activity – one for cooking, one for washing and the toilet, and separate buildings for each ‘bedroom’. In Bali’s mild tropical climate people live outside, so the ‘living room’ and ‘dining room’ will be open verandah areas, looking out into the garden. The whole complex is oriented on the kaja – kelod (towards the mountains–towards the sea) axis.

Analogous to the human body, compounds have a head (the family temple with its ancestral shrine), arms (the sleeping and living areas), legs and feet (the kitchen and rice-storage building), and even an anus (the garbage pit or pigsty). There may be an area outside the house compound where fruit trees are grown or a pig is kept.

VISUAL & PERFORMING ART CENTER

Performing Art — Contemporary forms of sesolahan, traditional Balinese theatre and dramas, are to be commissioned in addition to contemporary musical performance involving Gamelan and Western collaborations.  Performances are intended NOT to be traditional, but new commissioned performances as part of the Living Museum project. Video composite example below of contemporary Balinese dance and musical performance.

DYNAMIC ART COLLECTION

Visual art is generated within on-premise studios, work is commissioned for the many public and guest room spaces, and for the multiple galleries.  Below, example gallery and video of Balinese artist carver Made Ada.

We shall set an entirely new direction for Ubud and Bali with our Art In Life program as part of the Living Museum. Pakudui carver artist profiled in example video at lower right.

A simple survey of existing art venue in Ubud is included at the map below, to include: Art Bali is an exposition example, unlike the static and vintage facilities of The Puri Lukisan Ratna Wartha Museum, < wiki link >, a government institution comprised of an extensive (static) collection, and workshops for tourists to learn various forms of indigenous Balinese visual art. Or the Don Antonio Blanco Museum pertaining to a single painter.