Art & Craft

Bali and Indonesia are the home of batik — a textile dyeing technique declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2009. In batik, patterns are applied to the fabric with liquid wax, which is then dyed — the wax prevents the dye from reaching the covered areas. Repeated waxing and dyeing create complex, multicolored patterns.

In Bali, there are two traditional textile techniques:

Endek: Bali's own ikat weaving technique, where the warp threads are dyed into the desired patterns before weaving. The patterns (often geometric or floral motifs) thus emerge during weaving and have characteristically "blurred" edges. Endek fabrics are used for ceremonial clothing and as sarongs. Main production centers: Sidemen and Gelgel (Klungkung).

Songket: The royal discipline of Balinese weaving — a fabric into which gold or silver threads are woven. Songket is ceremonial clothing for weddings, temple festivals, and cremations. A high-quality songket can cost several million rupiah and require months of handwork.

Special mention should be made of the Geringsing from Tenganan — the only double ikat fabric in Southeast Asia, where both warp and weft threads are dyed before weaving.

Bali is a paradise for wood art: Mas (near Ubud) has been the center of wood carving for centuries, but workshops can be found in almost every village. Traditional carving primarily serves religious purposes: temple decorations, masks for dances, deity statues, and door reliefs.

Popular motifs include Garuda (the divine eagle and mount of Vishnu), Barong (the lion-like protective creature), Rangda (the witch queen), Hindu deities, and scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. But modern carvers also produce abstract art, erotic figures, and the ubiquitous cat and dolphin souvenirs for tourists.

The main types of wood:

• Crocodile Wood — easy to work with, inexpensive, often used for souvenirs
• Jackfruit Wood — golden yellow, fine-grained, traditionally used for masks and deity statues
• Ebony — black, extremely hard and heavy, for high-quality sculptures
• Sandalwood — fragrant and precious, for religious carvings

In Mas and Kemenuh, you can watch the carvers at work — many workshops are open to visitors. The ARMA Museum in Ubud showcases historical wood carvings of museum quality.

The village of Celuk, 10 km south of Ubud, is Bali's silver-smithing center — specializing for generations in intricate silver and gold work. The main street (Jl. Raya Celuk) is lined with workshops and showrooms where you can watch the smiths at work.

The Celuk silverwork is characterized by extreme fineness: delicate silver wire weaving techniques (granulation and filigree) that create patterns of breathtaking complexity. Traditional motifs include flowers, butterflies, dragons, and the Balinese protective masks Barong and Rangda.

Prices: A simple silver ring from 50,000 IDR (3€), intricate earrings from 100,000 IDR, elaborate necklaces from 300,000 IDR. Look for the 925 stamp (Sterling Silver) — inferior alloys are common. Buy directly in the workshops, not in the tourist showrooms by the roadside, which are 2-3 times more expensive.

Many workshops offer silversmithing courses: In 2-4 hours, you can create your own ring or pendant under guidance. Cost: from 250,000 IDR including materials. A wonderful, personal souvenir.

Gamelan is the traditional orchestra of Bali (and Java) — and one of the most fascinating sounds in the world. A gamelan ensemble consists of metallophones (tuned bronze plates struck with wooden mallets), gongs, drums, flutes, and cymbals — together they create a hypnotic, shimmering soundscape of overwhelming complexity.

Balinese gamelan differs fundamentally from Javanese: It is faster, louder, more dynamic, and wilder. Where Javanese gamelan is gently meditative, Balinese gamelan is a whirlwind of energy — with explosive accelerandi, abrupt tempo changes, and an intensity that gets under your skin.

There are different types of gamelan for different occasions: Gamelan Gong Kebyar (the modern, virtuosic orchestra), Gamelan Semar Pegulingan (court gamelan), Gamelan Gender Wayang (accompaniment for shadow play), and the archaic Gamelan Selonding (only in Bali Aga villages like Tenganan).

Every village in Bali has at least one gamelan ensemble, and almost every Balinese boy learns an instrument. The rehearsals (usually in the evening at the Banjar, the community pavilion) are public — you can just listen.

Balinese dance is theater, prayer, and art form all in one — every movement, every gesture, every glance has a meaning codified over centuries. The most important dance dramas:

Kecak (Monkey Dance)

Bali's most famous dance — and a surprisingly modern artwork. The Kecak was developed in the 1930s by the German painter Walter Spies together with Balinese dancers from a trance ritual. A choir of 50-150 men sits in a circle, swinging their arms and rhythmically chanting "Cak-cak-cak-cak!" — a pulsating, hypnotic vocal chorus without instruments. In the center, the story of Rama and Sita from the Ramayana is danced, with fire and drama.

The most famous Kecak takes place at sunset at the Uluwatu Temple — the silhouettes of the dancers against the glowing sky over the ocean are unforgettable. Tickets: 150,000 IDR. Daily at 6 PM, arrive 1 hour early for good seats.

Legong

The most elegant and technically demanding Balinese dance: Three young girls in splendid gold-embroidered costumes dance with exquisite precision — every fingertip, every blink, every head tilt follows strict choreography. Legong dancers often start their training at the age of 5. The story usually tells of a princess, a king, and a swan.

Barong Dance

The cosmic drama of good versus evil: Barong, a lion-like mythical creature (played by two dancers in costume) fights against Rangda, the witch queen. Rangda enchants the warriors, who in a trance attempt to stab themselves with their kris daggers — Barong protects them with his magic. The dance ends without a clear winner: Good and evil are in eternal balance. The trance states of the dancers are real — priests are on hand to "bring them back".

Bali has one of the most vibrant painting traditions in Asia — from the classical Kamasan painting (flat, narrative images on cloth in the style of Wayang puppets) to the famous Ubud school and the contemporary art scene.

The Ubud school emerged in the 1930s under the influence of European artists — especially the German Walter Spies and the Dutchman Rudolf Bonnet, who settled in Ubud and collaborated with Balinese painters. Spies encouraged local artists to move away from rigid religious motifs and paint everyday scenes, landscapes, and nature depictions — with a Western perspective but Balinese style.

The result was an explosion of creativity: The Ubud style (dense, detailed depictions of Balinese everyday life), the Batuan style (dark, overloaded compositions with ghosts and demons), and the Young Artists Style (brightly colored, naive depictions) made Bali a center of Southeast Asian art.

The best museums:

• ARMA (Agung Rai Museum of Art) — The most comprehensive collection of Balinese art, from Kamasan classics to contemporary works. Works by Spies, Bonnet, Lempad, and Blanco. Beautiful garden. Admission 80,000 IDR.
• Neka Art Museum — Excellent collection showing the chronological development of Balinese painting. Admission 75,000 IDR.
• Museum Puri Lukisan — Bali's oldest art museum, founded in 1956 by Rudolf Bonnet. Admission 85,000 IDR.