Chargé Kristin Bauer welcomed Indonesian museum professionals from around the country to a Batik Conservation Workshop on the morning of April 9, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in collaboration with the Textile Museum in Jakarta. Over the course of the coming three weeks, American textile conservation expert Julia Brennan will train these professionals through hands-on conservation of dozens of batiks given to the U.S. Embassy by Batik Maestro Iwan Tirta. The late Mr. Tirta, a Fulbright fellow who received an LLM in 1964 from Yale University, was one of Indonesia’s greatest batik designers and artists whose batik designs were worn by many world leaders. In her remarks, the Chargé underscored the value of batik as part of Indonesia’s cultural heritage and lauded Ms. Brennan and Mr. Tirta as examples of cross-cultural understanding. The Embassy and the Textile Museum will provide proper care and stewardship for a collection that doesn’t just belong to one country, but to all humanity.
