Sonja Downing interviews artist-anthropologist Dewa Ayu Eka Putri in part two of the two part series within a series, “Conversations with Women Musicians in Bali”. The pre-recorded interview (Bahasa Indonesia with English subtitles) explores the experiences of women composers and musicians in Bali, especially during the COVID era. There will be time for live Q&A with the audience.
Suggested donations for the series benefit artists in GSJ’s extended family, going toward distributing care packages to the families of all former GSJ master artists-in-residence.
Please contact info@gsj.org if you need any accommodations.
About the Presenters:
Sonja Downing is an associate professor of ethnomusicology at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and the author of Gamelan Girls: Gender, Childhood, and Politics in Balinese Music Ensembles (2019, University of Illinois Press). She has also published an article in the journal Ethnomusicology and contributed to edited volumes on music and childhood. Her research on girls’ gamelans has been supported by grants from the Fulbright Hays Program and the Pacific Rim Research Program, and has received the Marcia Herndon and the Wong Tolbert prizes of the Society for Ethnomusicology. She has performed with Gamelan Sekar Jaya across the U.S. and in Bali (1998-2000, 2006-2007), and has performed as a guest musician with Gamelan Çudamani (2006). She is currently a member of the Lawrence Community Music School’s Gamelan Sekar Kemuda, directed by her husband Dewa Ketut Alit Adnyana.
Dewa Ayu Eka Putri is an artist-anthropologist and is currently a dance instructor at the critically acclaimed arts organization, Sanggar Cudamani. She received her B.A. from Universitas Udayana in cultural anthropology and is a leading figure in women’s gamelan ensembles all around Bali. Born into a family of artists, Dewa Ayu is internationally known for her collaborations of traditional and contemporary works in theater, music, and dance while actively working as a choreographer and freelance research assistant
