THE cultural congress held at Novotel Hotel is now over. The cost of organizing this congress (plus its pre-congress in Bali and a cultural gathering in 25 cities) came to a total of Rp4.2 billion. The congress itself has led to allegations that it was nothing but a government ceremony. Many young artists ignored it and preferred to join self-financed events such as the Biennale in Yogyakarta or the Journal Moment of Arts in Makassar.

Nevertheless