The government said it was considering providing incentives for the production of various products related to wayang art by small and micro businesses or SMEs. This was conveyed by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto after a meeting with the Indonesian Dalang Association (Peradi). The meeting took place during his working visit to Surabaya, East Java on Saturday (19/2/2022). Airlangga explained that the Covid-19 pandemic also had an impact on wayang art because the performance was hampered. Events that last a long duration and involve many people are difficult to take place when the transmission of Covid-19 continues. According to him, the obstacle in the industry related to wayang art due to the Covid-19 pandemic is the reduced number of wayang responders and spectators. This has an impact on related sectors such as wayang craftsmen, gamelan craftsmen, to tourism industry players.
"The government is considering incentives for the production of various products related to wayang art by SMEs. If the health protocols can be maintained, the government will continue to encourage these performing arts to run, especially if the situation of restricting community activities [PPKM] is up to level 2," said Airlangga on Sunday (20/2/2022). According to him, the puppeteers hope that there will be government policies that favor the advancement of arts and culture, especially wayang. Airlangga then said that there would be an encouragement for the Ministry of Education and Culture because the development of wayang requires support from the education side. Airlangga said that wayang shows can target a wider segment by implementing various strategies, starting from hybrid performances, namely live and online, as well as more interesting publications. "In wayang performances, a combination of languages is needed to be popular among millennials. Besides using Javanese, you can also use Indonesian, to make wayang shows more interesting," said Airlangga.
