London festival to feature Indonesian children’s storybooks

Two Indonesian children’s storybooks will be featured in the Imagine Children’s Festival 2017 at the Southbank Centre, London from Feb. 9 to 19.

The two books, namely Si Pirok Ke Kota (Pirok Goes to the City) and Komodo Mau Main Musik (Komodo Wants to Play Music), are both works by Felicia Nayoan Siregar and illustrator Astri Sefrina van Eenbergen.

Felicia said this would be the first time for Indonesian works to be featured in the annual festival. “The curator chose the two books to enrich the festival’s cultural diversity,” she said as quoted by Antara news agency on Sunday.

The books will be displayed alongside the works of participating writers and artists from the United Kingdom, Finland and Norway.

Si Pirok Ke Kota, which was published by the Indonesian Education and Culture Attaché in London, tells the story of Pirok, a small orangutan that gets carried into the city by accident. Meanwhile, Komodo Mau Main Musik, released by the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Indonesia to UNESCO in France, follows a komodo dragon who wants to play music but faces difficulty because of its physical features until he later finds a suitable Indonesian musical instrument.

Apart from having her books displayed in the festival, Felicia is also scheduled to host interactive storytelling sessions on Feb. 12, which will also serve Indonesian snacks and fruit, such as mango, banana and durian.

Born in Tanjung Karang in Lampung, Felicia graduated from the University of Indonesia’s School of Economics before moving to London. In addition to writing children storybooks, she works as an Indonesian-language teacher and runs a social organization named ARTiUK in London.

Meanwhile, Astri was also born in Jakarta. Before moving to Canada in 2016, she had resided in London after finishing her graphic design major.

The Imagine Children’s Festival has been held annually in London since 1995. It features various activities that cater to children, such as storytelling, poetry reading, musical performances, circus shows, statue exhibitions, as well as other arts and cultural activities. (mas/kes)

Source of the featured image: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2017/02/08/london-festival-to-feature-indonesian-childrens-storybooks.html