The implementation of this year's National Batik Day is even more lively with a Batik Fashion Show on the longest catwalk which won the Indonesian World Record Museum (MURI) award as well as batik exhibitions in a number of places. “At the opening ceremony which is also the highlight of the National Batik Day event, it is filled with the Batik Street Fashion Show along Jalan Sudirman, precisely starting from the Senayan Roundabout and ending in front of the FX Mall. This activity will also be recorded by MURI as a Batik Fashion Show category with the Longest Catwalk at 600 meters CFD," said the Chief Executive of the 2022 National Batik Day, Nini Djan Faridz at a press conference in Jakarta, Sunday.

In addition, a 450-meter-long batik cloth has been laid out on the railing on the 2nd floor of the lobby at the mall in the Sudirman area.

Gita Pratama, General Chairperson of the Indonesian Batik Foundation (YBI)--the organization that initiated this activity--, added that YBI has been awarded a license as a member of UNESCO's Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in line with UNESCO's program to participate in developing the vision and mission of the cultural program.  One of them, continued Gita, is to hold a campaign "Spread Ba(t)ik" through community voices, figures of batik lovers, and activities to promote batik clothing in Indonesia.

"YBI through a series of National Batik Day events intends to spread good news, spread new views to the public, that batik is not only about formal activities, but batik can also be and is comfortable to wear in various situations including daily activities," said Gita.

The series of National Batik Day events will continue until October 9, 2022.

Mall visitors in the Sudirman area who want to add to their collection of the best batik can shop at the Batik Exhibition, which was attended by 27 batik artisans.

Meanwhile, on the same date, October 2 to October 9, 2022, at Plaza Indonesia, YBI also held an exhibition of YBI's batik collections.

Furthermore, in the afternoon, YBI held a batik fashion show in a cafe.

The series of events for the 2022 National Batik Day will end with a Batik Exhibition featuring 80 Batik Nitik collections at the Textile Museum (Art Museum), West Jakarta, starting October 12, 2022.

Batik Nitik is a collection of batik originating from the Special Region of Yogyakarta. At first glance, the Nitik batik motif resembles woven fabric, with one dominant color being brown, which means simplicity and honesty of the Javanese people.

The uniqueness of Batik Nitik is that it is the only written batik motif with a historical story and a different way of making batik from other batiks.

The canting used is split into 4, and the technique of how to make batik is by tapping, not dragging.

On the same occasion, Deputy President Director of Bank Mandiri Alexandra Askandar hoped that the entire series of events on National Batik Day this time would spark people's enthusiasm to continue to preserve batik and make batik as a national identity.

"Hopefully this initiative can be a stimulant for partnership development efforts and cultural preservation, elevating the added value of the Indonesian economy and batik industry in the future," he said.