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The packed three-day festival will see creatives from Singapore, Ukraine, Indonesia and hometown WA converge at The Rechabite Hall from 21 – 23 October, after a hybrid debut on WA shores last year.

Now, 20 years on from the Bali Bombings which ignited the idea for the festival as a space for healing through stories, Angela Ho sat down with Writing WA CEO Sharon Flindell to find out more.

Angela Ho: This will be the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival’s second year in Perth. What can audiences expect from the program this year?

Sharon Flindell: We’re excited to be returning to an in-person format this year. Being “on the ground” with more than 40 writers from Indonesia, Singapore, Ukraine and from across Australia means audiences can expect a weekend filled with insightful conversations, extraordinary writing, screenings of award-winning films, the opportunity to indulge in delicious food prepared by one of Indonesia’s most celebrated chefs, and even the chance to develop their own culinary skills in an exclusive cooking demonstration.

AH: The Ubud Festival has been described as the biggest festival of words and ideas in Southeast Asia. How did Writing WA’s partnership with the festival come about?

SF: The Ubud Writers Festival was started by Janet DeNeefe in 2004 in the aftermath of the Bali bombings. Writing WA’s relationship with Janet and the Festival began about six years later and has been ongoing since then. Over the years we’ve supported more than 30 West Australian writers to participate in the festival and have occasionally been able to host Indonesian writers here in WA.

From those beginnings it was natural to take the step towards creating UWRF Perth Festival as a genuine partnership event. Our first small program was delivered as a hybrid event in 2020 and we followed with the inaugural UWRF Perth Festival in 2021.

AH: Can you tell us about the theme for this year’s festival?

SF: This year’s Festival theme is ‘Memayu Hayuning Bawana’, an ancient Javanese philosophy that means the principles by which we care for, protect, and beautify our universe. UWRF has translated this philosophy as ‘Uniting Humanity’, referring to humanity’s capacity to beautify our world and strengthen our ties as a collective.

Memayu Hayuning Bawana…an ancient Javanese philosophy that means the principles by which we care for, protect, and beautify our universe.

UWRF Perth 2022 will explore the power of storytelling to ask how we can bring together the common threads of different cultures and perspectives to pave the way for a deeper understanding and mutual respect.

AH: You mention a culinary event being part of the program lineup. Can you tell us what that’s all about?

SF: We’re really honoured to be hosting Chef Wayan Kresna Yasa, one of Indonesia’s most exciting young chefs. In Bali he is not only known for his culinary skills but also for his deep respect for the environment and his drive to put the flavours of his homeland on the global culinary map.

One of his venues, Tanaman, was listed as “one of the best new restaurants in the world” by Condé Nast Traveller in 2020 and Chef Wayan has just been invited to prepare dishes for the G20 Bali Summit later in the year – so it’s really a coup to have him joining us in Perth for the Festival!

The Taste of Paon literary lunch will be an amazing fusion of food and literature from Indonesia and Australia, with Chef Wayan preparing a delicious 3-course meal featuring dishes selected from his cookbook, Paon, accompanied by Plantagenet wines. And our special literary guests will be Miles Franklin award-winning writers Jennifer Down and Josephine Wilson, who will be in conversation with Gillian O’Shaughnessy. So it’s really going to be a very special afternoon!

AH: Which festival highlights should audiences keep an eye out for?

SF: In my view the entire program is worth keeping an eye out for! But I’ll give a couple of special mentions to a few: Whitewashing on Friday morning with debut author and creator of The Beige Index Siang Lu; the Saltwater Diplomacy session on Saturday morning, talking about Australia’s surfing ambassadors and the history and culture of the surf scene in Bali; and the screening on Sunday morning of Jane Castle’s extraordinarily haunting film, When the Camera Stopped Rolling.

Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2022 runs from 21 – 23 October at The Rechabite Hall.

Pictured top: Intricate carving, manual and digital colouring techniques reveal the figure of a deity whose lifeforce is one with the landscape. Artwork: Ni Luh Pangetsu.