Jakarta. The Creative Economy Agency, or Bekraf, the Indonesian Arts Coalition and Filantropi Indonesia signed a joint declaration in Bandung, West Java, on Thursday (07/12) to establish the Indonesian Arts and Culture Philanthropy Cluster.

The declaration is expected to be followed up with the signing of a memorandum of understanding soon.

According to an official statement received by the Jakarta Globe, the three cluster members are committed to working together to help art communities source funding from philanthropists.

Fadjar Hutomo, deputy for funding access at Bekraf, and Linda Hoemar Abidin, treasurer at the Indonesian Arts Coalition, both highlighted the importance of philanthropy to support the arts, due to the limited availability of government funding for this purpose.

According to a 2015 study by the Indonesian Arts Coalition, only 15 percent of 227 art communities in eight cities had access to funding from the central and regional governments. The rest mainly relied on self-funding.

The statement also cited a recent study by the Public Interest Research and Advocacy Center, which showed that the private sector lacks interest in donating to artistic causes. This year, only 18.1 percent of 1,372 social projects by private enterprises involved arts and culture.

Filantropi Indonesia is a nonprofit, independent association that seeks to improve the contribution of philanthropists and philanthropic activities to the country's development, while the Indonesian Arts Coalition strives to strengthen the art sector through research, advocating for better policies, bringing together communities, as well as connecting them with the government and the private sector. There are currently 170 artists and communities in 14 provinces that form part of the coalition.

The signing of the declaration coincided with the Bekraf Festival, which is taking place at various venues between Thursday and Sunday.