Mokshfeast 1.0 Presented An Intimate Art Festival in Serene Atmosphere

Mokshfeast held its first edition last Saturday and Sunday, 28 – 29 October 2017. Taking place at the Banyu Meneng beach, Malang which was kept hidden until the event started, Mokshfeast presented an urban art festival where leisure activities were integrated with nature. The beach was decorated with installations created with nature’s objects which were executed by Waftlab, giving a festive yet natural look that blended into the background. Attendees were given freedom on how they should enjoy the festival as there was no set schedule for certain activities at the venue. As an attempt to preserve the surrounding ecosystem Mokshfeast encouraged nature preservation by giving attendees portable ashtray, organic plastic bag, reusable organic plate and reusable organic cup.

Moksha Indonesia, the festival organizer, collaborated with the locals for the food stalls on the festival. Owners of the local food stalls were given culinary training by a professional chef before the event started. The training gave a very pleasant result, as a plethora of appetizing dishes prepared with local ingredients such as Octopus rica-rica, Cakalang fish cooked in basil, and Blackpepper Crab. The first day started with attendees riding to the beach via shuttle bus or their own vehicle. Arriving at noon, attendees were guided into their tent while the locals were performing “sedekah laut”, a ritual of gratitude and protection in which they sacrificed some of their harvest to the sea. Attendees were greeted with fun activities such as water sports, trekking, and slackline. Robi Navicula started his sharing session at 2 pm, reminding attendees and local how tourism growth should be balanced with nature preservation.

Music performance were divided into three session which brings different tunes to suits the time when they were held. The music stage was started with Chill in Sunset session, with the performances of Equaliz, Rasvan Aoki, Robi Navicula, Atlesta and Wake Up Iris!. While there were a break and sunset yoga that separated Atlesta and Wake Up Iris! performances with the other performers, the first session brings folk-ish atmosphere while attendees were enjoying their time with nature. Continued by Half Moon session, groovy tunes were spun by Kenny Gabriel, Metzdub x Brother, Lunette and Latex. It took awhile for the crowd to start dancing, but this session succeeds bringing party spirit amidst nature. The third session, Full Moon, started at midnight with Halim Ardie, Claudia Jaramillo, Tantra and many more playing high paced beats with their turntable. While this session started with some dancing folks, the crowds were gradually dissipating as the session goes on and the attendees returned to their tents.

The second day started late with attendees still recovering from previous day’s activities, making the sunrise yoga canceled. As there was no scheduled event for the second day, attendees were enjoying their time enjoying nature by resting at the hammock area, playing water sports and trekking before going back home. The first edition of Mokhsfeast brings a memorable nature festival experience with the festival’s activities, we suggest that there’s should be improvements on music selections to create a better fitting atmosphere with the venue. We would like experience the true “moksha” in the Mokshfeast next year!