The Performing Arts and Fine Arts Master Program (PSPSR), Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) carried out a community service program entitled NUSA BUDAYA (Narratives for a Cultured Society) in Padukuhan Pringgading, Guwosari Village, Pajangan District, Bantul Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta. This activity was scheduled to take place over three days and two nights, from 28th to 30th November 2025.
The NUSA BUDAYA program was designed as an effort to strengthen the community’s cultural identity with participatory and sustainable approaches in performing arts and fine arts. The program involved active students of the PSPSR Master Program at UGM, working collaboratively with local communities, village officials, MSME actors, and local art studios.
The chief of the organizing committee stated that Padukuhan Pringgading possesses significant cultural potential; however, this potential has not yet been optimally documented and managed. Therefore, NUSA BUDAYA was initiated to plant the seeds of cultural development with a series of art workshops and the preparation of a regional profile as a foundation for strengthening the hamlet’s cultural identity.
Various programs were implemented during the activity, including Dance Workshops, Karawitan (traditional Javanese music) Workshops, Batik Workshops, and the Preparation of a Village Profile (Prodeskel). The dance and karawitan workshops focused on creating foundational movements and musical compositions based on local wisdom, which are expected to become distinctive cultural characteristics of Padukuhan Pringgading. Meanwhile, the batik workshop was directed toward developing new batik motifs inspired by local natural resources, history, and community characteristics, while also opening opportunities for the growth of the local creative economy.
The student team, in addition to artistic activities, compiled a comprehensive village profile of Padukuhan Pringgading with the collection of demographic, socio-cultural, economic, and infrastructure data. This village profile is expected to serve as an important reference for regional development planning and for strengthening culture-based village branding.
PSPSR UGM not only fulfilled its role in the Tri Dharma of Higher Education with this program, it also sought to provide tangible contributions to cultural preservation, community empowerment, and sustainable community development. The NUSA BUDAYA program is expected to become a model of arts-based community service that can be replicated in other regions across Indonesia.