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Timeless Grand Venue of Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park

As a 21st century alternative of ‘artificial tourist infrastructure’, GWK Cultural Park is currently developing into a one-stop venue that covers exhibitions, events and amusement attractions as well as becoming the information and communication forum for national and international cultures. The wonderful site will soon own one of the largest artistic masterpiece ever created in Indonesia to reflect the strong values of one of the nation’s inherent local cultures. GWK Cultural Park is now in the process of building new megaproject Icon of Civilization where Vishnu is riding Mythical Garuda standing on top of the pedestal that can be seen as the tallest structure from the Ungasan Hill. 

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From the beginning, Garuda Wisnu Kencana was always intended to be something grand. The project was initiated back in 1992, with the vision of developing it to become one of Bali’s iconic tourist destinations. One of the founders of GWK Foundation, Mr. I Nyoman Nuarta is also the inspirer behind the venue’s landmark statue. He began to realize his concept by developing the existing limestone hill through a combined land art approach and a modern architectural landscape. This is a statement of his strong idealism and a wish to align harmony between human activity, the environment and God.

The main attraction of GWK Cultural Park is the towering figure of Garuda Wisnu that is intentionally one of the tallest and largest of modern day sculptures. Combined with its pedestal, the statue is planned to reach 126 meters in height with a wingspan 64 meters. The daunting task of assembling such a sculpture was entrusted to one of Indonesia’s most reputable sculptors, I Nyoman Nuarta. He is responsible for the creation of this large-scaled monument that illustrates the Hindu God Wisnu on the back of the mythical Garuda bird. The word ‘Kencana’ refers to gold layering some core parts of the statue

GWK statue is planned to stand on the highest spot of Southern Bali and consists of two main parts; the main statue, which consists of approximately 3000 tons of copper and several other smaller statues such as the crown and Garuda’s accessories that will be coated with gold mosaic. The second part of this project is a 30,000-square-meter pedestal built on 10,000 square metres of land. Facilities inside the pedestal will include a multifunction ballroom to be utilized for international conferences as well as galleries to exhibit Indonesian cultural art creations.