Toni Harsono’s Capital in Strengthening His Position in Indonesia’s Wayang Potehi Cultural Production Arena

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-404-4_13How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Wayang Potehi; Cultural Production Arena; Capital

Abstract

Wayang Potehi is a form of traditional performance art rooted in Chinese culture, but it has assimilated into Indonesian culture. This art form faces various social, political, and economic challenges in maintaining its continuity. In response to these challenges, Toni Harsono, a Wayang Potehi activist from the Fu He An community, has not only been involved in the performances of Wayang Potehi but has also introduced this art to a broader audience. Toni Harsono’s success in revitalizing Wayang Potehi is closely linked to the capitals he has accumulated. Therefore, this research aims to analyze how Toni Harsono, as an activist and preservator of Wayang Potehi, accumulates and utilizes social, cultural, and symbolic capital to strengthen the position of Wayang Potehi in the Indonesian cultural arena using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural production. Through in-depth interviews with Toni Harsono, this study finds that he has successfully accumulated social capital through his network with the Chinese community and cultural institutions. His cultural capital is reflected in his deep knowledge of Wayang Potehi, acquired from his father, a Wayang Potehi puppeteer, and from seeking knowledge from various Wayang Potehi experts both in Indonesia and abroad. Toni Harsono’s symbolic capital is gained from public recognition and awards received from various institutions, both domestically and internationally. He has effectively utilized these capitals to strengthen the position of Wayang Potehi by organizing touring performances, training a new generation of puppeteers, and establishing collaborations with various parties.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Santi Andayani
AU  - Emma Rahmawati Fatimah
AU  - Clarinta Gaby Wijaya
AU  - Nando Petra Setyo Prakoso
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/05/15
TI  - Toni Harsono’s Capital in Strengthening His Position in Indonesia’s Wayang Potehi Cultural Production Arena
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference Entitled Language, Literary, and Cultural Studies (ICONLATERALS 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 147
EP  - 162
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-404-4_13
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-404-4_13
ID  - Andayani2025
ER  -