After a year-long closure, Museum Nasional Indonesia (MNI) was officially reopened on 15 October 2024. Having undergone substantial renovations, the museum reopens with modern appeal, complete with fresh new archives and displays, as well as interactive and educational programmes promising an engaging experience for visitors.
On 16 September 2023 at 7:58 pm, a fire caused by an electrical short-circuit decimated a wing of Museum Nasional Indonesia. It began in Building A, and spread to five other rooms, from the Indonesian Culture Room to the Civilisation Room, Prehistoric Gallery and Bronze Gallery. Continuing its fiery rampage, the flames swallowed up the Terracotta Gallery and were finally tamed in the Ceramic Gallery. The brave firefighters managed to extinguish the fire by 9:45 pm, but by then priceless historical artefacts had already been destroyed.
That was a tragic night for Indonesia. The pride of the nation’s heritage, housing more than 196,000 cultural treasures and artefacts from various regions, engulfed in flames. The incident resulted in damage to 24% of the total area of Museum Nasional Indonesia’s historic Building A.
The next day after the fire broke out, the museum team consolidated to determine the rescue strategy and handling of the affected collections. The revitalisation process involved collaboration with the Indonesia Heritage Agency (IHA) and curators, cultural heritage experts, artistic communities, international institutions, historians, architects, and other national figures.
Yes, the rebuilding of the museum wing certainly required physical renovation, but it was also an opportunity to reimagine how the space could be better utilised. This process of reimagining meant considering curatorial and collection updates that would strengthen the narrative of Indonesia’s cultural heritage, whilst setting out to improve the function, aesthetics, security, and convenience of the museum infrastructure.
Museum Nasional Indonesia reopened on 15 October with the theme ‘Reimagining Cultural Heritage’. A brand new exterior and refurbished interior bring the museum into a new light, including a new gift shop and museum café.
One of the more modern experiences is found in the ImserifA Room. As its name suggests, the space offers an immersive experience of history and culture through advanced video mapping and audio technology. Visitors can explore the history of Indonesian culture across the ages in a highly interactive format.
Two temporary exhibitions lie at the heart of the refurbished wing: ‘Beating Nekara, Watering the Fire’, and ‘Repatriation Exhibition: The Return of Cultural Heritage and Knowledge of the Archipelago’, both of which will remain on display until 31 December 2024.
‘Beating Nekara, Watering the Fire’ harnesses last year’s incident and channels it into a new visual narrative. It displays the revitalisation process, affected collections and data from the incident. This exhibition aims to show how the museum used data and multimedia reconstruction in the refurbishment and try to transparently answer the public curiosity about the fire as well as address concerns about its preparedness for possible future disaster mitigation. Some of the charred buildings and ruins have been deliberately made visible, giving visitors a direct and visceral connection to the incident. The Bronze Room is the best example of this, where a solitary statute of Gajah Pasemah from South Sumatra stands among the ruins, a silent witness and survivor of the flames.
‘Beating Nekara, Watering the Fire’ exhibition room displaying ceramics, bronzes, and other collections that were saved from the fire (top). Visitors can also see some of the charred buildings and ruins as well as get information about the fire and the revitalisation process (bottom).
The ‘Repatriation Exhibition: The Return of Cultural Heritage and Knowledge of the Archipelago’ is without a doubt a major highlight, featuring historical treasures and and artefacts repatriated to Indonesia from the Netherlands under a cultural cooperation MoU.
The Repatriation Exhibition includes 760 historical objects repatriated over the past two years, including priceless collections of Prince Diponegoro, art from Bali’s Pita Maha collective from the 1930s, and heirlooms from the Kingdom of Lombok (Royal Lombok Heritage Collections). Of the 288 items resulting from the repatriation agreement with the Netherlands, 84 collections have been displayed as part of the first phase of the exhibition. The collections include statues, gold jewellery from the Puputan Badung and Tabanan repatriations in Bali, and other artefacts.
Bhairawa, the largest statue displayed at the National Museum of Indonesia in the Rotunda room, is a visitor attraction (left), One of the Ganesha statues (right).
Impressive statues are among the prized artefacts. This includes nine statues from the period of the Singhasari Kingdom that were repatriated from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam after two centuries in the Netherlands. One particularly interesting statue is the smiling Nandi, the vehicle and guardian of Lord Shiva. The statue is unique because Indonesia has never collected Nandi in a smiling state. A four-armed statute of Brahma is another highlight, rare as the Hindu god is normally depicted with two arms; as well as a Prajnaparamita statue, which symbolises the figure of the goddess of wisdom, and is known as the goddess with the most beautiful face and body shape. Acting Head of the Indonesian Heritage Agency Ahmad Mahendra even likened the statue to “Indonesia’s Mona Lisa”. Other repatriated statuees include a Ganesha, a Bhairawa, a Mahakala, and a Durga Mahisasuramardini statue from the 13th century. An in-depth narrative of each collection is attached for visitors’ deeper understanding.
Museum Nasional Indonesia is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 8am to 4pm. Tickets are available both online and offline, priced at IDR 25,000,- for adults and IDR 15,000,- for children.
Museum Nasional Indonesia
Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, No. 12, Jakarta
+62 21 3868172
@museumnasionalindonesia
museumnasional.or.id
