National Museum invites public to hold events
The National Museum in Central Jakarta will work more closely with communities to promote the museum as a venue for public events.
National Museum head Intan Mardiana said recently the museum could be utilized for more programming than was currently provided.
“Events held at the museum by communities will automatically attract visitors,” she said, adding that events must benefit the public.
Akbar Muzakki, 21, a student of the University of Indonesia, told The Jakarta Post that the university had held a software and games exhibition at the museum in 2014.
“It was fun because visitors could attend the exhibition while enjoying the museum’s collections,” he said.
The National Museum recently concluded a series of events in celebration of its 237th anniversary, which fell on April 24, as well as International Museum Day, which fell on May 18. Events included a fun walk, a kids fashion show, a singing contest, a short movie competition and a bazaar.
Donny Satryo Wibowo of the University of Indonesia’s Kris Community, expressed appreciation of the museum’s initiative to work with communities.
“This is a good first step, as a museum demands public participation. All this time, the museum has held events, but they didn’t reach a wide audience,” he said, adding that the museum needed to build a strategy for attracting more visitors to the events.
Culture and Elementary and Secondary Education Ministry official Dani Wigatna said recently, as quoted by kompas.com, that the number of people visiting Indonesia’s 328 museums nationwide stood at just 10 million.
The National Museum itself receives about 700 to 1,000 visitors per day. According to government data, the nation’s flagship museum welcomed 235,000 visitors in 2008.
By comparison, the National Museum of Singapore received 932,600 visitors in 2011, according to government data.
One visitor, 30-year-old Willy, who has been working as an event organizer for 10 years, said other museums had numerous events to attract visitors.
“I always find events when I visit a museum, but I guess poor promotion strategies limit their visibility,” he said.
Willy went on to say that museums needed to use the power of social media more effectively to promote events.
The museum’s partnership and promotion unit head, Dedah Sri Handari, said that in truth, the museum organized routine events each year.
“We always hold five lectures and scientific seminars every year. In addition, since 2013, we have held routing programming, such as ‘Weekend at the Museum’ and ‘Kids’ Corner’, both of which feature musical plays and other activities. This year they will be held at underprivileged schools in Serang, Cilegon, Lebak and Pandeglang — all in Banten,” she said, adding that limited funds meant the museum could put on just five events a year outside of the regular programming.
“We are in the process of reconstructing a part of the building and building a warehouse near Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta to store our collections. The project is occupying most of our attention, but we are still trying to hold events,” she said.
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