The Development of the Museum in Indonesia and the New Order’s Legacy
Most of Indonesia's 200 museums were built during the post-independence era, particularly during the New Order (1965-1998). Through three case studies (Museum Benteng Vredeburg in Jogjakarta; Aceh Museum and Siwalima Museum on Ambon) this lecture will discuss the development of Indonesian museums; did they become postmodern museums or, due to their legacy, do they need to be decolonized in stead?
A lecture by Ajeng Ayu Arainikasih, PhD candidate in Colonial and Global History at the Institute for History of Universiteit Leiden.
Lunch is provided. Registration is required
Today, Indonesia has more than 200 museums. A small numbers of museums were established in the colonial era, while many others were built during the post-independence era, particularly during the New Order (1965-1998). As a result, (official) history museums flourished. During that time, the government also published museum standardization guidelines. Therefore, Indonesia has province museums in uniform. Moreover, at the moment, the government is running a museum revitalization project. Numerous museums are funded to renovate their buildings and redesign their interiors and storylines; besides, many other new museums are established.
The Museum Benteng Vredeburg in Jogjakarta is a history museum that was redesigned during the museum revitalization project. Both the Aceh Museum and the Siwalima Museum in Ambon are province museums that were also revitalized. Through these museums as case studies, this lecture will discuss the development of Indonesian museums. Did they develop to become postmodern museums or, due to the legacy of the New Order’s reign, do they need to be decolonized instead?
Ajeng Ayu Arainikasih is a PhD candidate in Colonial and Global History from the Institute for History Universiteit Leiden. Her research is on the representation of Dutch colonialism in the museums’ permanent exhibitions in Indonesia and the Netherlands. In Indonesia she is a lecturer in the Department of Archaeology, Universitas Indonesia. She teaches Museum Studies and her expertise is on museum exhibitions and museum education. She is also the founder of Museum Ceria, Indonesia’s first independent museum educator based in Jakarta.
Picture: Aceh Museum on Ambon, by Si Gam (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Registration (required)
Please register via the webform below if you would like to attend this lunch lecture.
About IIAS Lunch Lectures
Every month, one of the IIAS' affilated fellows will give an informal presentation about his/her work-in-progress for colleagues and others interested.
IIAS organises these lunch lectures to give the research community an opportunity to freely discuss ongoing research and exchange thoughts and ideas. Lunch lectures are sometimes also organised for visiting scholars.