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Jakarta Post

Museum Week exposes residents, tourists to culture

Creating resemblance: Bogor painter Toto Bambang Semboto (right) sketches the face of The Jakarta Post president director Jusuf Wanandi at the opening ceremony of Museum Week, at the Senayan City mall in South Jakarta on Tuesday

Fikri Zaki Muhammadi (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, August 28, 2013

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Museum Week exposes residents, tourists to culture Creating resemblance: Bogor painter Toto Bambang Semboto (right) sketches the face of The Jakarta Post president director Jusuf Wanandi at the opening ceremony of Museum Week, at the Senayan City mall in South Jakarta on Tuesday. The Jakarta Post and the Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency are highlighting 13 out of 50 museums. The event, sponsored by French-based oil and gas company Total E&P and the country’s upstream oil and gas regulatory special task force SKKMigas, will last until Sunday. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira) (right) sketches the face of The Jakarta Post president director Jusuf Wanandi at the opening ceremony of Museum Week, at the Senayan City mall in South Jakarta on Tuesday. The Jakarta Post and the Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency are highlighting 13 out of 50 museums. The event, sponsored by French-based oil and gas company Total E&P and the country’s upstream oil and gas regulatory special task force SKKMigas, will last until Sunday. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

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span class="inline inline-none">Creating resemblance: Bogor painter Toto Bambang Semboto (right) sketches the face of The Jakarta Post president director Jusuf Wanandi at the opening ceremony of Museum Week, at the Senayan City mall in South Jakarta on Tuesday. The Jakarta Post and the Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency are highlighting 13 out of 50 museums. The event, sponsored by French-based oil and gas company Total E&P and the country'€™s upstream oil and gas regulatory special task force SKKMigas, will last until Sunday. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

The 2013 Museum Week kicked off on Tuesday at Senayan City mall in Jakarta with the hope that this rare event will raise people'€™s awareness of '€” and willingness to visit '€” museums.

Riyadi Suparno, executive director of The Jakarta Post '€” one of the organizers behind the exhibition '€” said that museums had been given sufficient funds from the state budget to cover their operations, but they lacked funds for promotion.

'€œThe exhibition aims to help museums promote themselves and show that museums are interesting places to visit,'€ he said on Tuesday.

When questioned about why the event was conducted at a shopping mall, Riyadi said that the activities of Jakartans nowadays could no longer be separated from malls.

'€œEveryone goes to the mall and they are the ones we targeted,'€ he said. '€œShoppers who see these collections may have their interest sparked and visit the places next time.'€

The week-long exhibition will last until Sept. 1 and offers displays of various antique and precious goods, ranging from artifacts to monetary items.

The exhibition also showcases traditional performance, films and panel discussions.

As many as 13 prominent museums in the city are involved in the event, including the National Museum, the Bank Indonesia Museum, the Jakarta History Museum, the Asmat Museum at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) and the Draft Proclamation Museum.

The Harry Darsono Museum, a private museum owned by its namesake fashion designer, is also on the list.

The Jakarta Tourism Agency has also played an active role in supporting the exhibition, saying that this event had the potential to encourage more tourists to visit museums.

Jusuf Wanandi, president director of the Post, hailed the exhibition as the first event of its kind, saying such an event should be held annually.

'€œWe should invite all parties involved with museums to continue this event in the future and perhaps conduct similar events in other cities like Yogyakarta,'€ he said during the opening ceremony on Tuesday.

Jusuf said that museums in the city were as diverse as the city'€™s population, but very few were interested in them.

He said that the special committee would focus helping public museums attract more visitors.

Desi, 40, from Duri, Riau, said the event was important especially for youths who, according to her, usually looked for educative entertainment.

'€œI like going to the museums, and I think this event shows how museums aren'€™t boring places to visit,'€ she told the Post whilst looking around the Bank of Indonesia Museum'€™s booth.

Thomas, another visitor, was very interested in two people from the Asmat tribe of Papua, who were making sculptures. He said he learned a lot from chatting with them.

'€œWe should have more of this kind of event, because it gives teaches us about the history of our nation,'€ he said.

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