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Most Indonesian museums non-operational: Official
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Visitors observe archives displayed at the National Museum in Jakarta on June 3. The exhibition, which displayed archives regarding the birth of Pancasila, was held until June 15. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
C
ulture director general at the Culture and Education Ministry Hilmar Farid said of 400 museums operating in the country, only 15 percent opened their doors to visitors.
Hilmar said a large number of museums suffered a wide range of problems, from poor management to lack of curators, which prevented them from offering services to history buffs.
To complicate the problem, Hilmar said the government did not have enough funding to build the capacity of museum curators.
He said the Directorate General of Culture relied on local governments to keep museums open.
Hilmar also suggested that museums open to the public offer programs that could draw larger crowds.
"They should put on display their core collections. Something that most people in Indonesia know about," Hilmar said as quoted by tempo.co
He said the ministry had also proposed museum collections be displayed in multiple locations.
Museums in the country have long struggled with low visitor numbers despite not applying entrance fees.
Jakarta museums have in recent years created programs to attract members of the middle-income bracket.
