Indonesian National Museum Opened October 15, 2024, There Is A Sophisticated Imersive Space As A Form Of Historical Preservation

The Indonesian National Museum has reopened (ANTARA/Rio Feisal)

JAKARTA - The National Museum of Indonesia is reopening to the public starting October 15, 2024, with various interesting interactive and educational programs.

The museum, which had experienced a fire in 2023, has been renovated and was recently inaugurated by the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy.

This inauguration also marks the start of a new era of the Indonesian National Museum which brings enthusiasm, maintains, develops, utilizes, and fosters national culture.

"This inauguration is not only a starting point for the Indonesian National Museum in maintaining and enriching the treasures of Indonesian culture, but also strengthens the government's support for educational and cultural activities that are open to all people," Muhadjir said in Jakarta, as quoted by Antara.

Muhadjir emphasized that this commitment is in line with Law Number 5 of 2017 concerning the Advancement of Culture.

"The law is in accordance with the direction of President Joko Widodo, who provides a strategic role to national culture in development, as well as strengthening museum management," he continued.

On the other hand, Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Mendikbudristek) Nadiem Anwar Makarim stated that his party together with various elements continued to collaborate in the process of renovating and restoring the Indonesian National Museum after the fire incident in September 2023.

"The renovations we are doing include not only physical buildings, but also the idea of reimagination which is at the core of the Indonesian Heritage Agency," said Nadiem.

Nadiem also emphasized that this process of reimagination is very important to ensure that cultural heritage is still respected, preserved, and utilized for the welfare of the community, and can be enjoyed wisely by future generations in an effort to strengthen Indonesia's role in the global arena.

"This reimagination idea is the foundation for efforts to realize more optimal services to protect and preserve museums and cultural heritages managed by the government," he added.

Nadiem explained that the transformation steps were carried out including curatorial updates and collections to strengthen the narrative of Indonesia's cultural heritage, as well as improve the function, aesthetics, security, and convenience of museum infrastructure.

On the same occasion, the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture also toured the museum to see a number of new interactive exhibitions.

Among them are the ImersiveA space that uses multimedia technology to present the history of Indonesia, the future space of the MNI which explores the future of cultural conservation, as well as the archipelago paras Nusantara space that displays the diversity of Indonesian human culture.

In addition, there is also a repatriation exhibition room featuring artifacts that have just been returned to Indonesia, as well as IHA stores that offer museum and cultural souvenirs.