Museums and collections for all: collection care and conservation in Indonesia
About us
Museums and Collections for All aims to advance collection care and heritage conservation methods in Indonesia informed by local environmental and community issues, focusing on the paintings collections and artworks from Indonesia. By considering the specific contexts and knowledge of care of museums in the area, this project seeks to stimulate wider discussions about the role of museums in contemporary Indonesia and globally. The year-long collaboration between the Indonesian Heritage Agency (IHA)- MCB (Museum dan Cagar Budaya) and the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, University of Melbourne, is designed around two activities: a workshop and a series of webinars. The University of Melbourne researchers shared their expertise and, Indonesian Heritage professionals will share their own, to develop guidelines for collection care for Indonesian collections.
In the tropical global south where the climate and collection risks are more challenging, how long can and should collections last for and how can we manage them the best we can?
Museum dan Koleksi untuk Semua: Pemeliharaan dan konservasi koleksi di Indonesia
Museum dan Koleksi untuk Semua bertujuan untuk memajukan metode perawatan koleksi dan konservasi warisan budaya di Indonesia berdasarkan isu-isu lingkungan dan masyarakat setempat, dengan fokus pada koleksi lukisan dan karya seni dari Indonesia. Dengan mempertimbangkan konteks spesifik dan pengetahuan mengenai pemeliharaan museum di daerah tersebut, proyek ini berupaya untuk mengembangkan diskusi yang lebih luas tentang peran museum di Indonesia kontemporer dan secara global. Kolaborasi selama setahun antara the Indonesian Heritage Agency (IHA)- MCB (Museum dan Cagar Budaya) dan Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, University of Melbourne, dirancang berdasarkan dua kegiatan: lokakarya dan serangkaian webinar. Para peneliti dari University of Melbourne berbagi keahlian mereka dan, para staf museum dalam IHA akan berbagi keahlian mereka untuk mengembangkan pedoman perawatan koleksi untuk koleksi-koleksi Indonesia.
Di negara-negara tropis di bagian selatan dimana iklim dan risiko terhadap koleksi lebih menantang, berapa lama koleksi dapat bertahan dan bagaimana kita dapat mengelolanya sebaik mungkin?
People
- Associate Professor Nicole Tse, Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, the University of Melbourne, Australia
- Dr Wulan Dirgantoro, School of Culture and Communication, the University of Melbourne, Australia
Hosted by
Indonesian Heritage Agency (IHA), Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia
Workshop in Jakarta, April 2024
Workshop, 22-24 April 2024, National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta
Museum and Collections for all: Collection Care and Conservation in Indonesia workshop presented in English and Bahasa Indonesia (translator alumni Lia Sumichan, Institut Konservasi).
The workshop was led by: Associate Professor Nicole Tse (Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation), Dr Wulan Dirgantoro (School of Culture and Communication, the University of Melbourne, Australia), Dwitri Amalia (Indonesian Heritage Agency), Valentina Beatrix Sondag (Indonesian Heritage Agency), and Nahar Cahyandaru (Indonesian Heritage Agency).
25 Participants from the following organisations:
IHA Communications and Partnership Team
IHA Conservation and Collections Team
IHA Curatorial and Exhibition Team
Museum Nasional Indonesia (National Museum of Indonesia)
Museum Batik Indonesia (Indonesian Batik Museum)
Galeri Nasional Indonesia (National Gallery of Indonesia)
Museum Kebangkitan Nasional (National Awakening Museum)
Museum Basoeki Abdullah (Basoeki Abdullah Museum)
Museum Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge Museum)
Museum Perumusan Naskah Proklamasi (Museum of the Formulation of Proclamation Text)
Museum Kepresidenan Balai Kirti (Balai Kirti Presidential Museum)
Pictured (Left to right):
1. Workshop begins ‘Museum dan Koleksi untuk Semua: Pemeliharaan dan Konservasi Koleksi di Indonesia’ (Museum and Collections for All: Collection Care and Conservation in Indonesia), Indonesian Heritage Agency (IHA)- MCB (Museum dan Cagar Budaya) & University of Melbourne, 22-24 April 2024. In considering the contexts and knowledge of care in museums, we seek to stimulate discussion about the role of museums in contemporary Indonesia, and in the tropical global south. Image: IHA 2024.
2. Indonesian Heritage Agency staff talking about painting materials in Indonesia and developing timelines of use. University of Melbourne alumni Lia Sumichan, also shares what she knows about painting materials in Indonesia. Image: IHA 2024.
3. Documenting and understanding paintings & developing terminologies for Indonesia. What terms are normally used in Indonesia and how do they translate to conservation documentary processes? Image: IHA 2024.
4. Indonesian Heritage Agency staff finding out more, mapping the building, collection stores and painting collections to develop a collection risk assessment and prioritise what is important and possible. Image: Lia Sumichan 2024.
Webinar Series, August 2024
In August 2024, Museums and Collections for all launched the inaugural webinar series focusing on art materiality and making in the tropics, and local innovations in Southeast Asian conservation practice. Panelists from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia came together to share insights and engage in robust dialogue and Q&A with the audience. 700 participants joined us online for the two webinar events, zooming in from Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, UK and US. See below for further information on the two webinar events.
Webinar: Art Materials, making and meaning (Wednesday 14 August)
Overview:
This webinar will focus on the history of materials and making in Indonesia, with a focus on materiality and multidisciplinary contemporary art practices that incorporate a broad range of materials and techniques. Speakers will examine ideas surrounding traditional and non-traditional material choices and their decay, and what this means for the preservation of these objects. It will also consider material availability in Indonesia and different types of materials used by artists from the early twentieth-century to today, including artist colourmen products, household grade commercial products and locally available supplies. This webinar questions how knowledge of an artist’s materials and techniques can inform approaches to conservation practice and decision-making, and raises critical issues surrounding building knowledge of artist materials for the future.
Join Dr Wulan Dirgantoro (School of Culture and Communication), Arin Sunaryo (Artist and Director of Selasar Sunaryo), Laila Nurul Fitrani (Institut Konservasi), Jarot Mahendera (Indonesian Heritage Agency), and Gadis Fitriana Putri (Institut Konservasi).
Webinar: Southeast Asia focus: Local innovation in conservation materials & practice (Wednesday 21 August)
Overview:
The second webinar, which will be open to the public, focuses on innovations in conservation materials, research and practice in Southeast Asia. This webinar invites conservators and cultural practitioners from Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines to share their experiences working in conservation. It will focus on regional conservation solutions related to material research and availability, climates, and cultural knowledge, and considers similarities and differences between approaches. In the tropics, how can regional approaches be shared to inform collection care and communities of practice, and what can we learn from each other?
Join Associate Professor Nicole Tse (Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation), Associate Professor Maria Bernardita Maronilla-Reyes, University of Santo Tomas (UST), Manila, Musrizal Mat Isa, and Mohamad Habibi (Indonesian Heritage Agency).
This project is supported by a University of Melbourne Asia Initiative Grant.
Contact
Nicole Tse, nicoleat@unimelb.edu.au
Wulan Dirgantoro, wdirgantoro@unimelb.edu.au