Museum Projects

Museum Projects offers the chance for volunteers to learn about the heritage of Indonesia by actively supporting the cultural institutions of Indonesia. Our activities are many and varied but they all fall under the direction of the Museum Curators and staff. At the moment we have projects in three Museums in Jakarta and there are plenty of opportunities open if you would like to join in. Please contact projects@heritagejkt.org if you would like more information.


 

Museum Nasional

Prehistory:

For more than a decade the IHS has been helping to catalogue some of the numerous prehistoric items held in storage. This team has recently translated a booklet on Neolithic artifacts that was written by the Curators from the Department of Archaeology; the book will be published in the last quarter of 2007.

Glass Plate Negatives:

In 2006, while they were transferring exhibits into their new building, the Museum staff discovered a forgotten collection of over 1000 glass plate negatives; glass negatives are an early 20th century forerunner of photographic film and these particular items were taken over a period of about 20 years during the Dutch colonial administration, to document various aspects of life in Indonesia. Since February 2007 the IHS have been helping the Museum Conservation Department to bring some order to the collection.

The first part of the project has been to document all the information on each “plate” into a simple database; this has involved translating the old Dutch text into English and then into Bahasa Indonesian so that the information comes alive for the Curators. Later, as each is opened, we will be able to see and note how well preserved they are, make a digital copy and place them into new acid free envelops. The most interesting will be earmarked for a possible future photographic exhibition.

Translation of Prasasti:

Prasasti is the Indonesian word for an ancient inscription. A small group are about to start translating the script on three of the stone Prasasti housed in the courtyard of the old Museum building; the languages they will be studying are Sanskrit and several variations of archaic Indonesian. Volunteers needed.

Museum Sejarah Jakarta

Furniture:

In early 2007 the IHS were invited to help complete and update the inventory of their extensive collection of colonial Dutch furniture. Volunteers are numbering, measuring and photographing each piece and their descriptions will include the new information that was given by Jan Veenedaal (world expert on antique Dutch furniture) in April 2007.

All this information will be entered into a new database by the Museum staff, who will have the opportunity to learn new computing skills. Volunteers needed.

Gedung Arsip

Furniture:

A parallel inventory project to that described above has almost been completed for the collection of Colonial Dutch furniture at this Museum.

Shells:

A small team are cataloguing and describing a collection of seashells, with an idea of creating a “child friendly” and educational exhibition.

Petrified wood:

This is a research project to gather information on volcanism in Indonesia to illustrate an exhibition of a large collection of petrified wood. Volunteers needed.

Future Projects

The Museum Directorate is interested in improving the Museums under its governance across many fronts. They have chosen a museum as a pilot project and have invited the IHS to help create a blue print that can be used as a benchmark for the other Museums.