1. finds aNewHome
inMuseumMACAN
Museum MACAN (acronym for Modern
and Contemporary Art in Nusantara) is
the first of its kind in Indonesia and will
provide the public with access to its
growing permanent collection of close to
800 artworks, which have been collected
by Mr. Haryanto Adikoesoemo over the
past 25 years. The collection includes
works from Indonesian artists such as
Raden Saleh and Affandi, as well as
international treasures by artists such
as Jean-Michel Basquiat. Dr. Berghuis,
previously the curator for Chinese Art at
T
he genial and enthusiastic Dr.
Thomas J. Berghuis tells a story
about one breezy morning in
New York with Mr. Haryanto
Adikoesoemo: “We met at this local
breakfast place for bagels, and we asked
each other ‘so what’s the plan for today?’
I might go to the Guggenheim, he went to
the Metropolitan, there was an exhibition
in a gallery at Chelsea that he wanted to
go to, and then Broadway came up. At the
end of the day we met again to share what
we saw, each advising the other about
what exhibitions to see because it might tie
into the other’s interests.”
He envisions a similar scene happening
in Jakarta in five to 10 years’ time. But
with Museum MACAN, founded by
philanthropist and art collector Mr. Haryanto
Adikoesoemo, currently in development
and to open early 2017, that vision might
come true sooner than expected.
The appreciation of modern and
contemporary art in Indonesia
has always existed—indicated
by the 30,000 attendees of last
year’s Jakarta Biennale—but it’s
still considered a niche market,
catered by art galleries and private
museums across big cities like
Jakarta and Yogyakarta, and
art auctions are actually gaining
prominence too.
“The Indonesian art scene has always been
vibrant,” Berghuis says. “You can see it
in the existence of sanggar [or studio] in
the '40s and '60s, the artists’ movements
in the '60s and '70s, especially with the
Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru (or The New Fine
Art Movement) in which they explored new
art forms like installations and performing
arts, and the socially-relevant artwork of ‘98
and onwards. There’s creativity happening
everywhere in Indonesia, and I don’t think
we should contain it.”
Catering to such creativity is definitely a
priority for Mr. Haryanto and Dr. Berghuis,
but most importantly, for the bigger picture
the museum yearns to be part of the
environment and to become sort of a
medium for reflection of what is happening
around us, particularly the culture in which it
grows roots. “We want to be part of Jakarta,
part of Indonesia, and ultimately part of
the world. That’s why we don’t isolate the
museum, we’re not building a standalone
one because we aim to contribute and
stimulate the broader ecology, and to
connect it to other creativity.”
An Intimate Design
Museum MACAN is located in Kebon
Jeruk, West Jakarta, and occupies around
4,000m2 on the fifth floor of a multipurpose
landmark building that will also be used for
business, residential, hotel, restaurants,
cafes, and showroom (as part of what they
name as The Gallery West complex)—all
highly visible from the highway as you
drive to and from the airport. The design
of the museum is handled by London-
based firm, MET Studio Design, whose
Thepeoplebehindthecoming-soonMuseumMACANwanttofurtheringrainartinoureverydayurbanlife.
Onethingisforsure:themuseumwillcertainlyaddaninvaluableeducationalsite(howeverfewtheyare)that
providesapeekintoournation’sidentityasseenthroughtheeyesofart.
BySahiriLoing
past collaboration includes with The
Natural History Museum in London and the
gorgeous Wetland Park in Hong Kong.
According to research done in the U.S.,
visiting museums or galleries is viewed as a
social experience where a person will gather
with family and friends, perhaps in a nearby
café, to talk about their take on a particular
artwork, and the site of Museum MACAN
certainly provides such ample opportunities.
“For Haryanto and I, art plays a role in
expanding our minds, to make us become
more tolerant and just receptive to change,
and a museum certainly gives us that
opportunity to reflect,” says Berghuis. “On
the contrary, we don’t want to make it too
exclusive, too silent. A museum is a social
space that encourages a social experience,
and people love to talk to somebody about
what they’ve just seen.”
“For more than a decade I have dreamed
of creating a museum for the people of
Indonesia, and for our visitors and friends
from overseas,” Mr. Haryanto reveals in the
press release. “I am confident that together
with MET Studio we are developing the
ideal space for people of all ages to enjoy,
engage with, and learn about the true value
of modern and contemporary art for our lives
and our society.”
Speaking of engagement, Berghuis
recalled two experiences he had at the
Guggenheim, with the first one involving
sitting with his daughter in the Museum’s
rotunda looking at a James Turrell artwork.
“It was during the day and there was this
long line-up of people around the block just
to experience the sights and the installation
of the artist. The second one took place
during a quiet morning where there was a
handful of tourists, and among
them were a group of young
students—around 8 or 9
people—discussing with their
art teacher and a museum staff
member about this painting by
Subodh Gupta, about how they
felt regarding it and how they
thought it was made.” Again,
Berghuis hopes that he will
see something like this happening inside
Museum MACAN, especially since the
surrounding neighbourhood is teeming with
secondary schools.
The interior of Museum MACAN is designed
to be completely experiential, a free-flowing
journey that starts from the entrance where
it will be marked by a gateway arch that
wraps across the space and leads to
a gallery with interactive education with
collaborative digital “art totems”. Afterwards,
you will enter an open-plan exhibition
area with high ceilings that will focus on
contemporary art and special projects, then
continue to a more immersive space for
historical artwork displays like paintings and
sculptures as well as seminal 20th century
modern art. ”It’s going to be a holistic
open view,” Dr. Berghuis adds. “From a
curatorial perspective, it will be driven by
visual experience and different layers of
experience.”
These last two spaces, in a way, were
inspired by a particular area at the
Guggenheim. “I worked in this one tower
behind the rotunda where it had a very high
ceiling—around six meters high—and the
architecture was kind of warehouse style,
expansive, and usually we held events
and commissioned exhibitions in this open
space. But then on the next tower the
space is narrower and much more intimate
with a low ceiling, and this area is perfect
to show artworks like small paintings where
you can just focus on the details of the
paintings.”
Building Body of Work
Indonesia is home to many exceptional
artists, some already revered in the global
the prestigious Solomon R. Guggenheim
Museum, is appointed as the Director
and Chief Curator of Museum MACAN,
and along with his professional curatorial
team, will be responsible for implementing
a variety of educational and community
programs, collection management, curating
frequent temporary exhibitions, and
outreach projects as well. For the future
they have mapped out exciting plans that
include collaborating with established and
up-and-coming artists, commissioning new
artworks, co-developing exhibitions, and,
most importantly, engaging the public.
“We want to enhance the deepening and
appreciation of contemporary art, and of
course we aim to tie it to the international
community as well,” says Berghuis, who
hails from the Netherlands. “But what
we display is not just going to be what’s
contemporary now, but will also relate to art
in the 21st century in general.”
Modern & Contemporary Art
Haryanto Adikoesoemo & Thomas J. Beghuis

2. art scenes and many promising others are
in line waiting for their time to shine. Names
like Lee Man Fong to Hendra Gunawan
to Agus Suwage to Heri Dono have
successfully kick-started and perpetuated
the interest in local contemporary art, laying
the groundwork for future artists such as
Titarubi, Masriadi, Christine Ay Tjoe, and Eko
Nugroho (who held a solo show in Musee
d’Art Moderne in Paris back in 2002).
Perhaps reflecting on the ever progressing
nature of Indonesian contemporary art,
Berghuis says he doesn’t have a favorite
artist. “I just don’t want to single out
because I think even the artisans who built
the Borobudur temple are as valuable as the
contemporary artists of today.” For sure he
is determined to constantly spotlight local
artists, “And have them cross-pollinate with
artists from other countries. But, I guess
most importantly is to have that accessibility
so the public can see their art. I often reflect
on this: an art space without visitors—is it
really art? [That’s why] Accessibility is all.”
Berghuis himself comes from a family of
artists—his mother worked in the printing
business and his father was an interior
designer who had a passion and gift for
painting—thus fortunately introduced to
the art world from a very young age. “As
a kid they always brought me on trips to
museums, galleries, artists’ studios, and
even some artists’ friend of my parents often
visited our home in Amsterdam.” He studied
sinology in Leiden University and earned
his Ph.D in Asian Art History at University
of Sydney (where later on he became a
lecturer for the same subject), and around
this time he started getting introduced to
what was happening in the art scenes in
Asia, namely Indonesia.
He observes that Indonesia needs more
support structures, particularly if we want
the art world to further bloom. “For us a
museum serves as a space for activation,
for discussion and for project space to
help create and support young artists. And
we also have a role to help build catalog
resume to show their body of work because
we provide that space to reflect on a
particular period, like what Galeri Nasional
did with their Raden Saleh exhibitions or
Museum Nasional Yogyakarta with Agus
Suwage, complete with the launch of a
biographical book that took three years
just talking to the artist” Along the pipeline
Berghuis aims to link the world of art to
other creative industries such as fashion
where naturally art is part of the designs,
and even to the artful world of crafts where
the young and hip IKEA-loving crowd often
roam these days.
But, in the end, there’s nothing more
significant than the artwork, and the artists
who create it. “Adikoesoemo and I have no
hidden agenda—we’re doing this because
we have a shared passion for art, and we
want to extend that passion to others so
they can experience it themselves.” n
“Mostimportantthingisto
havethataccessibilitysothe
publiccanseetheirart.Ioften
reflectonthis:anartspace
withoutvisitors-isitreallyart?
(that'swhy)Accessibilityisall.”
—ThomasBerghuis
Dullah, Bung Karno, 1965
Ay Tjoe Christine, My Monologue, 2008
James Rosenquist