Armando Siahaan

Newly-installed touch screens and interactive exhibits give the museum hands-on appeal. (Photo: Yudhi Sukma Wijaya, JG)

Bank Indonesia Museum Puts the Fun Back in Banking

Hands-on fun at a banking museum? That doesn’t sound likely.

But the Bank Indonesia Museum in North Jakarta, which was inaugurated after the completion of renovations in July, boasts computer-touch screens, art installations and interactive games, making it seem a world away from other museums in the city with their yellowing dioramas, dim lighting and dusty exhibits.

The museum is located in a two-story Dutch colonial building in the heart of Kota Tua, Jakarta’s old quarters, and a stone’s throw from the Jakarta Museum at the back of Fatahillah Square.

The building was constructed in 1909, under the authority of the king of the Netherlands, to house the De Javasche Bank (Bank of Java), and its massive exterior and solid wood skeleton convey an air of solemnity befitting the banking business. More important, the building signaled to the people of Batavia, the name by which Jakarta was then known, that the Dutch were here to stay .

But the country gained independence a half-century later, and De Javasche Bank was nationalized in 1953, becoming the central bank, or Bank Indonesia.

The Bank Indonesia Museum opened to the public in 2006, but it was still in its preliminary stage. It offered just the PlayMotion room and the History Room, and the presentations were far from sophisticated. The next two years were spent reorganizing and modernizing the museum, and it was inaugurated for a second time on July 21.

Gede Aryana, public program analyst for Bank Indonesia, said there were three reasons behind the bank’s decision to establish a museum.

First, Bank Indonesia wanted to increase the public’s understanding of the central bank.

“We wanted to improve the image of, and change people’s perception, of Bank Indonesia,” he said.

Moreover, the museum hopes to educate people about the role of a central bank, which is completely different from that of a private bank.

Lastly, the building had officially been declared as a heritage site by the city administration in 1992. Along with the museum’s collection, Gede said, “we also wanted to preserve our heritage.”

The Bank Indonesia Museum outlines the country’s banking history, and many of the exhibits are centuries old.

Gede said Bank Indonesia also wanted to change the perception that museums here are stuffy and boring.

“We did some research and asked people what they thought of museums. When they heard the word [museum] the common perception was of a rundown, dilapidated building,” he said.

“Indonesians in general have little interest in museums.”

Therefore, Gede said, the exhibits had to be presented in an appealing way. “If we don’t package them in a fun and interesting way, who will come to the museum?” he asked.

Nuki Adiati, who has visited the museum, said the main selling point was the museum’s interactive elements and attractive designs.

“[Bank Indonesia Museum] doesn’t only display static artifacts,” she said. “There seems to be an effort by the museum to communicate with its visitors.”

Indah Ningrum, an editorial secretary for a lifestyle magazine, first went to the museum for a photo shoot, “as it makes a beautiful background.” But she then learned the museum had much to recommend, “because it is educative, has a cooperative museum guide and it clean and comfortable.”

There is plenty to see, but the best part of the museum is undoubtedly Ruang Sejarah (History Room), which is divided into before and after 1953.

The story begins with the spice trade during the kingdoms era, defined by the museum as the progenitor of banks in Nusantara, or the archipelago — a term used for pre-independence Indonesia.

Visitors first find themselves in a room that emulates an old-fashioned trading port with wooden docks, barrels and a pile of huge, coarsely woven sacks.

The wall is painted with trading ships anchored off the shore of Java. A traditional song and sea noises play interchangeably in the background.

The wooden barrels contain spices such as cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon, and each commodity has a screen that provides all sorts of information about the spices. Even better, visitors can actually smell the spices’ ripe, fragrant aroma.

Moving on, visitors will arrive at the faux entrance of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1602, a time when all the Dutch trading companies in Nusantara merged.

Their union led to the establishment of the earliest Dutch bank in Indonesia, Bank Courant en Bank Van Leening, which was later replaced by De Javasche Bank.

This period of history is illustrated by a well-crafted diorama of a colonial-style house-turned-bank. Dioramas are used throughout the room to illustrate the information, which is given in both English and Indonesian.

Next is a brief section on Indonesia’s struggle for independence, which entails the Dutch colonial period, the Japanese occupation and the proclamation of Independence.

Visitors can learn from information panels, but are also able to utilize the film gallery stations, which are spread throughout the room. There, visitors can pick a topic of interest on a touch-screen monitor and watch a short film on a huge plasma TV.

What’s commendable about Ruang Sejarah is that there’s never an empty wall. Visitors will be enthralled with adornments like the portraits of important traders, such as Cheng Ho or Afonso d’Alburquergue, globes mounted on an atlas-themed wall and film installations.

Closing the first half of the room is De Javasche Bank’s nationalization by the government of the newly born Republic of Indonesia, which mandated the establishment of Bank Indonesia in 1953. The section ends with the largest diorama in the museum and a wooden panel that shows the metamorphosis of the Bank Indonesia logo, which underwent 14 changes.

The second part of the History Rooms, 1953 onward, essentially talks about the role of Bank Indonesia under different regimes, which are divided into six periods.

The first two periods talk about Bank Indonesia under Sukarno. Some of the highlights include the post-independence separatist movement, the deterioration of BI’s power under Sukarno’s “Guided Democracy” and the construction of monumental buildings such as Hotel Indonesia, Semanggi Bridge and Istiqlal Mosque.

A diorama of a woman producing batik commences the Bank Indonesia era under Suharto, marking the central bank’s role in providing loans for small businesses. Accompanying the diorama are lighted pictures of traditional entrepreneurs.

During the Suharto era, Bank Indonesia played a significant role for his development goals. The fourth period, 1983 to 1997, is described as one of economic globalization. Illustrating this period is an arrangement of glass paintings designed to emulate Jakarta’s Sudirman skyscrapers.

The 1997 Asian financial crisis and how the central bank coped with it end the Ruang Sejarah experience.

Visitors are then guided into an art installation used to allegorize the monetary crisis. Ten huge plasma TVs are placed next to each other. With depressing music playing, the televisions show footage of the crisis, include violent demonstrations, looting and riots.

Prior to exiting the room, there’s another art installation and a short film about the lessons Bank Indonesia learned from the crisis.

Many people in the country think that going to museums is a forgettable, if not regrettable, experience, but a trip down this particular memory lane will not disappoint.

Bank Indonesia Museum
Jl. Pintu Besar Utara No. 3
West Jakarta
Tel. 021 2600 158, ext. 8111

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