Tinia shaking the dust off museums<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
What pops into mind when you hear the word museum? Collections of
\ndusty and dull artifacts, manuscripts or statues, perhaps. Or
\nlong, quiet, dark corridors with display boxes on the wall
\ncontaining uninteresting objects with uninformative notes pinned
\nbelow.<\/p>\n
What about the guides? Usually they look like they are part of
\nthe museum's collection of historical objects, more used to
\nintoning dry facts rather than bringing to life history.<\/p>\n
But if you want a new perspective on museums, just talk to
\nTinia Budiati, 43, an archeologist\/museum expert.<\/p>\n
\"A museum is firstly meant to provide educational stuff,
\nthorough information about history. However, it must be at the
\nsame time entertaining or have a recreational aspect,\" said
\nTinia, who currently heads the Jakarta History Museum in Kota,
\nWest Jakarta, more commonly known as Fatahillah Museum.<\/p>\n
\"Last but not least, a museum is a place to store collections
\nof historical objects.\"<\/p>\n
Based on these priorities, Tinia has redesigned the Jakarta
\nHistory Museum to add new spirit and perspective to its setting,
\ndisplay systems, lighting, program schedule and administrative
\nmanagement.<\/p>\n
She wants visitors to learn about history and to have fun
\nlearning. \"Only through such measures can we expect people to
\nparticipate actively in the development of the museum.\"<\/p>\n
For Tinia believes that if people come to love museums, they
\nwill naturally come to love history.<\/p>\n
This love for museums and history, Tinia said, must be
\nimplanted in people beginning in childhood.<\/p>\n
She said most people here were unconcerned about museums
\nbecause they were never involved in their construction or
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
\"Most museums were erected by the Dutch government for their
\nown purposes. Later, after Indonesian independence, the
\ngovernment took them over and continued managing the museums
\nwith, of course, financial constraints always clouding their
\nmaintenance.\"<\/p>\n
When the museums began to fall apart because their was no
\nmoney to maintain them and because of corrupt management, Tinia
\nsaid, people thought it was just the government's responsibility.<\/p>\n
\"It is time to involve people in the development of museums,
\nbut, of course, we must educate people to feel that museums are
\npart of their lives,\" she remarked.<\/p>\n
Museums in particular and history in general are Tinia's life.
\nThis is rooted in her experiences visiting museums and
\narcheological sites during her childhood, thanks to her parents'
\nown interest in history.<\/p>\n
Tinia was born in Bandung, West Java, on Sep. 30, 1959. Her
\nfather Soenarjo worked as a project head at the Public Works
\nAgency, and her mother Sumiwi was a nurse.<\/p>\n
At school, Tinia's favorite subject was history. She still
\nrecalls a challenge from one of her teachers. \"This country only
\nhas an expert in anthropology, Koentjaraningrat. Be an expert in
\na field that is rarely chosen.\"<\/p>\n
She went to the University of Indonesia and majored in
\narcheology, in the hope that she would be given the opportunity
\nto explore archeological sites and take part in excavation
\nprojects. To her disappointment, however, her time at the
\nuniversity provided her with a lot of theory but very little
\nactual practice.<\/p>\n
After graduating in 1985, Tinia became a civil servant in the
\nJakarta administration in 1986.<\/p>\n
For nearly 10 years she did administrative jobs, as her desire
\nto learn more about history withered away in frustration and
\nconfusion.<\/p>\n
Then in 1994 the City Museum and Historical Agency began an
\n18-month project, in cooperation with the Amsterdam History
\nMuseum, to renovate the Maritime Museum here.<\/p>\n
Tinia was assigned to assist the curator of the Amsterdam
\nmuseum, Dr. Loedwig Wagenaar, in the renovation process. The
\nproject was a success.<\/p>\n
Wagennar then offered Tinia an opportunity to study museum
\nscience in the Netherlands, which she gladly accepted. She left
\nher family and eventually obtained her master's degree in
\nmuseology in 1998 from the Reinwardt Academy.<\/p>\n
Returning to Indonesia, she was assigned to head the Jakarta
\nHistory Museum.<\/p>\n
\"I returned full of spirit and idealism, but what I had to
\nface. I had to face strong opposition from the museum employees.
\nFor the first two weeks, most of the 15 employees failed to show
\nup for work. I had to do all the administrative work myself,
\nincluding picking up the phone.<\/p>\n
\"I sent out a letter summoning all of them to a meeting. I
\ntold them that I had been assigned here and I could not do it
\nalone without their help and support.\"<\/p>\n
The employees said they were not coming to work because their
\nsalaries were so small they couldn't afford lunch and
\ntransportation. Tinia told them to come to work and she would
\nprovide them a free lunch.<\/p>\n
\"I remember giving my cook Rp 20,000 (US$2.20) every day to
\nmake the meal and then I took it to the office.\"<\/p>\n
As time went by, Tinia began to win the trust of her
\nsubordinates and the museum began to attract more people as it
\ngradually made improvements.<\/p>\n
\"We paid off the museum's debt in two years after I took over
\nthe office. Now we are turning a profit,\" Tinia said proudly.<\/p>\n
The number of visitors increased from 1,000 annually when
\nTinia took over to more than 5,000. And this does not include the
\nhundreds of visitors taking part in the museum's monthly outdoor
\nprograms such as the Old Kampong Tour, and the many people who
\nuse the museum's grounds for picnics or who visit the museum's
\ncafe.<\/p>\n
\"But what makes me happy is that lots of people have started
\nto trust their collections to the museum. Last year alone we
\nreceived some 200 collections of antique objects, such as beads
\nand stones,\" she said.<\/p>\n
There has also been a positive response to the changes at the
\nmuseum by foreign governments like Japan, Portugal and Britain,
\nwho have historical links with Jakarta, she said.<\/p>\n
Despite these achievements, Tinia is not in danger of becoming
\ncomplacent.<\/p>\n
\"Many people are still far from appreciating the museum as
\npart of their life. There is still a long way to go.\"<\/p>\n
And Tinia is preparing the next generation to continue her
\nefforts, teaching museography, the technical aspects of managing
\na museum, and museology, the science of museum organization and
\nmanagement, at the University of Indonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tinia-shaking-the-dust-off-museums-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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