16 Best Museums in Jakarta
By
Tibs
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I visited almost every museums in Jakarta this year (I'm only missing the TNI Satria Mandala Museum and the Galeri Nasional Indonesia). The idea of this review is to give you my recommendations on the best museums to visit and the ones to avoid . I also wrote individual articles for each with a full description, just click on the name of the venues to read it. Contrary to what people might tell you, most are interesting and worth your time. They are a good introduction to Indonesian history and culture, and at the same time they give you an opportunity to explore authentic neighborhoods. The entrance ticket for each museum is very cheap, usually between Rp2,000 and Rp20,000. You can refer to the opening and closing hours on each separate reviews. All museums are rather small and you'll often need only a couple hours to visit them. English explanations are not always available. I don't think it's a big problem: Just take pictures and notes, then find out mo
All year round, Jakarta has a fair number of festivals taking place. As a visitor, you can try to make your trip coincide with one of these events. Few tourists actually know about them and it will be a good opportunity for you to see the city through a different angle. The following list is not exhaustive, and I will update it regularly. When available, click on the name of the festival to see the full description. January: South to South Festival “focuses on human rights and social issues surrounding natural resources and the environment in Southern (mostly developing) nations”. In 2010, featured films talked about subjects such as oil extracting in the Arctic or the Lapindo crisis in Central Java. All screenings are free and take place in the Goethe Institute or the CCF. More infos should be in this website which is currently down: http://stosfestival.org Until they get everything fixed, you can also check their facebook event page here . February: Lantern Festival (Cap Go Meh) Th
The Salihara complex was inaugurated in October 2008 and it consists mainly of a black box theater (when artists and spectators stand at the same level) and an art gallery. It is the new meeting point for the young generation of Indonesian artists and many cultural activities are organized there.
T.I.M (Taman Ismail Marzuki) is the most famous art center in Indonesia. It is quite a large complex with different auditoriums, cinemas and theatres. There are performances almost daily, ranging from Balinese dancing to contemporary music. You will find quite a nice atmosphere all-around TIM, in nearby foods stall especially, which are popular with artists and students. T.I.M Jakarta Jalan Cikini Raya 73 Menteng, Jakarta
As I’m getting tired of reviewing club, bars and spas, (and since my girlfriend is getting angry about it), I’ve entered a new phase of reviewing cultural venues in Jakarta. The art scene is not as minuscule as it used to be when I first arrived in Indonesia, and if you aren’t too picky, you will get a chance to attend lots of great performances and expositions. I think there are two broad kinds of cultural events in Jakarta: Those organised by foreign cultural institutes, and those organised by Indonesian art centres. Among the foreign cultural institutes, the most active in Jakarta are the Goethe Institute (Germany), the Centre Culturel Français, the Erasmus Huis (Nederland) and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura. Those institutes may sponsor a few local talents, but most of the time, they are about promoting their home country art scene in Indonesia. There is a vast array of events proposed: Exhibitions, film projection, festivals, concerts, lectures, etc. I regret that many events se
The annual Jakarta Theatre Festival was created in 1974 to promote Jakarta’s burgeoning amateur theatre scene. For a long time, under the Soeharto regime, it was used as a tool for the government to retain control over the artists. This is no longer the case since the organization of the festival has been transferred to the Jakarta Art Council (Dewan Kesenian Jakarta – DKJ) whose members are cultural and intellectual personalities of Indonesia. Because of a lack of funding, and because the attendance of the festival is low, its existence is currently threatened.
Even if you aren’t a fan of Jazz, the Java Jazz Festival is not to be missed. As one of the most popular musical event in Indonesia, it is a good occasion to attend great live performances by local and international artists. It is quite short, only 3 days and it can be quite messy especially in terms of parking space and queuing, but it is really fun. This year's attendance reached 120,000 people. For more information, please visit the website: Java Jazz Festival .