21 Nov 2009, 14.00 - 18.00
Bank Mandiri Museum, Jl. Lapangan Stasiun No.1 - Kota

Museum visits are not yet a common routine for Indonesians. There are certain communities which enjoy trips to various museums, but the number is still too low in comparison to the total Indonesian population. That is why museum managements generally feel gratified if their museum is still being visited. But why settle with that?

Ideally museum or historic site activities can be directed as a social business with a community basis. This is the topic of offering in the GEW event to be hold in Museum Bank Mandiri on 21 November 2009.

Museum Bank Mandiri itself is already a few steps ahead compared to other museums in Indonesia. The museum, which occupies the building formerly used as an office for the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (NHM) holds various historic banking collections: counter machine, money trunk, coins, notes, and many others. The furniture in the classic Art Deco styled building is also still authentic. However, initially the museum was rarely visited.

It was only last year that Museum Bank Mandiri started to really attracting visitors. Management decided to open the museum for the use of the museum facilities for public activities. The first event held was The World Book Day. Success! Thousands of visitors dropped by. In 2009, the sweet story continues. Various communities and organisations choose the museum to host their routine activities. Some of the reasons are the simple bureaucracy and the truly generous management.

The UK has interesting experience with gearing up an old area. In the early 1980s, Coin Street in London was targeted by major developers to be transformed into a modern site with new buildings. The owners resisted and established Coin Street Community Builder (CSCB), a social enterprise and development trust. The company then fixed several residential houses and functionalised them as stores, galleries, restaurants, cafes, bars and sport centres. Events and festivals were held on the site. Impressively, the benefits earned were not divided but given back in the form of community services.

Taking from Museum Bank Mandiri and the experience of CSCB, it is a shame to see other museums and historic sites in Indonesia falling into neglect.