Indonesia’s first museum of international modern and contemporary art.
MET is leading the creation of Indonesia’s first museum of international modern and contemporary art, to be completed in late 2016. Museum MACAN will feature about 2,000 sqm of exhibition galleries, which will include two areas specially reinforced for large-scale commissions of new work. The museum will also have a 500 sqm indoor sculpture garden, a designated education zone, A/V room, café/restaurant, and retail store. The design enables Museum MACAN to provide Indonesia and international visitors with a museum made for the 21st century, focused on dynamic and engaged exhibitions, commissions of new artwork, and a wide variety of education and public programs.
MET Studio Chairman, Alex McCuaig, noticed how, “when we first arrived in Jakarta, we immediately noticed that creativity resides everywhere in the city, and we decided then and there that the museum should reflect the public space.”
Upon arrival to Museum MACAN the visitor will encounter an open public atrium, marked by a café/restaurant with views towards the museum’s ticketed entrance, the indoor sculpture garden, and a panorama over Jakarta’s skyline — all of which serve to promptly transport the visitor from the city’s streets and into the museum. The entrance will be marked by a gateway arch that wraps across the space, featuring a backlit sign reading ‘MACAN’ in large bold lettering.
The theme of a wrapped structure is interwoven into many aspects of the design – including the gallery walls of the museum, which flow seamlessly from the concrete floor up to the ceiling. The wraps connect MET Studio’s vision for a free- flowing museum experience to MACAN’s mission to unfold and reveal artwork and ideas to the visitor. A single wrapped table will be the signature feature of the museum’s café/restaurant, resulting in a reveal in the floor that serves as an opportunity for artist commissions. Two massive plinths in the sculpture garden also make use of the wrap design, and make it appear as though the floor is peeling open to reveal the sculptures on top of the surface.
From the café/restaurant and public area, visitors move towards the reception desk and through a waist-high glass-partition entrance into the first gallery. This area will have a strong focus on education, and will be changeable to suit various programmatic initiatives, including large-scale commissioned artworks and special exhibits. In this orientation space visitors will find custom-built interactive education units and media screens that are designed to further engage them directly with the space, contents, and context of the museum.
One of this gallery’s most prominent features will be a collaborative digital “art totem” with programmable screens wrapped around its center column. The “art totem” can offer visitors the opportunity to create and upload their creative designs to be displayed in situ, and viewed by others. To the side of the entrance will also be a small A/V room, providing information on the museum, its exhibitions, and programming.
“MET Studio’s design will enable Museum MACAN to realize its function as an enduring artistic and educational space for all people,” said Director Thomas Berghuis. “It has been, and continues to be, an incredible experience working so closely with the design team from MET Studio, who clearly understand curatorial thought processes, and think visually about the way that art and culture can connect to our daily lives. It is an exciting and productive process to work together with designers that not only build museums, but develop experiential spaces for people to connect to and engage deeply with art.”
“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,” said Haryanto Adikoesoemo, the owner of the collection. “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.”