Jakarta – The National Museum of Indonesia (MNI) under the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage (MCB), in collaboration with Yayasan Jalin Narasi Budaya or Southeast Asia Museum Services (SEAMS) through the Koleksi Kita program (Indonesian Museums Documentation Project), held a Curatorial Seminar as well as the launch of the digital exhibition Keuneubah Aceh on the Google Arts & Culture platform at @america, Pacific Place Mall, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026.
Keuneubah Aceh is a digital exhibition that explores hidden stories behind collection objects acquired during the colonial war in Aceh (1873–1912) that are now preserved at the National Museum of Indonesia.
In partnership with Google Arts & Culture, the release of this digital site featuring images and descriptions of the Dutch-Aceh War collections aims to strengthen documentation systems, enhance provenance research, standardize cataloguing workflows, and broaden digital access to MNI’s collections.
The exhibition highlights key findings produced through a participatory research approach in studying Acehnese objects at MNI, in collaboration with Museum Aceh, Museum Pedir, Museum Negeri Gayo, and Rumah Teuku Awe Geutah.
Research for the exhibition has been conducted since 2025 by the MNI and SEAMS teams. Activities such as the development of new cataloguing forms, archival research, condition assessments, and digitization were carried out from July 29 to August 1, 2025.
Both teams also conducted field research in Aceh from September 29 to October 3, 2025, to consult with local communities and collect materials such as photographs and oral histories.
The seminar and exhibition were opened with remarks from the Head of Museums and Cultural Heritage (MCB), Esti Nurjadin. “We deeply appreciate the collaboration between MNI, SEAMS, and the support of the U.S. AFCP. This partnership demonstrates that strengthening national museums requires cross-institutional, cross-disciplinary, and international cooperation,” she said.
The opening remarks were followed by the Public Diplomacy Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Jamie Ravetz, representing the U.S. AFCP. “Through AFCP, the U.S. Government is committed to supporting efforts to preserve Indonesia’s cultural heritage while also showcasing American excellence,” Jamie stated before officially opening the seminar.
Representing SEAMS, Project Lead of the Koleksi Kita initiative, Dyah Pandam Mitayani also shared her hopes for the exhibition. “I hope the public can see that museum collections are not static. Their meanings continue to evolve through deeper research, better documentation, and openness to multiple perspectives,” she said.
Dyah emphasized that the exhibition is not an endpoint, but a starting point for dialogue, further research, and future collaborations.
The session then continued with MNI and MCB collections curator Eko Septian Saputra, who shared his experiences during the research process.
He described his time in the field seeking sources who were relevant to the collections. Eko added that the activity is highly beneficial both for communities and for Museum National Indonesia, so that the collections can continue to be preserved and communicated to the public.
As a leading platform in the use of information technology for cultural preservation for more than a decade, Google Arts & Culture is widely recognized for its contribution to sustainable heritage preservation while providing open access to global audiences.
The program continued with a curatorial tour presented by Ayu Dipta Kirana, also known as Karin, a SEAMS researcher and lecturer in Sociology and Anthropology at Universitas Sebelas Maret.
Karin described four main chapters of the exhibition: the Dutch War in Aceh, the origins of Aceh collections, voices from Aceh, and new stories of the objects.
She emphasized that the research helps uncover many stories hidden behind the collections. One example is a flag that, after further investigation, turned out to contain numerous important historical narratives.
In addition to Karin, the virtual tour on Google Arts & Culture was continued by Hafnidar, a SEAMS researcher and former Director of the Aceh Tsunami Museum and Museum Aceh. She concluded the session by reiterating that the purpose of the research is to bring museum objects to life and reveal provenance information through documentation.
The digital exhibition Keuneubah Aceh from the National Museum of Indonesia is now accessible to the public on the official Google Arts & Culture website at https://goo.gle/keunabahaceh.
This initiative is supported by the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), which is committed to safeguarding historic buildings, archaeological and cultural sites, as well as museum objects and collections, including diverse forms of traditional cultural expressions in partner countries.
