Heritage Corner

What is the relation between heritage and climate change? The relation is strong and a lot. Take an example of the protected national parks in Indonesia that go through deforestation now. Or the machine textiles production that cost a lot of water and energy. We can go on and go on with examples. This time, Sandra Niessen, an expert on the traditional textiles of Batak (North Sumatra), will talk about three themes that pertain to textile heritage and climate: Craft and Culture: systems of meaning vs emphasis on the visual, Craft and Economics: a double-edged sword, Locality, and Craft: implications of trade. 

Between 8-12 August 2021, I became one of the judges for a competition to design a museum for the birth house of Soekarno in Kampung Peneleh, Surabaya. The competition was organized by Tata Matra Indonesia and  Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata Kota Surabaya (Agency for Culture and Tourism of the Municipality of Surabaya). The aim was to raise awareness about heroism amongst the youth.  The other judges were Prof. Dr. Ir, Johan Silas, Ir. Dadoes Sumarwanto MArch., Prof.Dr. Purnawan Basundoro S.S. M.Hum., Zaky Umara ST. MALA, and Dimas Nugroho.  All participants were architecture students or graduates so they used architectural approaches with ideas about how a museum should look like.  Despite the fact that most submissions were impressive, I thought it should be better if students and graduates from museum studies participate, too. This would strengthen the ideas and be also fairer to the museum's professionalism. It is not everyone can create a proper museum. Nevert...

  Cindy Shandoval from Siak is an archaeologist and works as a government officer in Siak, South Sumatra, but her passion for heritage is beyond her formal position. She thinks that awareness about heritage conservation is still limited amongst academicians and professionals. She wants to change that. She wants to raise awareness amongst the general public, locals, and especially the youth. For that mission, she established an organization called Heritage Hero. During the monthly discussion of Pansumnet, Cindy shared her efforts to approach the youth through various ways, but mainly through positive infiltrations to the existing activities and inserting heritage items. Heritage items in the photography club, bicycle club, hiking club, cooking club, and even gardening club. Smart strategy.  In her four years of experience, she found that her strategy starts to work. More and more youth are interested in the heritage of Siak. One lesson learned for me is that we should approac...