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Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Asia Culture Center

Nusantara, the Country of Archipelago

This exhibition features the Nusantara collection from the city of Delft, the Netherlands, which consists around 200 paintings, sculptures, textiles, and other exhibits created by the people who called their country 'Nusantara', a country of many islands, before Indonesia’s independence in the middle of the 20th century.

Nusantara, the Country of Archipelago
  • DateNov. 22, 2019 (Fri.)–Jun. 21, 2020 (Sun.)
  • Time(Tue.–Sun.) 10:00–18:00
    (Wed., Sat.) 10:00–19:00
    ※Closed on Mondays
  • PlaceSpecial Hall 3
  • Age LimitAll ages
  • Price Free
  • TicketFree admission
  • Contact+82-1899-5566

Gallery

About
In this special exhibition celebrating the ACC’s fourth anniversary, the center unveils the Nusantara Collection donated by the city of Delft, the Netherlands.

“Nusantara” is an ancient Javanese word meaning “the country of archipelago.” It was used by the people of Majapahit to refer to their own kingdom. Majapahit is a kingdom that reached its zenith in the 13th century, and today it is regarded as the root of modern-day Indonesia.

This exhibition is designed to provide an insight into how Nusantara, with its 350 or so ethnicities and more than 450 languages, created its own colorful cultures, what their influence was, how each people formed their own community, and how today’s Indonesians preserve and pass down their traditions.

Understanding and respecting diversity is one of the important qualities required of all of us who live in the age of cultural diversity. Get to know the people of “Nusantara,” and witness how they have lived in harmony since Indonesia declared independence in 1945 and brought the people under a single national community. Their past and present represent the dynamic and harmonious coexistence that characterizes Asian culture.
Exhibition Schedule
  • Dates: Nov. 22, 2019 (Fri.)–Jun. 21, 2020 (Sun.)
  • Time: (Tue.–Sun.) 10:00–18:00/(Wed., Sat.) 10:00–19:00 ※Closed on Mondays
  • Venue: Special Hall 3, Library Park, ACC Archive & Research
About the Exhibition
[Part 1] The Sea Route Leads to the Islands
Nusantara is located in the middle of the route between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, with constant flows of ships, goods, and people. Winds carried stories born of myths and people’s lives along sea routes. The stories became the seeds that shaped how the people Nusantara viewed the world, and bloomed as symbolic systems encompassing the society, culture, and art of the region.
[Part 2] Nusantara, the Country of Archipelago
The countless islands across Nusantara are rich in traces of various peoples who called the islands their home. The buildings, clothes, ritualistic instruments, and everyday items convey the beliefs held by the people whose lives were closely linked with them.
The lifestyles and behavioral patterns found in different islands share many similarities, which allow us to imagine Nusantara as a culture-sharing community that existed even before the region was unified into a single nation.
[Part 3] Indonesia and the World
Indonesia is a nation composed of multiple ethnicities and lifestyles. The country strives to achieve social integration through its cultural content that preserves the region’s traditional values. Many of Indonesia’s cultural heritages, such as batik, kris, and wayang, have been recognized for their history, symbolic significance, artistic achievements, and technological maturity, and thus have been named as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages. The efforts to preserve and creatively restore these heritages have fostered discussions on the practical and artistic meaning of traditions in the contemporary society.
Exhibits
A model of a ship (perahu)
Late 20th century | Maluku | clove, threads | height: 35cm, width: 44cm
This model depicts a traditional ship called perahu, which used both sails and oars. The model is made of clove branches put together using threads. The economic benefits of monopoly over spice trading were one of the factors that ushered in the Age of Discovery, which introduced Nusantara to the West.
A statuette of Dewi Sri
20th century | Bali | coins, wood, threads | height: 37cm, width: 11.5cm
This statuette is made of coins called uang kepeng put together with threads. It is made in the image of Dewi Sri, a Hindu goddess of prosperity and grains, whom the people of Bali call Cili.

Bali is covered with steep hills, which makes it difficult to grow rice. For this reason, the islanders formed communities called subak. Each subak shares a single irrigation canal, and grows rice on rice terraces. This practice was made possible by the social cohesion that came from people’s belief in the god of rice farming.

By the time that the kingdom of Majapahit gained control over the region in the 14th century, Chinese coins came to have value akin to gold and silver. The coins also became sacred tokens used in religious rituals. For this reason, people used coins to create images of gods. In Indonesia, ancient coins are still used as offerings and crafting materials, and new coins are made in the shape of the old ones.
Temple Procession
Early 20th century | Bali | color on canvas | length: 80cm, width: 156 cm
This painting depicts a procession of people with a Balinese temple in the background. Located near the temple gates at the center are people carrying a palanquin carrying an object symbolizing a god. To their left, women are carrying gebogan (offerings) and covered dulang (dishes) on their heads while men carry flags. To the right, a group of musicians are playing music with drums and gongs.
Bali has over 20,000 thousand temples, and the 210 days that comprise the island’s local calendar, called uku, are filled with days dedicated to temple rituals such as Odalan, which celebrates the erection of a temple, and Galungan, a Hindu holiday. For this reason, Bali is widely referred to as the “Island of Gods.”
Wayang Kulit
Early 20th century | Java | leather | height: 61cm
Wayang, which means “shadow,” is used to refer to all forms of shadow plays performed in Indonesia today. Different styles of wayang utilize different forms of puppets. Wayang golek uses three-dimensional wooden puppets, wayang kulit utilizes two-dimensional leather puppets, while wayang topeng is performed with wooden masks. Wayang klitik represents a style that is halfway between wayang golek and wayang kulit. This exhibit was used in wayang kulit and represents Narakasura, the son of a god of earth and the king of Pragjyotisha. He was a ferocious king who conquered all the other kingdoms on the earth. However, he insulted gods and abducted 16,100 women in the heaven and earth, and in the end, he was killed by Krishna, the eight avatar of Vishnu.
Place Info.

ACC Archive & Research, Special Hall 3

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38 Munhwajeondang-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju 61485, Republic of Korea

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