By Sam Reeves

From Jakarta to Bali and Yogyakarta, the Indonesian art world is flourishing.

Buoyed by a growing, affluent middle class at home as well as interest from international buyers, numerous boutique galleries and artists’ communities have sprung up, while events such as the Jakarta Biennale, the annual ArtJog fair, and Bazaar Art Jakarta have fuelled interest.

But critics warn a lack of government funding and high-quality art museums means many Indonesians are missing out.

Businessman Haryanto Adikoesoemo is determined to change that: next year he will open the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN).

“The Indonesian art (scene) now is one of the biggest and the best in Southeast

This undated artistic photo illustration shows the exterior design for a major museum billed as Indonesia’s first dedicated to international modern and

contemporary art. (AFP)

Asia but we are lacking institutions to support this,” he told AFP.

He added that while the country was home to a “vibrant” arts industry, it was “lacking very nice museums that are open to the public”.

Thomas Berghuis, the former curator of Chinese art at New York’s Guggenheim Museum, has been appointed director at MACAN, and the first exhibition is set to include works from Adikoesoemo’s collection of about 800 pieces by Indonesian, Asian and Western artists. It has been a decade since he first had the idea to use his personal collection to help create a world-class art museum open to the public, but feels now is the best time to open such a space in Indonesia.

When it comes to art, he believes