Jakarta's Dutch Cultural Center Plans Birthday Blowout

Jakarta Globe, Katrin Figge, April 06, 2010

Erasmus Huis, which was founded in 1970 in Menteng, is now located on the grounds of the Dutch Embassy in Kuningan, South Jakarta.  (Photo courtesy of Erasmus Huis)

When it comes to cultural performances of high quality, Erasmus Huis in Jakarta is a household name.

Concerts, art exhibitions, film screenings, workshops, seminars and lectures have been a part of the cultural center’s program for many years. This Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of Erasmus Huis — naturally a reason to celebrate the long-lasting cultural exchange between the Netherlands and Indonesia.

“We have created a program to attract as many people as possible,” said Jeroen Gankema, deputy director of Erasmus Huis. “There will be many Dutch people coming, and of course many Indonesians, because that’s what we are here for, to introduce Dutch culture to the Indonesian people.”

Starting at 6 p.m., the program will feature a colorful mixture of Dutch and Indonesian artists, including music concerts, an exhibition opening, dance and percussion performances, a fashion parade and, of course, Dutch delicacies for the palate.

One of the highlights of the anniversary party promises to be a performance by the singer Hind, who was a finalist on “Dutch Idol” in 2003. She is also scheduled to perform in Bandung and Yogyakarta later this month.

Dutch graphic designer Max Kisman, who has Indonesian roots and whose works were exhibited at Erasmus Huis in June last year, created a special logo for the occasion: a blue house with two seemingly outstretched arms, one holding a palm tree — a symbol for Indonesia — and the other, a typical Dutch windmill.

The beginnings of Erasmus Huis lead us back to Menteng in 1970 when it officially opened. The only remnants of the old Erasmus Huis are photographs, since the building was torn down years ago. In 1981, the institute moved to a bigger venue on that includes its own theater and is located on the grounds of the Dutch Embassy in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

In the early days, Erasmus Huis also included a language center offering courses in Dutch, but since the number of students kept growing — there are now about 1,200 students every year — the Erasmus Language Center is now run by its own director and staff.

“Of course, there is still a lot of interaction between Erasmus Huis and Erasmus Language Center,” Gankema said. “The students like to come to our library, and many of them attend lectures at Erasmus Huis.”

After Indonesia proclaimed its independence in 1945, following more than two centuries as a Dutch colony, it was not easy for the Dutch to come back to Indonesia and establish a cultural center.

“It’s a delicate subject,” Gankema acknowledged. “But I think the founding of a cultural institute like Erasmus Huis, and exchanging and sharing each other’s culture and art, was a good starting point to work on a better relationship — to understand each other’s visions and ways of expressions.”

The Embassy of the Netherlands in Jakarta is the only one in the world that has a cultural institute of such dimensions on its grounds. The theater can seat an audience of 350 people. Erasmus Huis also houses two exhibition rooms and a library.

The center invites Dutch artists to give workshops to Indonesian students and to people of all ages.

“We want to promote an interaction between Dutch artists, performers or professors and people from Indonesia: we learn from them, and they learn from us. That’s the main goal and thought of the Erasmus Huis,” Gankema said.

“This shows how important the Dutch think it is to have a good relationship between the two countries.”

Most of the programs and events that Erasmus Huis organizes take place in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Semarang and Surabaya, but occasionally also in Bandung and Medan and once in the Moluccas.

“We try to spread our culture to all the islands of Indonesia,” Gankema said.

Beyond the celebration on Saturday night, Erasmus Huis has invited Dutch artists to perform in Indonesia throughout the year.

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