Enviro News Asia, Jakarta — Indonesia is preparing to bring a major showcase of its cultural heritage to the United States in 2027 through “Indonesia Living Heritage 2027,” an exhibition planned for Washington, D.C., aimed at strengthening the country’s cultural diplomacy and international creative presence.
The plan was discussed during a meeting between Indonesian Minister of Culture Fadli Zon, Indonesian Ambassador to the United States Indroyono Soesilo, and representatives of Yayasan Fortuga in Jakarta on Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
The exhibition is planned to be held at two prominent cultural institutions in Washington, D.C.: the Smithsonian Institution and the Textile Museum at George Washington University.
Indonesia Living Heritage 2027 will showcase three major areas of Indonesian visual arts: traditional woven textiles, contemporary sculpture, and painting.
The textile section will be curated by Myra Widiono, an architecture graduate of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) who has been involved in efforts to preserve Indonesia’s traditional weaving heritage.
The exhibition will feature selected textiles from East Nusa Tenggara, highlighting the region’s diverse motifs, techniques, and internationally recognized ikat weaving traditions.
Indonesia’s contemporary sculpture will be curated by renowned Indonesian sculptor Nyoman Nuarta, an alumnus of ITB’s Faculty of Fine Arts.
Many of the sculptures planned for the exhibition are drawn from the collection of Nu Art Museum in Bandung, known for its large-scale works and distinctive artistic detail.
The painting section will be curated by Putu Rudana, who manages the Rudana Art Museum in Ubud, Bali.
The collection is expected to present Indonesian paintings characterized by vibrant colors and diverse visual expressions reflecting the country’s cultural traditions and everyday life.
Minister Fadli Zon, accompanied by Director General for Cultural Diplomacy, Promotion and Cooperation Endah Retno Astuti, welcomed the proposed exhibition and expressed support for its development.
The Ministry said the initiative is aligned with Article 32 of Indonesia’s 1945 Constitution, which mandates the state to advance Indonesian national culture within global civilization while ensuring communities’ freedom to preserve and develop their cultural values.
Fadli said the planned exhibition represents a practical implementation of that constitutional mandate and an opportunity to reintroduce Indonesian culture to the international public through a major-scale cultural presentation.
Following the meeting, the minister instructed the relevant technical teams to begin preparing the exhibition materials and implementation arrangements for the 2027 event.
The initiative could mark a significant new chapter in cultural relations between Indonesia and the United States.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture already has cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution, including initiatives related to museum management and digital promotion. However, the planned exhibition would represent a major Indonesian cultural presentation in the United States on a scale not seen since the Indonesian Cultural Exhibition in the United States, known as KIAS, in 1991.
More than three decades after KIAS, Indonesia Living Heritage 2027 is being positioned as an opportunity to transform existing institutional relationships and cultural networks into a comprehensive and curated Indonesian cultural program.
The concept also emphasizes the idea of “living heritage” rather than simply displaying historical objects. The exhibition is intended to demonstrate that Indonesian cultural heritage remains dynamic, evolving, and connected to contemporary society.
With support from the Ministry of Culture, the initiative is expected to develop into a broader and continuing Indonesian cultural mission in the United States.
The organizers have identified three strategic objectives: strengthening cultural diplomacy, promoting tourism, and expanding opportunities for Indonesia’s creative economy.
Through cultural diplomacy, the exhibition is expected to introduce American and international audiences to Indonesia’s diverse cultural identity and contemporary creative expression.
The tourism component is intended to increase awareness of cultural destinations and encourage international visitors to explore the regions where the exhibited traditions and artworks originate.
For the creative economy, the exhibition could provide Indonesian artists, artisans, and creative producers with greater exposure to international markets, ranging from traditional textiles to contemporary visual art.
Indonesia Living Heritage 2027 is therefore being planned not simply as an art exhibition, but as a platform to connect Indonesia’s cultural heritage with diplomacy, tourism, and the global creative economy.
By bringing Indonesian heritage to Washington, D.C., Indonesia aims to strengthen its cultural presence internationally and demonstrate that its national culture remains a living and evolving part of global civilization.
