THE RUDANA

Museum Rudana was the creation of Mr. Nyoman Rudana.  It is nothing but for the love of the indigenous and Indonesian arts alike that he established it. Quite unique to Indonesia, the greatest museums of arts in Indonesia are self sufficient.

Historically, the Museum Rudana started with a humble beginning. A hobby for enjoying Balinese artworks prompted Nyoman Rudana’s passion for collecting artworks by local artists. Friends would come to his residence that housed a few artworks, some visited to enjoy and others insisted on buying. Another trigger for his determination to open his first art gallery four decades ago in 1974 was that artists started coming to him to ask him to help them sell their work. Eventually, his sense of business in promoting the arts, his managerial skills running a gallery and evidently his fastidiousness in choosing the artists’ works brought the gallery fame amongst tourists in the 70s.  Following the influx of visitors to Bali in the era of the tourism boom of the 70’s, Nyoman Rudana began to be greatly concerned about the shipping of rare Balinese arts offshore for private property or for collection by European galleries and museums.  Nyoman Rudana’s passion for the arts is deeply rooted in his respect for his ancestral beliefs. He was therefore initially tormented by the contradiction between promoting the works of arts through his gallery and his call to preserve the invaluable inheritance of great works of art outstanding late maestros; this persisted for quite sometime. Rudana’s quandary was slowly resolved as he began to build up his collection of rare art works and made the acquaintance of artists from other islands. Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, he conceived the idea of a museum; after more than two decades of incessant efforts to collect and retain precious works of arts that he considered should remain in the country due their historic value, he formally opened the Museum Rudana in 1995. The opening of the museum was also in line with the 50th anniversary of the Indonesian independence.

Museum Rudana seeks to promote the premises as a center for education where visitors can obtain knowledge about different aspects of traditional and modern art. Through a variety of art programs such as fine art workshops, art competitions and other activities, visitors can be active participants in appreciating the richness of Indonesian fine arts.  As a center of information, Museum Rudana welcomes international and domestic visitors who are seeking first hand information about the history and development of Balinese and Indonesian arts. And, unquestionably, art practitioners and artists in training can carry out comparative studies having at their disposition a collection of such proportion.

If one wants to see visual history of Western arts from pre renascence period to the contemporary period, one can go to   the grandeur  Musee de Louvre or Musee D’orsay  in Paris or the Museum of Modern Art in New York, or the National Museum of Arts in Sydney. Yet, art lovers who wish to learn the history of Balinese and Indonesian fine arts should go to the Museum Rudana and marvel at the fine art collection – also quite a part of the South East Asia heritage, if not the world.

First foundation for Museum Rudana	Ceremony for the development of Museum Rudana
Prayer for the development of Museum Rudana