The "Memory Trace: Cars and Our Lives" exhibition at Jakarta's Joang 45 Museum showcases cars' evolution from being still designed as horse-drawn, two-wheeled vehicles in the 1800s to high-tech machines in the present era.

Head of the Jakarta Historical Museum Management Unit Esti Utami, at the opening ceremony in Jakarta on Wednesday, said the exhibition was held to educate the public about the development of cars, especially in Jakarta, as well as their value today considering that in the past cars were only used by influential people.

"Through this exhibition, the Jakarta Historical Museum Management Unit tries to provide an overview and story about cars that are ultimately very related to the social life of the community," said Esti.

Esti added that the "Jejak Memori: Mobil dan Hidup Kita" exhibition also aims to introduce further the three flagship collections of Museum Joang 45: the Rep-1, Rep-2, and Cikini event cars.

For information, Rep-1 is a 1939 American-made Buick car, the first presidential car owned by the Indonesian government and used by President Soekarno to carry out his duties. Meanwhile, the Rep-2 car is a De Soto car made in 1938, which the Vice President, Mohammad Hatta, used.

The Cikini event car is an Imperial-branded car used by President Soekarno during the grenade explosion at Perguruan Cikini.

"Perhaps not many people know about the story behind the use of these cars by the first president and vice president of Indonesia, of course it is full of history that is important to be told to the next generation of the nation," said Esti.

Galih Hutama Putra, Technical Implementation Officer of the Temporary Exhibition "Jejak Memori: Mobil dan Hidup Kita," said that the exhibition was organized with the assistance of the Lintas Batas Historical Community with a team of curators, Andi Achdian and Kartum Setiawan, and assistant curator Petrik Matanasi.

The "Memory Trace: Cars and Our Lives" exhibition runs for 14 days, from September 26, 2023. There are two supporting events to animate the exhibition, namely a photography competition that has been held ahead of the exhibition and a seminar, "Unique Stories Behind Antique Cars," which will be held on September 26, 2023.

Source: republika.co.id