Exploring creativity and strategy: Students visit Museum MACAN
Bridging the classroom and the creative industry through an immersive industry visit
Monash University, Indonesia students visiting Museum MACAN
Jakarta – On 3 June 2026, 32 students enrolled in MKI5926 Integrated Marketing Communications visited Museum MACAN in West Jakarta as part of an industry visit. The offline visit was designed to connect academic theory with real-world Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) practice, set within the context of a non-profit arts organisation.
The visit carried two clear objectives:
- To immerse students in a creative environment that would inspire their final assessment on creating campaign briefs.
- To observe how Museum MACAN applies IMC strategies in practice, strengthening the link between classroom learning and industry application.
A tour through art, ideas, and context
The first session was a guided museum tour led by Ade Rivky, School Relations Officer in the Education and Public Program division at Museum MACAN. Ade walked students through the current exhibition, unpacking how themes are set, artists are engaged, and partnerships are formed to bring an exhibition to life. The discussion around value exchange in museum collaborations offered students a practical understanding of how non-profit organisations negotiate and sustain meaningful partnerships. Beyond logistics, students were prompted to consider how visual art communicates meaning. The artworks on display were were encoded with the artists' intentions and shaped by the social, political, and cultural conditions of their time. This resonated with the notion that marketing messages are encoded by senders and decoded by receivers within a broader environmental context.
The art collection at Museum MACAN
A highlight of the tour was Juling (Cross-Eyed) by Indonesian artist I Nyoman Masriadi. Painted roughly two decades ago during the era of flip phones, the work comically yet sharply depicts how technology was already alienating people from their surroundings. For students studying communications in a digital age, the painting was a powerful reminder that the challenges of capturing attention and fostering genuine human connection are not new.
Learning from Museum MACAN's Communication Manager
The second session featured Belle Biarezky, Communication Manager at Museum MACAN, who discussed the museum's marketing and communications strategy. Belle's central framing was clear: Museum MACAN measures success through impact, not profit, offering students a fresh lens through which to apply IMC theory.
Belle Biarezky, Communication Manager at Museum MACAN
Key insights from Belle's session included:
- Integrated multichannel strategy: Museum MACAN combines digital platforms and offline activations, ensuring every touchpoint works together cohesively.
- Staged communications: Messaging is adapted to the exhibition lifecycle, starting with awareness-building at launch and shifting towards visit encouragement and visitor experience promotion as the exhibition matures.
- Branding consistency with flexibility: The museum maintains a consistent brand identity while adjusting its communications to reflect the unique character of each exhibition.
Practice-grounded learning at Monash University, Indonesia
MKI5926 Integrated Marketing Communications is part of the Master of Marketing and Digital Communications program at Monash University, Indonesia. True to the program's commitment to practice-grounded, theory-informed learning, this industry visit to Museum MACAN exemplifies how Monash Indonesia continues to deliver meaningful, real-world learning experiences. By connecting students directly with industry practitioners and creative spaces, Monash Indonesia remains committed to preparing graduates who are not only theoretically equipped, but ready to lead in dynamic, real-world communications environments.