Jakarta Art Building
| Jakarta Art Building | |
|---|---|
| Indonesian: Gedung Kesenian Jakarta | |
Front entrance of Gedung Kesenian Jakarta
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| Former names | Batavia Schouwburg (Dutch colonial era), Sin'tsu Cekizyoo (Japanese occupation), Gedung Komidi |
| General information | |
| Type | Opera house |
| Architectural style | Indische Empire style, Neoclassical architecture |
| Location | Sawah Besar, Central Jakarta |
| Country | Indonesia |
| Coordinates | 6°10′00″S 106°50′04″E / 6.166540°S 106.834417°ECoordinates: 6°10′00″S 106°50′04″E / 6.166540°S 106.834417°E |
| Inaugurated | 1821 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | J.C. Schultze |
| Website | |
| gedungkesenianjakarta |
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The Jakarta Art Building (Gedung Kesenian Jakarta), historically known as Schouwburg Weltevreden, is a concert hall in Sawah Besar, Central Jakarta, Indonesia, built during the colonial period in Batavia, Dutch East Indies.
The idea for the creation of a theater in Batavia (the colonial name for Jakarta) came from the Governor-General of Batavia at that time, Herman Willem Daendels. This idea was realized by Stamford Raffles, who was known for his passion for the study and preservation of local culture. In 1814 Raffles ordered the construction of a simple bamboo theatre near Waterlooplein (a square in Jakarta, now Lapangan Banteng), under the name "Military Theater Venue". It was built by English soldiers and had a capacity of 250 people. This first theater in Batavia was used from 1811 to 1816 for the entertainment of British soldiers.
In August 1816, the English gave the Indies back to the Dutch East Indies and Batavia was under the governorship of the Netherlands once more. Performances were again held in the building on April 21, 1817, by groups of Dutch amateur performers.
In 1820 the bamboo theater began to show signs of deterioration, and in 1821, supported by the Dutch colonial government, it was replaced with a more permanent structure. The architect chosen to design the building was J.C. Schultze (who also designed the Harmony Society, Batavia building. The contractor was Lie Atjie, who took material from the spinhuis in the old town area to use for the new theater. Construction took 14 months. The new building was designed in Neoclassical style and was called Schouwburg Weltevreden, also popularly known as Gedung Komedi ("Comedy building"). Inauguration was planned for October 1821 but had to be postponed until December 7 because of a cholera epidemic. The first performance in the building was Shakespeare's Othello.
During the mid 19th century, the development of Schouwburg Weltevreden was slow, and it had difficulty making a profit, because Batavia lacked European female opera singers and did not have a complete orchestra. The government took over the theater in 1848, when the private company failed, and held it until 1892. In 1911 its administration was assigned to the city of Batavia.
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