The trouble began at 10:12 on 24 September, as the curtain lifted at the Museum of Applied Arts in Jakarta. A circular, 14-metre (46-foot) runway carrying 24 mannequins lurched into motion, then spun at about 4.5 revolutions a minute — more than 11 times its planned speed. Guests backed away as staff stopped the display and ushered 226 people outside.
No one was injured, but the opening programme was abandoned and the gallery remained closed while technicians examined the mechanism. The museum estimated the damage at Rp4.8 billion (about €270,000), including 31 hand-finished outfits torn or pulled from their mounts. The exhibition’s designers say several pieces may be beyond repair.
The display that took off
The runway was the centrepiece of “Small Beasts, Big Dress”, an exhibition pairing sculptural clothing with PokaMori, a fictional cast of collectible fantasy creatures. Jakarta design house Adira Daya created 72 outfits, from a batik jacket with padded ears to a silver rain cape shaped like a mythical river fish. The mannequins were meant to turn slowly, giving visitors a close view of each piece.
Akande Justina, who had travelled from Depok for the opening, said the figures appeared to accelerate almost at once. “The clothes started snapping in the air, and people moved back together. It felt like the whole room had become a carousel,” she said. Staff pressed an emergency stop, but the display took 39 seconds to halt, according to the museum’s first account.
The clothes started snapping in the air, and people moved back together.
Akande Justina, visitor
Repairs before a relaunch
Manikavasagam S. Siao, the exhibition director, said the team had tested the runway without its full load on Wednesday. A preliminary check found a loose component in the speed-control assembly, he said, but technicians had not yet established why it failed. “We had designed a slow turn, not a spectacle. We are sorry the first thing visitors saw was a failure,” Siao said.
Emília Karolčíková, a mechanical engineer brought in to inspect the system, said the platform had stayed within its track and its emergency stop had worked, but the acceleration was far outside the permitted range. She was checking the control unit and brake assembly before any decision on restarting it. The museum has not said whether the manufacturer will share repair costs.
Several damaged garments were woven and dyed by small workshops in Java, according to Siao. The museum is photographing each piece and contacting its makers to assess whether it can be restored. A Rp1.2 billion (about €67,000) insurance claim is being prepared, while the other costs include repairs, cancelled bookings and replacement display mounts.
The museum said it hopes to reopen the exhibition within 10 days, but only after a full-load test and approval from the engineer. Ticket holders can request refunds or transfer their bookings. The show had been planned as a six-week display, with workshops on batik, costume construction and the way Indonesian folklore is reshaped in contemporary fashion.
