Jonathan Haryono
Jonathan Haryono is a Curator and General Manager of Ullen Sentalu Museum, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Founded by the Haryono family and supported by the four Javanese royal palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta, the museum is dedicated to preserving the intangible heritage of Java, which originated in and is centred around these royal palaces. Situated on the mountainside of Mount Merapi within a tropical rainforest, Ullen Sentalu creates a tranquil and distinctive museum environment. The museum has also pioneered storytelling-guided museum tours in Indonesia, using storytelling to communicate its collections and heritage while creating a memorable visitor experience.
Continuing the Haryono family’s legacy, Jonathan graduated with a MBA degree in Management from Universitas Gadjah Mada (2017, Indonesia) and later completed a MA degree in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester (2024, United Kingdom). His master’s thesis examined two approaches developed by Ullen Sentalu to preserve Java’s intangible heritage: embodying heritage through newly created ‘historical’ Javanese royal portrait paintings as a visual medium, and developing storytelling-guided tours to decode, contextualise and animate the research behind its paintings and collections. Together, these approaches enable visitors to encounter Javanese intangible heritage visually through the paintings and aurally through narratives delivered by museum educators. Educators are trained to identify visitors’ interests and backgrounds, allowing them to personalise the museum’s narratives.
Jonathan has also engaged with the international museum field. In 2019, he participated in the international training programme “Sharing Stories on the Contested Histories”, organised by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and Reinwardt Academy in Amsterdam. As an alumnus, he was later invited to become a senior coach when the programme was delivered online in 2021, leading two junior coaches and overseeing international participants.
Today, Jonathan’s vision is to further develop Ullen Sentalu professionally and shift it from a traditional family institution towards a merit-based institution. Through his international engagement in museum studies, he aims to bring a more international approach to the museum and keep up with current developments in the field. Alongside his museum work, he teaches and shares his knowledge through seminars and events organised by museums and universities in Indonesia. His ambition is to continue studying museum studies and promote Asian and non-Western approaches to museology internationally.
Slamet Winarno (2026; royalty-free)
