Kurator dan kegiatannya adalah jantung museum sekaligus menjadi bukti empiris dari perkembangan museologi. Cara kurator melakukan tugasnya menunjukkan pendekatan museologi apa yang dipraktikkan di museum. Mengingat museologi harus beradaptasi dengan konteksnya, diskusi mengenai kegiatan kuratorial menjadi dinamis. Sayangnya, penelitian terkait kegiatan kuratorial di museum-museum di Indonesia masih jarang. Kebanyakan penelitian yang ada fokus pada apa yang seharusnya museum dan kurator lakukan dan sedikit memberi perhatian pada realitas kegiatan kuratorial di museum. Penelitian ini mengeksplorasi beragam kegiatan kuratorial di lima museum di Jakarta, Ibukota Republik Indonesia dan barometer perkembangan permuseuman di negara ini. Lima museum yang terpilih merepresentasikan perbedaan koleksi dan pemilik. Data penelitian diperoleh dengan observasi, wawancara, dan pengumpulan dokumen. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk memahami kegiatan kuratorial yang dilakukan di museum guna memperkaya perspektif kuratorial dalam diskusi museologi dunia.

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Curatorship is the heart of museum the empirical evidence of museology development. The way curator does their duties shows what kind of museology practiced in museum. Since museology should be adapted to its context, either social, political, and historical; the discussion of curator’s job is dynamic. Unfortunately, it is rare to see a study on curator in Indonesian museum landscape. Most voices in museology academic is focusing what should curators do, while give a little attention to the reality of curatorship in museum. This study will explore a variety of curatorial activities in five museums in DKI Jakarta, capital of Indonesia and barometer of Indonesian museology development. The Five museums chosen are different from each other (its collection and its owner). The data is collected through observation and interviews with museum workers (since not every museum has curator). The aim of this study is to understand curatorial works done in Jakarta museums. Thus, the result will enrich the perspectives of museology worldwide.