Big plans in store for National Museum of Singapore’s 130th birthday bash
The National Museum of Singapore celebrates its 130th anniversary with a series of site-specific installations placed in and around the museum alongside a performance and other elements for visitors to enjoy. TODAY File Photo
Singapore — There’s a slew of big programmes in the works this year for museums that fall under the purview of the National Heritage Board (NHB).
The National Museum of Singapore, for instance, will be celebrating its 130th anniversary, and will be launching a new initiative in October.
The initiative, called Museum of Singapore 130, was announced at an annual lunch National Heritage Board (NHB) organised for the media yesterday. It will run for 130 days from October this year to February next year. The celebrations will feature a series of installations placed in and around the museum, as well as a performance and other events.
The National Museum’s senior assistant director, Jervais Choo, said that the activities and installations will be geared “to share the rich history of the museum”.
Ahead of the celebrations, the museum is planning a “blockbuster exhibition on World War II in September, in collaboration with other international museums and institutions that will include ... objects never seen in Singapore before”.
Another major highlight NHB has planned for the year includes the Joseon Korea: Court Treasures and City Life exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM), which opens on April 22 and runs till July 23.
The exhibition will display furniture, fashion and decorative arts from the National Museum of Korea and the National Palace Museum in Seoul, seen for the first time in Singapore. Through these, visitors can learn about Korea’s greatest dynasty Joseon — which ruled the country from 1392 to 1897 — and its legacy of courtly culture and vibrant city life that continues in South Korea today.
Kennie Ting, director of ACM, is expecting the exhibition to resonate with Singaporeans.
“Singaporeans would be very familiar with Korean period TV drama series and movies with all the elaborate costumes, furniture and backdrops. Many of these TV series and movies were set in Joseon Korea. This exhibition provides an opportunity for our Singaporean visitors to see and enjoy the real thing,” he said.
For photography buffs, the Peranakan Museum will kick off its first-ever historical photography exhibition, titled Amek Gambar: Taking Pictures, focussing on Peranakans and photography in South-east Asia, on Aug 23. The exhibition will show how Peranakans visually documented the cities they lived in, the people, and rituals following the invention of photography in France in 1839.
ACM general manager John Teo said that some of the earliest images of Babas and Nyonyas from the 1860s to the current day will be shown.
“We hope that the show will have broad appeal to our visitors, not only those who have an interest in Peranakan culture, but also photography, Singapore history and heritage enthusiasts in general. By including some contemporary photographs of modern Peranakans, we hope audiences will think about notions of identity and representation, or modernity and tradition.” Reena Devi
