NHB Open House (08 Aug 2009 - 09 Aug 2009)

As the nation celebrates its birthday, I had the chance to visit as many NHB museums for free as I could. And this "adventure" starts on Friday night because SAM has a free admission policy every Friday after 6pm.


Link : Singapore Art Museum

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1000 – 1900 (till 2100 on Friday)

Admission

• Adults: $8.00
• Student/NSF: $4.00

Groups of 20 or more: 20% off admission tickets

Free admission to NHB Museum Roundtable pass holders, seniors above 60 and children 6 years and below.
* Other family packages, check Singapore Art Museum Admission


Free Admission

• Monday – Friday 1200 to 1400
• Friday 1800 to 2100
• Public holidays

The ongoing exhibits include:
Threads - (supposedly open as stated in pamplet but I did not see on Fri night. Went back on Saturday only to find out it was closed already.)

An Unbroken Line: The Wu Guanzhong Donation Collection
Fusion of traditional Chinese ink painting with Western oil painting
(This is the exhibit that I wanted to visit some time ago. Although photography is disallowed, one is allowed to sketch. And I seen some sketching his work.. A bit weird esp when it was his art piece on nudity which he revisited when he was 70+ again. Anyway you can read itchyfinger's post for more information.  What I envy is the fact that he has travelled extensively to paint and his artworks are a wide variety.  I actually like his oil painting and his famous panda painting heehee)

Earth and Water: Mapping Art in Southeast Asia
(I did not really appreciate it but there were a few photographs that gave me a very idlylic feel. )

TransportAsian
(Had some interesting exhibits e.g. The time machine haha.)

As the exhibits do not permit photography, thus I can only show you photos outside the exhibit e.g. Fashion. Is a group of fashion designers-to-be who created a series of collection inspired by Wu Guanzhong artwork. My personal favourite is this:

Fashion Collection inspired by
Dots and Lines Greeting Spring (点线迎春)
Wu Guanzhong
1996

Fashion Designer: Eng Hwee San


Kind of like the soft light effect on the fountain too!


The Living World Sculpture
Renowned Taiwanese sculptor, Juming, created the "sitting figures" sculpture previously located outside the National Museum's building.

Supposed to take this in the day but there were just too many passerbys. Actually the night effect isn't that bad too.



The second day, I woke up bright and early (as early as my lazy body could) to visit the Asian Civilisation Museum (again hee hee.)

Admission

• Adult: $5.00
• Student/NSF: $2.50

Groups of 20 or more

• Adult: $4.00
• Student/NSF: $2.00

Joint admission to Asian Civilisation Museum and Peranakan Museum:

• Adult: $10.00
• Student/NSF: $5.00

Free admission to NHB Museum Roundtable pass holders, seniors above 60 and children 6 years and below.
Discounted admission from 7-9 pm on Fridays

Opening hours
Mon: 1300 - 1900
Tue to Sun: 0900 - 1900 (till 2100 on Fridays)

Nearest MRT: Raffles Place
Still remember my last visit to ACM was to view Kang Xi exhibits where no photography is allowed. This time is on Hunters and Collectors (the origins of the Southeast Asian Collection) and photography is allowed! Though I did not take much as I get bored easily if the exhibits all look similar... but I still made some surprising finds there.

Take this excerpt for an example:

Man, however wild may be his state, has been endowed with intelligence… Let us then make him understand that he has nothing to fear from us and little by little, if our patience does not fail, he will grow more gentle and become a friend instead of an enemy.
- My friends, the savages (Sorruti 1906: 12)

Actually all savages are savages because we judge them before we make an effort to understand them. And even if we did try to understand them, we did not make an effort for them to understand us. If there exists mutual understanding for every race, nationality, society; I guess we can all co-exist with our different cultures and practices.

Another paragraph which shocked me to read further is

I don't like Singapore, it is a rotten place as is indeed every other town.  I am simply crazy to get away again...
- 1903, William Louis Abbott

He was actually uncomfortable in Singapore towns and would prefer to rough it out in uninhabited faraway places.


There were a number of interesting artefacts of which my favourite is the range of kettles (see Tisugal's post as her photos are clearer). I like the animal designs on the kettle/lid. It reminds me of peranakan kamcheng (see past post) too heehee!

And I was so surprised and happy to see the RMBR Zoological Reference Collection which I missed previously. (See here for more details on RMBR.)

It was this 100+ years old Leathery Turtle that made me recognised the RMBR collection.

Leathery Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
This turtle was found in Singapore on the beach at Siglap, in December 1883. The local people who found it, tried to return it to the sea. Mr. A. M. Skinner, who was passing by, persuaded them to take it to the Museum instead.
Leathery turtle is the largest form of turtle. It lives in open seas and fees largely on jellyfish.


Leopard staring straight into my camera. I guess if it is alive, I will never be able to take such a shot.

The ZRC has one of the largest collections of Southeast Asian animals in the region which includes this pair of soaring Christmas Island birds and the Tiger (Panthera tigris).  FYI the last proven record of a tiger in Singapore was in 1930. In 1999, there were reports of a tiger sighting on Pulau Ubin. These were never substantiated as the animal could not be found. Tigers are strong swimmers and are likely to have swum across the Johor Straits.

 While looking around, I saw the ACM's vision:

As societies change, museums need to remain useful and relevant. We continue to shape our collections and to find exciting and effective ways to make these collections 'speak', so that visitors can have a better appreciation of the different cultures that Singapore is rooted in, and learn from the past in order to better navigate the future.

Still remember in a guidebook, I saw a following comment on ACM:

It's not a museum of the past, it's a museum of the future.
- Jack Lohman, Director of the Museum of London Group and Chairman of the UK unit of International Council of Museums, Reuters

I started visiting museums since young for school visits and I see museums really changed alot.  Hmm a pity I am unable to remember what museums I visited in the past though.

Oh ya, I was puzzled what and where is Raffles Museum which they keep refering too. Till I re-read a display outside the ladies and found this line "In 1969, Raffles Museum was formally renamed the National Museum.". Oops I had forgotten I read it before. Memory bad!

In another exhibit, I also saw surgical tools and cosmetics kit.



Can you imagine a job that requires these tools? Doctor? Make-up artistes? How about foresics doctor? Or corpse make-up? Ok I'm getting morbid!

It is actually the job of a conservator in Heritage Conservation Centre  which is also a new exhibit that had replaced the Myth creatures collection.

I like the HCC's vision:
Conserving for the present;
Preserving for the future

So what are suture needles used for?
Used in surgeries for closing up wounds and torn tissues, conservators use these same suture needles for stitching textile artefacts.

As for cosmetic kit, in conserving and caring for artefacts, conservators are exacting in their choice of treatment tools. for cleaning of artefact surfaces and textiles, conservators only use soft brushes and sponges that are also delicate enough for human skin.

Then is next stop back to SAM as mentioned. On the way, I saw a few interesting buildings.

This looks so flat due to the angle that I really want to know how does the inside looks.


Another interesting building in my opinion because of the greenery growing on the wire mesh.

On National day, after gym, I suddenly noticed (ok I noticed for quite some time just no action taken) the direction signs to Malay Heritage Centre and decided to make that my first museum stop.

Malay Heritage Centre
Istana Kampong Gelam

Opening Hours:
Malay Heritgae Centre Compound:

• 0800 – 2100 Daily

 Malay Heritage Centre Museum:

• Mon: 1000 - 1800
• Tue to Sun: 1300 - 1800

Paid Admission:

• Adults: $4.00
• Children (7 to 12) / Elderly (above 60): $3.00
• Children (below 7): Free

Nearest MRT: Bugis or City Hall

*Note: The permanent galleries at the Malay Heritage Centre Museum will be closed from Jan to Sep/Oct 2010 for revamp. (Luckily I did not put off this visit again.)

Built more than 160 years ago by Sultan Ali - the son of Sultan Hussein Shah - the Istana Kampong Glam is home to the Malay Heritage Centre Museum consisting of nine exhibition galleries. So how does it look like?

A vague drawing of its archictectural design..


A much more defined logo..


And finally the actual building. I did not really capture the fountain well though due to the hot midday sun (and my lousy skills).

The museum showcases the interesting history of Malays in the region as well as Singapore Malays' aspirations towards nation-building. There was this transition of the kampung days to high rise HDB as well as a replica of the newstand with lots of candies that can still be found today.




It is the first time I was walking around Arab Street. On the way, I saw Masjid Sultan Singapore.


As I saw a stream of tourists going in, I decided to pay a visit. There was a display exhibit elaborating about the religion - Islam.  After that, I headed to my next stop Peranakan Museum to view the Special exhibition - Baba Bling: Peranakan Family Jewels.

Peranakan Museum
Nearest MRT: City Hall

Opening hours
Mon: 1300 - 1900
Tue to Sun 0930 - 1900 (till 2100 on Friday)

Paid Admission

• Adult: $6.00
• Students and seniors above 60 years: $3.00

Group (20 pax and more)

• Adult: $5.00
• Students and seniors above 60 years: $2.50

Family: $20.00

Joint admission to Asian Civilisation Museum and Peranakan Museum:

• Adult: $10.00
• Student/NSF: $5.00

Free admission to NHB Museum Roundtable pass holders, seniors above 60 and children 6 years and below.
Free admission on Friday 1900 - 2100 during non-special exhibits
50% off regular admission prices during special exhibits 

Perankan signature jewellery is probably their kerosangs and this special exhibition contains the largest kerosangs (signature Peranakan brooches) and rare pieces of Peranakan jewellery.

Kerosang refers to either a brooch or a set of three brooches, used to fasten the clothing (either a baju panjung/long tunic or kebaya) of a Peranakan woman (nonya). The kerosang was and still is one of the most prominent pieces of jewellery worn by a nonya. Wealthy nonyas had at least one set of kerosang, often made of gold and set with diamonds.

Unable to take photo, I can only take the picture in the gallery guide.  This is a gold and diamond kerosang set with bird and butterfly motifs (Late 19th century to 20th century) from Penang.  It is currently on loan from Dr. Ho Pui San. 

This style of kerosang is associated with nonyas from Penang, where the 'mother' brooch is the bird motif and is accompanied by the circlet butterfly brooches. An interesting feature of this piece is the use of rubies for the eyes of the butterflies.

For your information, there will be a Bling It On! Open House on 5th-6th Sep.

My last stop is the post office i.e. Singapore Philatelic Museum

Opening hours
Mon: 1300 - 1900
Tue to Sun 0930 - 1900 

Paid Admission

• Adult: $5.00
• Children (3-12 years) : $4.00

Admission is free for Friends of Stamps members. Members must show their membership card. 
Admission is also free on New Year's Day, 2nd day of Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali, Christmas Day, National Day, and International Museum Day.

Ongoing exhibits include:
A cow and bull story





Skull of Anoa or Dwarf Water Buffalo (courtesy of Raffles Museum Biodiversity Research)
Another RMBR exhibit, coolz!  The smallest wild cattle in the world, the anoa is just 1.6m long and weigh more than 300 kg. This unique animal is found only in the island of Indonesia. Unlike other breeds of cattle, it prefers to live in pairs. Sadly, the anoa is endangered and continues to dwindle in numbers because of illegal hunting and the destruction of its habitat.

Comic and superheroes
Graphic sketches were also used as a tool to ridicule the royalty and aristocracy, as well as man's follies.

At the post office with Max and Philly
Varieties of mailboxes from around the world! I suddenly got an urge to take photos of all the post boxes in the world.  Hee hee!



Thus ended my museum adventure.  See if I will write more details the next round...


Related Posts:
Internal Tourist : Musuems
Internal Tourist : Asian Civilisation Museum
Post boxes
RMBR