Singapore's museums go big for Golden anniversary
As Singapore prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary of independence, museums are announcing special exhibitions, installations and events to continue celebrating in the months ahead.
Singapore is holding its Golden Jubilee weekend August 7-10, with carnivals, concerts and other events taking place around Marina Bay, in parks, at the Botanic Gardens and at Singapore Sports Hub.
Museums are getting involved throughout the weekend, as the Science Center Singapore (SCS) offers free admission, and the Museum Roundtable -- a collective of public and private museums, galleries and attractions -- hosts five exhibitions in Clifford Square under the title "Tracing Transformations: Memories of Our Nation."
At the Singapore Art Museum, entry is free all weekend and hands-on activities are planned, while the National Museum of Singapore is showing "Singapura: 700 Years," tracing the nation's history, and "50 Made in Singapore Products," covering its manufacturing achievements.
For avid museum-goers, the city's biggest happenings are in the months to come.
From mid-September, a sculpture by Yeo Chee Kiong commissioned by the National Museum of Singapore and City Developments Limited will be displayed outside the museum's Fort Canning entrance to commemorate "SG50."
The same museum has just revealed plans to reopen its permanent galleries in September after revamping them with materials from Singapore's pre- and post-independence history.
Among the new features, four galleries will show snapshots of everyday life through various eras, including colonial times and the years of the Japanese Occupation. The 1950s and '60s will be depicted through the eyes of a child, who would have grown up alongside the nation in that era.
Fast forward to November, when a brand-new institution will be inaugurated in the city's Civic District.
The National Gallery Singapore (NGS) has just revealed plans for its opening celebrations. Starting November 27, an opening festival, "Share the Hope," will feature an Art Carnival at the Padang field; at night, visual projections on the Gallery's façade will take inspiration from its collection of 19th- and 20-century art.
Free admission from November 24 through December 6 will allow all to discover its modern art collection, said to be one of the largest in Singapore and Southeast Asia.
