Co-creating our Singapore Story

Your Excellencies

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good afternoon.

Revisiting our roots

1. I am delighted to be with you in this historic building, to celebrate the reopening of the Asian Civilisations Museum Galleries.
   

2. The Empress Place Building, home to our Asian Civilisations Museum, has stood by Singapore’s river for more than a century. This historic location traces the footsteps of our early migrants —hardworking, pioneering folk who came from diverse lands to this newly established free port in search of a better future for themselves and their families. On these shared values and common aspirations, we built a nation.
   

Anchoring our sense of nationhood

3. In this SG50 year, we have been celebrating a shared sense of nationhood – who we are and what we stand for as Singaporeans. This Singapore Spirit, forged and burnished through crises, achievements and common rites of passage, is what will anchor and hold us together through the uncertainties and challenges of the future. In this regard, it is vital to nurture our shared memories and grow our shared spaces. We must continue to tell the Singapore Story from one generation to the next. Heritage and the arts therefore play a critical role in nourishing and celebrating the Singapore Spirit in our community.

4. Our SG50 year has indeed been a milestone year for the heritage community as we saw the completion of many signature programmes to commemorate our shared experiences and defining moments as a nation.
   

   • May saw the opening of our Indian Heritage Centre, which alongside the Malay Heritage Centre and Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, celebrate the diversity of our communities.

   • July this year saw the inscription of the Singapore Botanic Gardens as a UNESCO site – a key highlight of our Golden Jubilee.

   • September saw the reopening of the permanent galleries of the National Museum, revamped to give a fuller treatment of our post-independence story.

   • This month, we are launching the Jubilee Walk, a trail through our Civic and Cultural District marking our national milestones. Key monuments along the trail include the ACM, which we are gathered to launch, and the new National Gallery. Together, these landmarks demonstrate how we continually rejuvenate each of these shared spaces for each new generation, balancing the needs of preservation with development.

Bringing places to life

5. These historic spaces are merely bricks and mortar without good programming to bring in the audiences. We need good programming to make our exhibits accessible to the public. They should be brought to life and become platforms where new shared memories are created, with the visitors, between the visitors. For instance,

• The Jubilee Walk will be launched with a mass walk bringing together Singaporeans from all walks to life to celebrate the monuments and markers that represent the past, present and future of the Singapore Story.

• ACM’s recent River Nights Festival celebrated the rich heritage and vibrant dynamism surrounding the Singapore River.

• Just last weekend, the Singapore Writers Festival’s Words over Water literary tour featured local poems and stories about home, read over a bum boat ride along the Singapore River and Marina Bay.

With the support of partners such as URA, NParks and STB, we can better enhance our spaces and programming to strengthen community outreach. Our heritage places shall be where social capital between people of different races, ages and backgrounds is build.Co-creating the Singapore Story

6. As we reflect on questions of identity and place in celebration of SG50, Singaporeans have come forth passionately with ideas to co-create the Singapore Story. SG50 Celebration Fund supported 200 projects involving art and heritage. These include films, musicals and productions inspired by our nationhood journey. Many of these are initiated by small groups of individuals but evolved into powerful works because of the passion of the people, such as Fuyong Estate’s documentation of their community’s history in Our Country, Our Community, Our Kampong, and tales of fishmongers and Mama-shop uncles, told through the photo essays of Shopkeeper Stories.

7. Initiatives like NHB’s Heritage Grant scheme, heritage trails, and community heritage spaces have also helped Singaporeans tell their story. For instance, with our first community museum – Our Museum @ Taman Jurong. The Taman Jurong community has produced their own exhibitions unique to the history and heritage of Taman Jurong, reflecting the voices, memories and stories of their residents. This is true ownership at work.

8. Closer to the ACM, some of you might recall the Empress Place archaeological dig earlier this year. Besides unearthing treasures that you will soon see displayed at ACM, it was heart-warming to see the great interest and support from Singaporeans. Many came forward to volunteer their time and effort to assist in the dig. Such passion is catching on all around Singapore. In neighbourhoods such as Queenstown and Geylang Serai, residents from all walks of life gather to work on projects that document the traditions, habits and places that define their homes and neighbourhoods.

9. The communal memories we share are made even more impactful through artistic interpretations. NAC’s Arts in the Neighbourhood has supported productions such as My SuperFuture Theatrical Production’s Together We Watch. This was inspired by Ian Loy’s own childhood experiences such as watching television together with neighbours at community centres – a shared experience among many Singaporeans.

10. Together, these shared places and experiences interweave to form the fabric of Singapore’s story. They remind us that our cultural institutions need to be spaces that are for and of the community.

11. Next month, at the Future of Us Exhibition, we look forward to engaging all Singaporeans in focused discussions to explore how we will take Singapore forward and write the next chapter of the Singapore Story together. This shared ownership of our Singapore story is the key to keeping alive the Singapore Spirit.

Acknowledgements and conclusion

12. On this note, I would like to extend my thanks to our museum patrons, who are here with us today. Your generous giving has enabled our museums, institutions and agencies to further the quality of their programmes, deepen their research, and touch more people, contributing greatly to the telling of our Singapore story.

13. Over the years, benefactors such like the Estate of Khoo Teck Puat and Mr Edmond Chin have steadily grown ACM’s collection and outreach. The generosity of Hong Leong Foundation has enabled ACM’s physical expansion, as have cash donations from patrons such as Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple and Lee Foundation which will be matched dollar-to-dollar by the Cultural Matching Fund. It’s also my pleasure to share that since the Cultural Matching Fund was launched two years ago, we have received $100 million worth of applications across the arts and culture sector. The financial support from the private sector signifies the growing importance we as a people place on developing our cultural and artistic heritage.

14. With the support of all stakeholders, we can build a Singapore that is proud of our heritage, jubilant in our identity, and confident of our future. Let us start our journey towards a stronger Singapore identity, together. Thank you.