Continuing the legacy of our arts and heritage pioneers

Our Pioneers in the arts and heritage sector
Ms Yeoh Chee Yan, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth
Mrs Rosa Daniel, Deputy Secretary and CEO of the National Heritage Board 
Ladies and Gentlemen

1. A very good evening to you. This evening is for our pioneers and we’ve set aside this evening to honour all of you who have worked to build a culture and identity that Singapore can call our own.

2. Also with us are relatives of our pioneers who have passed on. I thank you for attending in their memory.

3. I’m sure many of you have had many pioneer generation events to attend. This is SG50 and this is probably not your first event, and it may not be your last. There are a few challenges we have in MCCY when we organise a pioneer generation event. Firstly, we are the Ministry of Culture, so this cannot be a plain vanilla pioneer generation event. We have to set high standards and that’s why we got Jeremy Monteiro to do a concert for all of you. This is a fitting venue for this pioneer generation tribute event. We can see that Singapore has got amazing artistic talent and they’re all here to pay tribute to all of our pioneers. The second reason is that all of us are arts pioneers, and your standard is very high. And if we don’t set a high standard to meet your expectations, I don’t think we’re doing justice to the legacy you’ve left for us. So we have done the concert which you’ve heard, and we’re also organising this event in a very fitting venue at Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall. And for the first time later tonight, we’re going to dine in Victoria Concert Hall itself. I hope for all of you who are here, it will bring back fond memories. I’m sure many of you have memories coming here to watch concerts, theatre, performances. Some of you were probably involved in staging these performances, so the memory is extra special. And this evening is really meant for all of you.

4. Besides coming here to see the refurbished Victoria Concert Hall and Theatre, we are also going to be launching a Heritage Gallery. We have set it up to preserve and share your stories with the future generations.

5. As pioneers, you were born in Singapore’s pre-independence years, when the existence of Singapore as a sovereign and independent nation was something few would dream about. 

6. You lived through a period of conflict, crisis and uncertainty. At that time in our development, the preoccupation was with bread and butter issues – jobs, education and housing. There was not as much public support for the arts.

7. Our first Culture Minister Mr Rajaratnam was often asked why the government was spending so much in the arts. His reply was classic: “This is the sort of question that is asked in societies which are spiritually and intellectually sick. Such a question comes naturally only in a society which has become less human and almost animal in character. It is only in animal societies that its members are preoccupied with the essentials of life…a society which concentrated only on these essentials...would be no better than a society of monkeys, sheep or ants.”  It is priceless, only Mr Rajaratnam could have answered this way. This quote from Mr Rajaratnam showed the passion he had for the arts and it showed the commitment the Government had in recognising the importance of the arts from the start.

8. Of course, resources then were moderated and the circumstances in which our artists operated in were also more difficult. Yet all of you persevered in your commitment and passion for the arts and heritage. And thanks to all your pioneering efforts, our lives have been enriched. Today, we have access to quality arts to express ourselves, to enjoy the beauty around us, and ultimately to become better human beings. This is the rich legacy that you have left for all Singaporeans.

Leadership, strength, service

9. There are many inspiring qualities that our pioneers possessed. I’d like to share some of them this evening.

10. The first is leadership. We are blessed with artistic leaders in the pioneer generation who blazed an early trail.

11. We have talented musicians and our new generation of musicians follow in the footsteps of our pioneers who gave voice to our emotions and shared feelings. There was composer, Zubir Said, a self-taught musician and among our foremost arts pioneers. He consulted with Cikgu Muhammad Ariff Ahmad on the lyrics of Majulah Singapura. He also consulted with a number of others on the melody and score, including Paul Abisheganaden, who was also known as Singapore’s Grand Old Man of Music. Paul Abisheganaden founded the Singapore Chamber Ensemble, which premiered Majulah Singapura right here at the Victoria Theatre back in 1958.

12. We also have writers like Edwin Thumboo, who championed a national spirit for our literature. He was among many early writers whose thoughts and words made a mark on our cultural consciousness. These include our theatre pioneers, such as Stella Kon and Kuo Pao Kun – who staged candid and eloquent observations of our society.

13. Then, we have our dance pioneers. They not only laid our foundations for excellence in many different genres; but went a step further to experiment with different perspectives. For instance, this is a photo from the Bhaskar’s Arts Academy of their 1958 performance “The Butterfly Lovers” which incorporated Chinese dance moves into Indian dance. So even at that time, they were integrating different elements and creating something new – a new Singaporean culture. I’m glad that two of our dance pioneers, Goh Lay Kuan and Santha Bhaskar, will have their choreography featured at this year’s Singapore International Festival of Arts.

14. We have artists like the pioneers of the Nanyang Style (like the Bali Four of Liu Kang, Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng and Chen Chong Swee, as well as Lim Hak Tai, the first principal of NAFA and Georgette Chen). They were our first generation of visual artists, and they brought distinctively Singaporean characteristics to their art.

15. Others, like Tan Swie Hian and Iskandar Jalil, have continued this integration of different perspectives into their artistic works. Their works have travelled extensively overseas, earning international accolades and putting Singaporean art on the global map.

16. Some of you may remember the National Museum Art Gallery in the 70s and 80s. The artworks of many prominent artists were featured there. Our curators also did a lot of work to put these exhibitions together. One of them is pioneer art historian Ms Constance Sheares who curated the inaugural exhibition of the National Museum Art Gallery when it opened in 1976.

17. Today, thanks to the initiative and leadership of our artists and curators, we are poised to open a new National Gallery for Singapore. We hope it will be a premier arts destination, known around the world – and a home for the arts that will do our pioneers proud.

18. I’ve highlighted the leadership exemplified by our art and heritage pioneers. These are not comprehensive and there are many more stories to tell. But just through the few examples I’ve cited, we can already see how much our pioneers helped to shape our national artistic and cultural consciousness.

19. The second quality of our pioneers is that they showed tremendous strength through adversity.

20. Many of you know Ms Chng Seok Tin as someone with a true passion for her art. She was both a teacher and an artist, well known for her printmaking practice.

21. In 1988, Ms Chng suffered a great personal setback. Surgery to remove a brain abscess left her almost blind. But with the help and support of others, including the late Brother Joseph McNally, Ms Chng turned adversity upside down. She sought out sculpture as a new medium of expression, and bounced back within a year with a solo exhibition of her works at the National Museum Art Gallery.

22. For decades, she has produced unique and stunning pieces that have given hope and inspiration to many others. She became the first Singaporean artist to hold an exhibition at the United Nations in New York in 2005. Till today, Ms Chng continues to conduct workshops for the visually impaired at the charity organisation called Very Special Arts Singapore.

23. So thank you, Ms Chng, and all our pioneers, for teaching us a valuable lesson about the strength it takes to persevere no matter the odds.

24. Finally, I wish to share about service.

25. Our pioneers had a strong sense of service – to serve their country, their community, and their neighbours. When Encik Zubir Said was asked to sum up the philosophy behind his composition of the anthem, he quoted a Malay proverb:

    Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung.
    (“You should hold up the sky of the land where you live.”)

26. And our pioneer artists held up the sky for Singapore. You have served in many ways. You used your craft and talents to bring communities together and to build our nation. You proudly flew the Singapore flag when you showcased your works abroad. You mentored younger artists, inspiring them and passing on your experiences, values and insights.

27. Many also serve in ways that are not always visible to the public eye – like our volunteer guides and docents in the museums. It’s always quite special to have someone from the pioneer generation guide visitors through the museums, because when they tell the Singapore story, they are able to add more personalised and vivid accounts to make the story come alive.

28. So each of you has touched many lives over the years. Whether through your talents, your generous donations, your mentorship of the younger ones, or other acts of service – you have given of yourself to enrich this community.

Appreciation for our pioneers

29. Leadership, strength, service. Through these qualities our pioneers have helped to write the arts and heritage chapters of the Singapore Story. Your legacy will continue to inspire future generations of champions in the arts and heritage sector in Singapore.

30. As members of the pioneer generation, I know all of you would have received the PG package. But I think we should do something more for our art and heritage pioneers. So as a token of our appreciation, I’m glad to share with you that the National Gallery will give free lifetime membership to our arts and heritage pioneers. This means you will enjoy free entry to all of the Gallery’s exhibitions, and special discounts beyond this. I hope you will be among the first visitors to the Gallery when it opens later this year, and will give the Gallery your full support.

31. This is a small gesture of our appreciation. Whatever we do, it cannot fully reflect the contributions that our pioneers have made. But it is a way for us to say “thank you for inspiring our nation”.

32. Ultimately, the best way for us to honour our pioneers is to live up to their spirit and ideals. As Singapore moves forward into the next 50 years and beyond, this is something we hope to do. The basic facts have not changed. We are still a young nation. We are still a tiny city-state of a few million people.

33. The next lap for us will be an important test of whether we can survive and secure an enduring legacy for our people. To do so, we will need to be inspired by that same “can-do” spirit of our pioneers. We need to continue the legacy that you have given to us, continue with the strength in face of adversity, continue with the spirit of service and with the leadership you have demonstrated in blazing new paths for us. So I hope your stories here today will inspire the next generation of artists, curators, champions for art and culture in Singapore, to take Singapore the next lap forward. 

34. Thank you very much and have a pleasant evening.