Giving generously to help tell the Singapore story better

Mr Ong Yew Huat, Chairman, National Heritage Board 

Patrons and supporters 

Ladies and gentlemen
     

1. Good evening. I am very happy to be here this evening with all of you. This event is especially meaningful because it marks the 10th anniversary of the Patron of Heritage Awards.

2. Patronage has a long history in the world of arts, heritage and culture. For the wealthy, patronage was not just a way to preserve one's legacy, but also a way to give back to society, and bring the best of culture to the masses. If it wasn't for patronage, millions would not be able to enjoy the sounds of Mozart in New York's Carnegie Hall, or to gaze in wonder at Michelangelo's ceiling in Rome's Sistine Chapel. Culture and patronage are deeply intertwined. One cannot exist without the other.

3. Likewise in Singapore, patronage plays an important role in making our heritage and culture accessible to all. Whether through donations of artefacts that tell the Singapore Story better, or caring hearts who volunteer to bring heritage to the underprivileged, giving to heritage brings us together as one people, and erases the lines between us. Heritage shapes who we are, connects us to our roots and to each other, makes us proud to be Singaporean. By giving to heritage, we are allowing more people to learn about and delight in the shared heritage that binds us all.
   

Increased giving to heritage in SG50

4.  Tonight, we celebrate you, our Patrons of Heritage, for doing all this and more. With your support, the museums and heritage sector has grown tremendously since 2006. You have laid the foundation for heritage giving through donations and loans of artefacts, and cash and in-kind gifts in support of NHB's programmes. A big round of applause to all of you for your support.

5. More of you have also stepped forward to give to the arts and culture in 2015. Since the $200 million Cultural Matching Fund was launched in November 2013, we have received almost S$150 million worth of applications. We estimate that seven in 10 arts and heritage groups have applied to the Fund. Tonight, we are honouring 104 patrons of heritage – individuals and organisations who have generously contributed S$16 million in donations, loans and in-kind to the growth of our heritage sector. This is a close to 50 per cent increase from 2014, and I would like to thank each and every one of you here for choosing to give specifically to the heritage cause.

6. 2015 also saw key developments in the museums and heritage sector. These include the opening of the revamped galleries of the Asian Civilisations Museum and National Museum and the National Gallery Singapore. At ACM, we added the new Khoo Teck Puat Gallery with the support of the Estate of Khoo Teck Puat. This Gallery now houses our Tang Shipwreck collection. The new Kwek Hong Png Wing, supported by the Hong Leong Foundation, ACM's long-standing donor, offers visitors a more comprehensive understanding of Asian cultures.

7. Another big SG50 gift to the nation was one by watch manufacturer Patek Philippe, which saw the creation of three one-of-a-kind commemorative dome table clocks. An auction of these clocks garnered a total of S$2.45 million. The successful bids by The Hour Glass Limited, and Mr Koh Kow Tee Michael, will go towards enhancing the exhibitions and programmes of our national museums, while proceeds from Cortina Watch Pte Ltd's bid seeded the recently launched HeritageCares programme, which benefits the less privileged through heritage.

Giving to strengthen the Singapore story

8. Our heritage patrons have also given generously to help us tell the Singapore story. This year, both our Distinguished Patrons of Heritage are long-term heritage supporters. They are Mr Edmond Chin and the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple. Mr Edmond Chin is a loyal friend and benefactor of the ACM. Last year, he donated four marble sculptures from Hebei and Shaanxi provinces which have helped fill a significant gap in the museum's collection of early Chinese Buddhist sculptures. The Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple made a generous donation to the ACM in 2015, which allowed the museum to acquire noteworthy objects to strengthen the story of the spread of religions in Asia. 

9. Multiculturalism is a key part of our story. So we were excited to open Singapore's first Indian Heritage Centre (IHC) last year, and we look forward to the opening of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre later this year. These institutions join our family of community heritage institutions and centres such as the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, Malay Heritage Centre and Eurasian Heritage Centre. These community institutions play a vital role in deepening our understanding of the various communities, and their place in the larger Singaporean identity.

10. Tonight, we honour a total of nine patrons of the IHC. These include Dr Ma Swan Hoo, the Saigon Chettiars Temple Trust and Dr Gangatharan Davar, amongst others. Dr Ma's story is an especially poignant one. She has kindly loaned three artefacts from the collection of my dear colleague, the late Dr Balaji Sadasivan, who was a great supporter of the IHC, and also Chairman of the Centre's Steering Committee. It is thus a fitting tribute to have Dr Balaji's items on display at the IHC, which I am sure he would have been most proud of. Similarly, the Saigon Chettiars Temple Trust has strengthened the IHC's story with its loan of beautiful deity jewellery, which gives us greater insights into the many perspectives of Indian culture.

11. Giving beyond our NHB museums to other public and private museums has also continued, and this is essential to ensuring Singaporeans have diverse touch-points to understand our history and heritage. Mr Koh Lip Koon and Mr Koh Lip Siang, sons of the late artist Koh Cheng Foo (also known as Ma Ge or Marco Hsu), have donated 102 of their father's artworks to the NUS Museum. This has enhanced the NUS museum's extensive collection of art that tells the story of post-independence Singapore. The Chinese Heritage Centre has also received gifts such as the two grey pottery tomb bricks dating from the Han Dynasty, donated by Mr Lok Lai Cheng.

Giving to heritage in different ways

12. Beyond giving in a conventional sense – of cash and donations or loans of artefacts, it is also encouraging to see new and creative ways of giving, such as the offer of in-kind support to facilitate behind-the-scenes work of museums. Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd, for example, supported the National Museum in the transport of exhibition pieces for its ongoing show, Treasures of the World from the British Museum, as well as NHB's Singapore Festival in France last year, which showcased the best of Singapore arts, culture and heritage through more than 70 events in seven French cities. We are grateful for Singapore Airlines Cargo's support, and we hope that this long-standing relationship will continue for many years to come.

13. I am glad that corporations are going the extra mile in their support of heritage. On top of monetary contributions, corporations are organising their staff as volunteers in various HeritageCares programmes for the underprivileged. Employees of corporations such as Booking.com are volunteering as guides for NHB. I hope that more corporates and donors will think of heritage as their “CSR”. It is a way of giving back to society, by bringing heritage to all, particularly the less privileged. This is critical if we are to become a more caring society. Community service binds us to our fellow citizens, and to our communities and to our country. It is the social glue that makes us a cohesive society.

Conclusion

14. In conclusion, I would like to thank all of you once again, for your steadfast support of the heritage cause. Your contributions will go a long way towards realising the many exciting possibilities in Singapore's culture and heritage scene, and I hope that others will be spurred to follow in your lead to help build our shared legacy for tomorrow.

15. I wish all of you a most enjoyable evening.