Naked Museum

Mr Hsieh Fu Hua, Chairman, National Gallery Singapore, 

Ms Chong Siak Ching, CEO, National Gallery Singapore

Excellencies and distinguished guests

Ladies and Gentlemen 

1. I’m very happy to join you this evening for such a special occasion. I’m not sure what your feelings are right now, as you walk in and see this splendid infrastructure, but I think it is truly amazing. I just met one of the artists as I was walking in and he said to me in Chinese, “这个是新加坡的骄傲” – this is the pride of Singapore. And this is before the artworks come in! When the artworks come in, we will be even more proud of this new art gallery. 

2. I think this is a significant milestone for all of us. It has been a very long journey. I’d like to start by acknowledging the presence of so many people who have made it possible. I am particularly honoured that I have with us, two of my predecessors – two previous culture ministers. Mr George Yeo and Mr Lee Boon Yang. George was the one who managed to secure these two buildings – the Former Supreme Court and the City Hall building as art institutions. Boon Yang was the one who then pushed for the art gallery to be built. So, if you were to draw a human analogy. We could say that George conceived the baby, Boon Yang saw it through the difficult months of pregnancy, and I’m the lucky guy who just sees the baby delivered. Maybe not so lucky, but, depending on the perspective. 
   

3. But, it is not just the Ministers who were involved. We have Mr Koh Seow Chuan, the first Chairman of the Gallery here with us. We have many people who have been involved in the project from the very start. We also have our founding patrons and sponsors – DBS, UOB and Keppel. All of you have helped to come together to make this possible. 

4. I also want to particularly acknowledge the project team and the contractors, who really, worked very hard to meet the timelines. It is a complex project and the contractors had some incidents along the way as Fu Hua mentioned earlier. They had slipped behind the timeline earlier on, but we have a very capable CEO, Siak Ching. She comes from a business background, but if you didn’t already know that, you would think that she is an experienced art administrator because she has transited into this new job smoothly. She and her very capable team, with Sushma, who managed the project so well. They told me last year that they would get this done by 31 March, no problem. At that time I was managing the Sports Hub completion, and had my doubts – I asked them “Are you sure? You can get this delivered by 31 March?”. And they truly delivered. 

5. The National Gallery is an art museum, but the building itself is a work of art, rich with culture and history. As you know, this used to be the Former Supreme Court, and City Hall, where some of Singapore’s defining chapters in history were written. The Former Supreme court here, this was one of the last great neo-classical buildings built under colonial rule. In fact, if you look outside at the façade, you might see markings where the colonial emblems were removed. These were where the colonial emblems were. Please do not think that we removed them, it was also not because of botched up construction, or mislaid by someone. In fact, the emblems were removed way back during the Japanese Occupation and we decided to leave the marking as they are today, as reminders of scars of war, of difficult times that we have to go through as a nation. 

6. The City Hall Chamber is also very significant because this was the place where we witnessed the surrender of the Japanese after the end of the Second World War. We saw the swearing in of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his Cabinet in June 1959. No photos exist of that swearing-in ceremony, because it was done in such a rush, that there was no media coverage at all. But there is a painting, that was done depicting what happened that day, and I think we would be able to showcase it eventually when the artworks are all in place. 

7. The Chambers also saw the inauguration of Encik Yusof Ishak, our first head of state in Dec 1959. This was also the first time that Majulah Singapura played as the national anthem of Singapore. These are very important and significant moments for all of us. It is important that we pay homage to the past, to ensure that we do not forget our roots and history. So, it is crucial that the National Gallery provides not only a good artistic experience for its visitors, but also a deep understanding of our history and past. 

8. We will do this in several ways. First, we are starting with this Naked Museum building history tour happening over the next two weekends.

9. Second, we are going to do more to prepare for the opening of the Gallery. We would have history markers throughout the building to mark out the points of historical significance. We would make a deliberate effort to ensure that the history of the place is part of the visitor experience. This will be done through multi-media guides – provided in all the official languages so that everyone can come in to experience the history of the place. We would organise daily history tours which will be led by the gallery’s docent. You can come and enjoy the art, but you can also come and enjoy a historical experience of the Gallery. 

10. Thirdly, beyond what we are doing for the opening, we are also going to do something special for the City Hall Chamber. As I said, this is one of the most historically significant places in these two buildings. So we will set aside some space in the City Hall Chamber for a special history exhibition. We hope to have an exhibition that captures the key historical moments that took place here in the Former Supreme Court and the City Hall. I think it is right that we do it in the City Hall Chambers, where we can honour and preserve our historical memories. This will take some time, so this exhibition will probably only be ready next year. 

11. These are some ways that we hope to keep alive, the history of this place. And those of us who are familiar with this buildings, we would always be able to find something new and learn something new as we come through these tours. This happened to me too. I thought I knew about these buildings, but I found out something new last week. 

12. There is a foundation stone for the Former Supreme Court. It was laid by the last Governor of the Straits Settlement – Thomas Shenton. The foundation stone lies right under the main dome of the Former Supreme Court and under this foundation stone is a time capsule that was laid in 1937, two years before the building was built. It contains some old newspapers as well as some Strait Settlement coins. 

13. The instruction for the time capsule was that it will be unearthed in the year 3000. It reminded me of something that Mr Lee Kuan Yew once said. He said that “we intend to see that Singapore will be here a thousand years from now”. That is your duty and mine. If we all do our jobs well, we won’t be around in a 1000 years’ time, but Singapore will still be around. And at that time, we want future generations of Singaporeans to re-open the time capsule and to remember how we got here. We want future generations to remember that this has not always been an art gallery, but these buildings were the birthplace of independent Singapore. I think that is something we will always make sure to remember. 

14. We want this Gallery, to be a place where memories can be lived, where we can create new experiences through the art. We want this to be a special Gallery that will provide a bridge between past and present, between history and modernity through art. 

15. I want to thank all of you again for being involved in this project. I’m sure you will appreciate the grandeur of this place and look forward to Oct or Nov when the Gallery is open and all the artworks are fully installed. 

16. Join me once again to give everyone in the Gallery team a big round of applause.