Nian Hua exhibition – celebrating our intangible cultural heritage

1. 大家傍晚好。 非常高兴受邀主持《祈福迎祥说画》开幕礼。

2. 新年快到了，这次的画展，为佳节增添了色彩。

Lunar New Year Prints

3. This exhibition organised together with the Three Gorges Museum in Chongqing, China, explores the custom of putting up Nian Hua, or Lunar New Year prints, made using traditional Chinese woodblock printing techniques. 

4. These colourful prints, filled with auspicious themes and symbolism, are put up by families during festive occasions to seek protection and blessings for their households.

5. They are also part of our own special intangible cultural heritage that reflects society of the time, as you can often find cultural and historical references in these prints.

   1. These range from prints depicting the fearsome General Guan Yu, to the more localised “Tua Pek Kong”. I am sure that these are very familiar characters, traditions and stories to all of us.

6. By displaying these exquisite prints from the Three Gorges Museum and our own National Collection together, a meaningful dialogue and conversation across different cultures, countries and time periods can take place, giving visitors a far better and deeper appreciation of these cultures, traditions, and values.

7. While not all of our partners cannot be here with us in person today, I would still like to thank them for working with us to showcase part of their extensive collection here at the Memorial Hall.

   1. Both Singapore and China recognise that international exchanges of art, heritage, culture and dialogue add richness and diversity to our museum offerings, and also serve as a strong bridge to foster greater cultural understanding between two different traditions, cultures and peoples.

   2. I am very happy that both countries have committed to continuing such museum exchanges, with the signing of the 9th Executive Programme for Cultural Cooperation between MCCY and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China at the 17th Singapore-China Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation last month.

8. Let me also thank Mr Jimm Wong, who has kindly loaned the Memorial Hall his very own personal collection of new year prints for display. Thank you very much.

Celebrating Our Intangible Cultural Heritage

9. In addition to the traditional new year prints, the exhibition also features works by two local contemporary artists - Justin Lee and John Soo.

   1. Both have very cleverly, with a lot of imagination, reinterpreted this traditional art form and also incorporated contemporary elements such as mobile phones and face masks.

   2. I appreciate their passion, interest and strong commitment in ensuring that our intangible cultural heritage remains for all to appreciate and see. Most importantly, ensuring our own cultures, heritage and traditions can be passed on to future generations. 

Conclusion

10. 最后，我给大家拜个早年。祝大家在新的一年里 虎虎生威、身体健康、万事如意、心想事成。谢谢。