What legacy can we leave behind?

Image courtesy of National Library Singapore.

My visit to the exhibition, The Legacy of Tan Kah Kee & Lee Kong Chian, has been very inspiring such that one single post on it would not do it justice.

As mentioned in my previous post on this exhibition, this exhibition highlights the contributions of two of Singapore’s most successful entrepreneurs and millionaires, Tan Kah Kee (1874 - 1961) and Lee Kong Chian (1891 - 1967).

Above: Gallery 2. Photo courtesy of National Library Singapore.

Other than Gallery 1 and 2, I would recommend that visitors should not miss Gallery 4 of the exhibition. Gallery 4 is titled "Leaving a Strong Legacy". This gallery may seem simple in its design, yet a careful observer would soon realise that this very gallery has been very creatively thought out. It is so creatively thought out that visitors to this gallery will be inspired to reflect and ponder how they themselves can leave behind a legacy for their future generations even if they are humble, ordinary folks who may not have great wealth.

Above: Gallery 4. Photo courtesy of National Library Singapore.

The exhibition panels that you see in the photo right above challenges us visitors to think about what we can do for the society. Some of us may mistakenly think that one must have lots of money, lots of free time and/or a special talent before we can contribute to the society. This gallery proves that all these are not necessary. Everyone can contribute something to the society, even if he or she does not have lots of money, free time and/or talent. The way that we can contribute can come in many forms depending on our skills and resources.

Photo courtesy of National Library Singapore.

Visitors to Gallery 4 can also listen to audio recordings of people or representatives from organisations who have benefited from the legacy left behind by Tan Kah Kee and Lee Kong Chian. I have found it a peaceful and insightful experience to sit on the seats provided to listen to the audio recordings. Somehow, the curator has very thoughtfully provided fairly large spaces in Gallery 4. Somehow, the large spaces provided the ambience that facilitate me to do some reflection.

The lifespans of Tan Kah Kee and Lee Kong Chian were like any average person. However, the legacy that they have left behind, thanks to their farsighted vision and selfless drive, have helped built a better world for their fellow men, and more importantly, the impact of their legacy extends way beyond their own lifetime.

I believe that the objectives of the exhibition is certainly not just to disseminate mere information on these two pioneers and exemplary personalities. My sense is that the organisers hope that the exhibition would prompt us visitors to start to think about how we ourselves, no matter how ordinary we are, can contribute to the society. What legacy can we leave behind?

Anyway, after her visit to the exhibition, my friend who accompanied me, shared that perhaps her visit to the exhibition was a calling by a higher order to inspire her to contribute to the society.

Perhaps everything starts from a decision: The decision to make a difference, and to contribute.

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The Legacy of Tan Kah Kee and Lee Kong Chian, “承前启后 继往开来：陈嘉庚与李光前” is held from 18 Jul to 31 Dec 2008, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Closed on public holidays).

Exhibition website: http://www.thelegacy.nl.sg

Venue: Level 10, National Library,
100 Victoria Street
Singapore 188064

Free admission.

Organisers : National Library Singapore, Tan Kah Kee Foundation.

Acknowledgements:
My heartfelt appreciation to the National Library Singapore, for granting me the permission to use the photographs published in this post.

Many thanks to the Friends of Yesterday.sg who have given me the support to facilitate my writing of this post.

Deeply moved by "The Legacy of Tan Kah Kee & Lee Kong Chian"

Photo courtesy of National Library Singapore.

I have heard about the exhibition, The Legacy of Tan Kah Kee & Lee Kong Chian, many months ago and had wanted to check it out. Was it the fast pace of city life or the heavy demands of work? I had shelved aside my plans to visit the exhibition for as long as four months!

I am glad that I have finally managed to go for this exhibition eventually, on 8 November 2008, with one of my good friends. It is an exhibition that has made me feel deeply moved and inspired.

In essence, this exhibition highlights the contributions of two of Singapore’s most successful entrepreneurs and millionaires, Tan Kah Kee (1874 - 1961) and Lee Kong Chian (1891 - 1967). The exhibition is divided into four main sections: Entrepreneurs, Promoters of Education, Community Leaders and Leaving a Strong Legacy.

My favourite section of the exhibition was Promoters of Education. As for my accompanying friend, her favourite section was Leaving a Strong Legacy.

Photo courtesy of National Library Singapore.

The lay-out of Gallery 2, Promoters of Education, is very thoughtfully designed. Initiailly, visitors who step into Gallery 2 may think that they have stepped into an old classroom. I simply love the wooden tables and chairs that are found in Gallery 2. They brought back much positive feelings of nostalgia in me.

When I was a Secondary Two student about slightly more than a decade ago, I had felt very privileged to be using one of those wooden tables and chairs that are shown in the photo right above. Back then, my class was the only class in the entire cohort to use wooden tables and chairs when everyone else in the cohort were using the light-weight plastic chairs and tables. Simply looking at wooden tables and chairs of that kind of design would trigger a fond sense of nostalgia in me. It was not the tables and chairs that count, it was the fond memories of having spent meaningful days in a unique classroom that happened to have wooden tables and chairs.

Back to the exhibition. Visitors to Gallery 2 of this exhibition are likely to delight themselves when they lift up the top cover of each of the wooden table. Inside each table, one would find interesting exhibits that lend visitors some insights to the common classroom objects from the past.

Photo courtesy of National Library Singapore.

Being a visual learner myself, I particularly like the three videos that were being screened at Gallery 2. They lent me glimpses to the worldview of these two exemplary philanthropists, Tan Kah Kee and Lee Kong Chian. I spent quite some time just sitting on one of the wooden chairs in Gallery 2 so that I could watch all the three videos. I was not the only one who did that. I saw a few other visitors who sat through to watch all the three videos. This section is worth one's time.

One quote by Tan Kah Kee has left a deep impression in my mind. It goes, "I must have economic foundations before I can contribute to the society."

The quote left me to ponder: What motivations and visions did these two philanthropists have that drive them to work towards securing economic success so that they could contribute selflessly, devotely and generously to the society?

With this thought in mind, it became very natural that I went back to Gallery 1 to take a closer read about Tan Kah Kee and Lee Kong Chian as entrepreneurs. I believe that they became successful in their businesses not by sheer luck, but because of their positive attitude, strong positive values and their perserverance.

At this exhibition, I read this powerful quote by Tan Kah Kee which I think is worth sharing. It goes: "Treat people with sincerity. Do things with perseverance."

Photo courtesy of National Library Singapore.

There are a lot of inspirations that one can draw from this exhibition and from these two exemplary personalities. I am so inspired that I shall write another blog post on this exhibition soon. Meantime, I would say that it is better late than never to check out The Legacy of Tan Kah Kee & Lee Kong Chian.

Courtesy of National Library Singapore.

The Legacy of Tan Kah Kee and Lee Kong Chian, “承前启后 继往开来：陈嘉庚与李光前” is held from 18 Jul to 31 Dec 2008, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Closed on public holidays).

Exhibition website: http://www.thelegacy.nl.sg

Venue: Level 10, National Library,
100 Victoria Street
Singapore 188064

Free admission.

Organisers : National Library Singapore, Tan Kah Kee Foundation.



Acknowledgements:
My heartfelt appreciation to the National Library Singapore, for granting me the permission to use the photographs published in this post.

Many thanks to the Friends of Yesterday.sg who have given me the support to facilitate my writing of this post.

FOYers Gathering on 31 Oct 2008

31 Oct 2008 happened to be Halloween but Halloween has no significance for me. I do not celebrate it anyway. Yet, 31 Oct 2008 was a meaningful day because that evening, Friends of Yesterday.sg met at 8Q sam.

I was looking at the archives of Yesterday.sg and found that the earliest post in the archives date back as early as 3 Aug 2005. It was Love Me Love Me Not at the Singapore History Museum posted by Shaun Wong. It's rather commendable that Yesterday.sg has come so far.

Compared to the Singapore Art Museum building along Bras Basah Road, 8Q sam is a comparatively unfamiliar place to me. I've only managed to find out that the four-storey building that 8Q sam occupies was formerly the primary wing of the Catholic High School.

I took the first photo found on this post (see above) at least an hour before the gathering started. If I am not wrong, the white building in the foreground was formerly the secondary wing of the Catholic High School? Look further into the background, and you would see a building in shades of orange and red. That's the 8Q sam building.

To be very honest, I have no particular memory of the 8Q sam building. Even though I used to frequent the Bras Basah and Waterloo Street area very often, the building had only struck me as an unfamiliar building. After it was recently converted to Singapore Art Museum's new wing for contemporary art did I realised that it was formerly the primary wing of the Catholic High School. As such, I shall point readers to a few online articles which may help you better appreciate the building's past:

- 8Q sam - formerly Catholic High Primary School by ordinary guy
- Queen Street, By Thulaja, Naidu Ratnala written on 2003-03-29, National Library Board Singapore.




Back to the gathering, it was held from 7.30 p.m. at Octo Room of the 8Q sam building. As I usually have dinner much earlier in the evening, by the time I was at the gathering, I was already full from a light dinner. No matter how appetizing the food was, I have only room to sample some of the food. The food was good. Anyway, I simply have to have my dinner early else I fear I may get gastric problems eventually.

Sweet tiramisu. Photo credit: acroamatic

Pizza. Photo credit: acroamatic

I have the pleasure to meet a few of the Friends of Yesterday.sg for the very first time. Budak seemed to be fairly interested in contemporary arts, and he was recommending that I could check out Donna Ong's The Caretaker. While striking a conversation with Budak, I realised that I had caught a glimpse of The Caretaker a few weeks ago. While it may seemed rather eerie at first, I had found myself gradually intrigued by its use of dim lighting and its subtle hint of a sinister mood.

There was quite some time to catch up with various Friends of Yesterday.sg. Admittedly, I was pretty excited about sharing concepts of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) with Ivan. It often excites me when I get to talk about topics that interest me, and MBTI is one of it. I spoke briefly with Preetam about Ang Mo Kio. I also had a chance to coax Modcentric and Homesafe to consider checking out the Singapore Biennale exhibition site at City Hall. I attempted to do so by sharing about my recent visit to City Hall. I hope that would get them excited to visit City Hall before it undergoes major conversion into the National Art Gallery.




The most formal part of the event was probably the presentation by Walter which he and his team had put together. There were quite a lot of interesting and constructive discussions going on.



And eventually, all good things will come to a closure, at least temporary. Nevertheless, it had been a fruitful gathering afterall.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8Q_SAM
http://www.singart.com/8qsam/about.html

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Related posts by other Friends of Yesterday.sg:
SAM 8Q: Latest NHB museum on the block by Ivan.
Friends of Yesterday.sg by otterman.