Inventions and Innovation. Singapore Night Festival 2016

One of the installations of Singapore Night Festival 2016.

#showerthoughts. National Design Centre.

Image Credit: Photo used with permission from Belinda Tan.

©Belinda Tan

How will science fiction and fantasy intertwine to engage visitors over the upcoming two weekends of a lively and spectacular Singapore Night Festival 2016?

This year's Singapore Night Festival sets to inspire with its theme of 'Inventions and Innovation'. Guests to the Singapore Night Festival could find themselves catching glimpses into the minds and souls of inventors and innovators. This year's night festival employs a number of elements of science and technology weaved with fantasy.

What could we look forward to for this year's night festival especially on the first weekend?

The light art installations of the Singapore Night Festival have been popular with most festival-goers. My humble suggestion for people who likes to stay away from the crowd to consider enjoying the following light art installations on weekdays nights, outside the night festival's official hours.

KEYFRAMES.

KEYFRAMES
Group Laps
19 Aug to 27 Aug 2016
7.30 p.m. - 11.00 p.m. (Sun - Thu), 7.30 p.m. - 2.00 a.m. (Fri and Sat)
National Museum of Singapore, Facade.
Free admission

KEYFRAMES by Groupe Laps (from France) will narrate a series of urban micro-stories through the use of part animation and part moving sculpture. Catch the LED-lights figures and their routine of movements imbue energy and excitement to the building of the National Museum of Singapore.

Could this installation bring glimmers of the past to life? This installation will be a source of nostalgia for anyone who grew up playing games such as Stick Man.

Journey. Singapore Art Museum.

JOURNEY
Soundtrack by Ed Carter
NOVAK 
19, 20, 26, 27 Aug 2016, 7.30 p.m. - 2.00 a.m. 
21 - 25 Aug 2016, 7.30 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Front Lawn

This dynamic projection-mapping performance is inspired by the world of Victorian novelist Jules Verne, known for his creation of a world reflecting the future of Victorian invention and fantasy. A magical adventure shall begin.

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There will be a number of noteworthy performances to check out too:

The Wheel House.

Image Credit: Photo used with permission from Belinda Tan.

©Belinda Tan

The Wheel House.

THE WHEEL HOUSE
Acrojou 
19 and 20 Aug 2016
8.00 p.m. - 8.25 p.m., 9.25 p.m. - 9.50 p.m., 10.50 p.m. - 11.15 p.m.
National Museum of Singapore, Mainground
Free admission

Acrojou (from United Kingdoms) will present The Wheel House. Described as a 'tender, post-apocalyptic story", The Wheel House is a unique, rolling acrobatic theatre show. Watch this show unfold inside and around the stunning circular home. This show is essentially about friendship.

This show will work wonders when presented in an intimate space with restricted number of members of the audience. I wonder what magic it will reveal when it is presented at the Singapore Night Festival to a large mass of festival goers? Perhaps there will be live screen projections of the show?

Les Aquamens
Photo Credits: Singapore Night Festival 2016.

LES AQUAMENS 
Machtiern Company (from France)
19 Aug and 20 Aug 2016
8.00 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.: National Museum of Singapore to School of the Arts to Singapore Art Museum
9.30 p.m. - 10.00 p.m.: Festival Village at Singapore Management University
11.00 p.m. - 11.30 p.m.
Various locations
Free admission

For the poetic audience who are open to some level of absurdity, Les Aquamens by Machtiern Company may appeal. Their performances seek to ask the fundamental question: How do we connect with each other when barriers are up?

The Story Box
Photo Credits: Singapore Night Festival 2016.

THE STORY BOX
Dandypunk
19 and 20 Aug 2016
8.30 p.m. - 8.40 p.m., 10.00 p.m. - 10.10 p.m., 11.15 p.m. - 11.25 p.m.
National Museum of Singapore, Gallery 10
Free admission

A projection-mapped live performance, The Story Box takes its audience to an animated universe of unexpected adventures. Watch DandyPunk interact with a Pandora's box of creatures, characters and light in a novel synthesis of live performance and projected animations.


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Photo Credits: Singapore Night Festival 2016.

Han Sai Por Secret Landscapes
19 and 20 Aug 2016, 26 and 27 Aug 2016
11.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.
The Private Museum, 51 Waterloo Street
Free Admission

This would be my personal pick that is located away from the key highlights of the Singapore Night Festival. I personal think that Han Sai Por is one of Singapore's leading sculptors to take notice of. The highlights of this exhibition include the artistic interpretations of various geographical visits.

:Samara
Image Credit: Photo used with permission from Belinda Tan.
©Belinda Tan

:Samara
Max Pagel and Jonathan Hwang
Armenian Church
19, 20, 26 and 27 Aug 2016
7.30 p.m. - 2 a.m.
21 - 25 Aug 2016, 7.30 p.m. - 11 p.m.

For more light art installations, consider making a trip to the Armenian Church. A reflective installation that reflects on the duality of progress and sacrifice. What regrets do we have in accepting the price of progress. A poetic installation for the reflective souls. This is one of my favourite installations this year!

#showerthoughts

#showerthoughts
LifeWerkz 
19, 20 26, 27 Aug 2016, 7.30 p.m. - 2 a.m.
21 - 25 Aug 2016, 7.30 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Level 1, Design Gallery 1, National Design Centre
Free Admission

Nearby The Private Museum is the National Design Centre. This installation is immersive and invites visitors to relax as if in a shower. Patience will be required. A queue to enter the spaces of this installation a few people at a time will be expected. For myself, the experience was worth waiting for. Date a friend or two and go on a weekday night. This could be a strategy to reduce the time spent to queue.

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During the festival, please remember to nourish our physical bodies with artisan culinary delights at the Festival Village. There are 30 flea market and food and beverage stalls this year. Chill and dine at the Singapore Night Festival 2016!

My Little Spanish Place will be presenting Spanish cuisine at the Festival Village.

Sh-nack Don. Savoury food and sweet delights from The Fish Shnack.

Spinacas will be serving meaty fries and deviled eggs at the Singapore Night Festival 2016.
Photo credits: Spinacas

Festival Village: Eat and Shop
Singapore Management University Campus Green and University Square
19. 20, 26, 27 August 2016
6 p.m. - 1 a.m.


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For a memento to take home or give as a gift, the Singapore Night Festival Collector's Edition ez-link card is a practical and special item to consider. Collectors of this card stand to win attractive prizes. The top prize is a two-night weekend staycation package at Grand Hyatt worth over $2000.

Look out too for the Tap to Donate wall installation at the Platform, Level 2 of the National Museum of Singapore. By tapping any ez-link card, you will be making a donation of $2 towards the funding for Singapore Night Festival 2017. You will also be given a LEGO brick to add on to the wall installation of LEGO Bricks by Singapore artist, Xylvie Huang.

This installation combines art and technology in a fund-raising initiative. Everyone who taps an ez-link card at this installation will be one of the benefactors for next year's Singapore Night Festival!

In conclusion, my personal experience of the first weekend of this year's Singapore Night Festival is that it seemed more reflective. To find out more, please visit the official website: http://nightfest.sg

Singapore Night Festival's Collector's Edition ez-link card.
Available from 15 to 27 Aug 2016 at the Visitor Services counter at the National Museum of Singapore.

Image Credit: Photo used with permission from Belinda Tan.

©Belinda Tan

Singapore Night Festival 2016
19 and 20 August 2016, Fri and Sat
26 and 27 Aug 2016, Fri and Sat
Bras Basah Bugis
Free Admission
7.30 p.m. to 2.00 a.m.
http://nightfest.sg

Cheongsam and the changing roles of Singapore women

In the Mood for Cheongsam: Modernity and Singapore Women is one of the latest exhibitions at the National Museum of Singapore. Through the display of various cheongsam, visitors can learn about the changing social roles of Singapore women from the turn of the 20th century to present day.

From this exhibition, I learnt that the origins of modern cheongsam can be traced back to 1920s, China. I have also caught a glimpse of how a cheongsam is being made from one of the video presentations. It was interesting to gain an appreciation of how the design of cheongsam has changed over time.

At this exhibition, I have the privilege to view a number of cheongsam which belonged to the wives of Singapore's political leaders of yesterday, including Mrs Benjamin Sheares, Mrs Wee Kim Wee and the late Mrs Lee Kuan Yew.

There were a few other cheongsam worn by other famous personalities that were on display at this exhibition. I was rather intrigued by the cheongsam that was worn by Elizabeth Choy, a war-time heroine. She wore that cheongsam to attend Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation.

Cheongsam is not a regular item in my wardrobe. Yet, I have to confess that this exhibition has nudged me to wonder if the design of the school uniform that I have worn as a Secondary School student could have been inspired by the cheongsam.

For visitors who would like some fun and tactile engagement, there is an interactive space just outside the exhibition gallery of this exhibition. Visitors can create their own fabric patterns and also be introduced to various fabrics used in making cheongsam.

Even though this is a rather modest scale exhibition, it is worth a visit especially if you are visiting the National Museum of Singapore, or have an interest in cheongsam.

In the Mood for Cheongsam: Modernity and Singapore Women
From 28 Mar - 27 Jun 2012, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Exhibition Gallery 1, Basement
National Museum of Singapore
93 Stamford Road
Singapore 178897

Visitors' information: http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/Page.aspx?id=89

The Terracotta Warriors are in Singapore

This post is dedicated to page owners and fans of I Love Museums.

There is an noteworthy exhibition in Singapore. It is the first exhibition of actual terracotta warriors to be held in Singapore. These terracotta artefacts were buried near the tomb of the First Emperor of China.

In this exhibition, one can also look forward to appreciating bronze and jade items from the Qin state before the time of the First Emperor, Shi Huangdi. In addition, visitors could also view burial objects from the Han dynasty.

A replica of the bronze chariot discovered on the west side of the First Emperor's tomb.
The original chariots are  too fragile to travel.

This is a terracotta of a kneeling archer from the Qin dynasty. I learnt from this exhibition that archery was one of the 'six noble arts' as well as a basic skill that was required of all soldiers during the Qin dynasty.

Upper shelf, from left to right: Washer (yi), Kettle (he).
Lower shelf: Chu-styled vessel (ding), Steamer (yan).

A glimpse of the exhibition hall.

Painted earthenware depicting soldiers with shields from Western Han dynasty.

Compared to the terracotta warriors from the Qin dynasty, the burial objects from the Han dynasty was  more modest in size and in its design.

I sensed an obsession with the afterlife during my visit to this exhibition. The exhibition has also given me a glimpse of the culture of the Qin people. There are exhibition panels printed in both English and Chinese. Somehow, I felt somewhat compelled to brush up on my command of Mandarin and knowledge of Chinese history after visiting this exhibition. There is so much depth to the Chinese culture and history that I have yet to learn!

Due to time constraints, I could only have a one-hour quick tour of this exhibition. I shall make time to visit this exhibition again, and to attend one of the guided tours. I have always found the guided tours given by the docents to be enriching.


Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor and His Legacy
24 Jun 2011 - 16 Oct 2011
At the Special Exhibitions Gallery, ACM Empress Place
Opening hours: Mon: 1 p.m. - 7 p.m., Tue - Sun: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. (to 9 p.m. on Fridays)

Information on the admission charges is available here: http://www.acm.org.sg/visitor_info/admission_charges.asp

Back to the time of WWII Singapore

I went for the bus tour entitled War on Wheels, Invasion Singapore! during the weekend. This event gets its participants to discover more about Singapore's World War II history.

It was worth the effort to be out early in the morning on a weekend. The bus tour brought the tour group to several important sites to better appreciate the significant events that had taken place when Singapore was invaded by the Japanese military in 1942. It also gave us a glimpse of the civilians' experience of the Japanese occupation and the end of the occupation.

What I particular like was how the tour guide invited the participants to imagine that we were back in time. On the bus, the tour guide shared anecdotes to help the participants to imagine how it was like during the years 1942 - 1945.

So when the bus brought us participants to the Kranji park which used to be mangrove swamps back in Feb 1942, it was not too difficult to imagine that on 8 Feb 1942, soldiers from the Japanese military had advanced across the Straits of Johor and landed on the main island of Singapore using make-shift boats etc. I realised that the Straits of Johor was a comparatively shallow and narrow body of water. Furthermore, the tides at the Kranji landing sites weren't very strong. What this meant for me was that even when the Causeway was destroyed back then, it was not too much a great challenge for the Japanese to attack and land on Singapore once they have reached the southern tip of the then-Malaya.

If I were a military historian, I think there would be a lot of learning points just by reading the strategies that the British had used to defend Singapore, and the strategies that the Japanese had used to attack Singapore more than six decades ago. At the very least I have learnt from this part of history that one should never underestimate one's enemies when planning one's strategies.

The second stop was the Kranji War Memorial. The memorial was built and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. "The Kranji War Memorial commemorates the contributions of 24,000 soldiers of the allied forces who died during World War II" (source: http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_183_2004-12-27.html). Participants were invited to a simple activity as an act of remembrance to those who have laid their lives during the war. I shall not attempt to reveal much about the activity here since I figured that some may decide to attend this tour during one of the next two Saturdays. 

Having a memorial built for those who have died during the war may bring some comfort to their loved ones and off-springs. On the other hand, the rows of graves and names on the memorial walls reminded me of one thing: War itself has neither eyes nor compassion, even if countless were to die in the name of war.

I wish for peace to prevail.

The boardroom. In this boardroom, the British surrendered Singapore to the Japanese on 15 Feb 1942.

The third stop was the Memories at Old Ford Factory. This was where the British had surrendered Singapore to the Japanese. As the bus tour was meant to be a sampler of the various key sites, the participants only had about 15 minutes at the museum. Nevertheless, I had a glimpse of the chamber where the surrender had taken place, and I had some time to read about what had taken place during the surrender. The process that had taken place during the surrender just seemed like a psychological game to me.

At the Memories at Old Ford Factory, there were two short activities that the participants were invited to take part in. During the tour, we also got to see a real "banana money", the official currency that was used during the Japanese Occupation. Well, it reminded me that there are many things that money cannot buy.

Following the stop at the Memories at Old Ford Factory, the bus brought us for a short ride of Alexandra Hospital. This hospital used to serve as a military hospital. On 14 Feb 1942, what I see as a series of atrocious war crimes had taken place here.

Reflections at Bukit Chandu.

After lunch, the bus brought participants to the Reflections at Bukit Chandu. Here, participants learnt about the bravery of the Malay Regiment. I have visited this museum for several times and I can't help but feel a deep sense of respect for the soldiers of the Malay Regiment who have put up their very best to fight a good battle.

Photo taken at Surrender Chambers of Fort Siloso, Sentosa. The actual surrender took place at City Hall.

The tour concluded at City Hall. It was at City Hall, the then Municipal Building of Singapore, where the surrender of the Japanese had taken place. I was imagining that even when everyone cheered for the end of the war, life for people in Singapore would not be quite the same after a war. Nevertheless, the end of the war definitely called for a celebration.

If you should find my short write-up about this bus tour to be interesting, you may wish to know that you can register for this event War on Wheels by visiting SISTIC. There will be bus tours on 21 and 28 Nov 2009 (Saturdays). Please see this site for more information:  http://www.museums.com.sg/es09/war-on-wheels.html