OPENING SPECIALS
Night Affair at the Museum (A Pasar Malam)
Savour the nostalgia of the 1960s and 1970s as the ambience of pasar malams from these decades are brought to life. Enjoy the sight, smell and taste of traditional and heritage food, and explore stalls hosting the various entertainment activities of yesteryear.
Family Affair at the Museum
(A Pasar Malam)
Savour the nostalgia of the 1960s and 1970s as the ambience of pasar malams from these decades are brought to life. Enjoy the sight, smell and taste of traditional and heritage food, and explore stalls hosting the various entertainment activities of yesteryear.
Community Performances
Your ticket to the wonderfully diverse cultural arts of Asia lies here. Local community arts groups and award-winning school groups take to the centre stage as they present Asian music and dance performances for your pleasure
Homemade 2007
The event that celebrates our local music is back! Homemade focuses on Singapore’s musical talents and pays tribute to the movers and shakers of the local scene.
EXHIBITIONS & INSTALLATIONS
Empire of Nature
The William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings donated by GK Goh
Enter the world of nature, history and art through a unique collection of natural history drawings. Donated by GK Goh in 1996, Empire of Nature - The William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings is prized as one of the eleven national treasures of the Museum.
The Prince of Gowns
A selection of Benny Ong’s works from 1988 – 1989
This exhibition unveils for the first time in Singapore, ten evening dresses by Benny Ong, a well-known local fashion designer who established himself in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States from 1970s to 1990s.
Public Power
Audience participation wanted — put yourself on display and get in touch with the hidden artist in you.
Twardzik Ching Chor Leng's fifth public installation in Singapore is an interactive work that features colourful mobile magnetic rods
A Day Without A Tree
What would the world look like to us without the trees, plants and greenery that we are so used to? Yeo Chee Kiong builds on the theme of “forest” to give us an inside-out view of nature in the world we live in today.
PERFORMING HISTORY
120
A new production by TheatreWorks / Ong Keng Sen (Singapore)
Twenty of your favourite local artistes, including Hossan Leong, Irene Ang and Kumar will be your personal guide to all the untold stories from the 120 years of the Museum. The entire Museum becomes one giant stage in this visually stunning interactive performance.
Ibrahim Quraishi’s 5 Streams (USA/France/India/Pakistan/Netherlands)
Contemporary dance meets traditional Kathak performance alongside video streaming, soaring vocals and live percussion. An immersive and beautiful encounter with the Hindu and Islamic mythologies of South Asia
Tony Prabowo in Concert (Indonesia)
One of the luminaries of new music from Asia, Tony Prabowo creates astonishing new sounds from traditional Indonesian instruments, while resisting the cliques of ‘world music’. Highlights include Pastoral, a piece for two sopranos and string quartet, featuring the Momenta String Quartet.
5 Pieces
New Dance in Indonesia (Indonesia)
Distinctively Southeast Asian, thoroughly international. Exciting new works from five of Indonesia’s most innovative choreographers assert the cultural distinctiveness of the contemporary dance that is being created in the region. Featuring works by Hartati, Hanny Herlina, Indra Zubir, Jecko Siompo and Eko Supriyanto.
Fight Club — A Chorus
A Massive Theater Choreography for 48 Performers
diskodanny.com (Singapore)
post theater [new york/berlin/tokyo]
Inspired by the book and movie Fight Club, the faceless corporate every man/woman gets one minute of fame on stage in this thrilling live art performance that celebrates the unsung workers of Singapore.
SCREENING HISTORY
Under The Banyan Tree: Open Air Cinema
Celebrate the romance and magic of cinema in the outdoors with Under The Banyan Tree - free screenings in September and October at the National Museum of Singapore.
Catch beloved classics with your family and friends in a refreshing open-air setting. Come early with your picnic mats and stand a chance to win attractive prizes in our movie trivia contests.
World Cinema Series
World Cinema Series is a monthly screening of works by the boldest and most inventive auteurs in the history of cinema. This series charts both the significant and less discovered territories of cinema — from the early silent-era to underground films and new wave film movements around the world, by some of the greatest mavericks and artists of film.
The Periphery Strikes Back
The Periphery Strikes Back is the National Museum’s 120th Anniversary film programme which highlights the relationship between colonialism and the formation of museums. The programme also examines the different ways which the East and West view and influence each other through the medium of film.
Young Cinema
Discover the hopes and aspirations of young people from all walks of life around the world. Be inspired and entertained by thought-provoking stories as we bring you a selection of some of the best short films made for children and teenagers.
SPICE THEMED PROGRAMMES
Spice Themed Programmes
William Farquhar’s legacy of natural history illustrations are the inspiration for these integrated programmes, which are planned around the theme of herbs and spices as featured in this former British Resident’s drawings.
Beyond the Singapore Sling
Creating Cocktails with Local Herbs and Spices
Fancy yourself a bit of an amateur bartender? Join the “King of Cocktails”, Damian Sim, as he introduces herbs and spices featured in the Empire of Nature – The William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings donated by GK Goh exhibition, and shows you how you can incorporate some of them into creative cocktails.
Discovering Local Herbs and Spices
A Mortar and Pestle Master Class
Do you sometimes find it confusing trying to identify local spices and herbs at the wet market or supermarket? Can you tell if a stalk of lemongrass is past its prime? Do you know how to differentiate between curry leaves and laksa leaves?
The Fort Canning Spice Trail
Journey back to the 19th century and explore the fascinating world of nature, history and art! A replica of the experimental garden set up by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, The Fort Canning Spice Trail brings you into a world of spices as you stroll along the original grounds of the first Botanic Gardens in Singapore. See, smell and touch a living collection of herbs and spices.
LECTURES & WORKSHOPS
The Past in the Present: Histories in the Making
This forum is organised as part of the Museum’s 120th Anniversary programme which takes place in the present context where history is poised to capture the popular imagination.
Samba Singapura! – Beats and Percussion
Like a dash of Samba in your life? Join Wicked Aura Batucada in this intensive one day percussion workshop which is designed to get participants acquainted with Brazilian-based samba music.
Museum Toddlers
First in Singapore, the National Museum of Singapore’s Museum Toddlers programme provides a play-based learning experience for children aged 18 to 36 months.
Sensual Botanicals and the Food of Love
A programme of The Singapore Sun Festival
Excite your senses, literally. Start with a curatorial tour of the William Farquhar exhibition before learning about aromatherapy, with a focus on aromatherapy oils that serve as aphrodisiacs and affect the senses. To end off the programme, satiate your taste buds with a Food of Love brunch at Novus restaurant.
A Talk About Two Geniuses:
Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene By Norman Sherry
This lecture is organised as part of the museum’s platform to discuss the presentation and popularity of history. Audiences today can find history represented in various forms such as academic publications, museum exhibits, novels, films, and musicals. Professor Sherry brings together history and literature in this special lecture about his research and writing about two famous novelists – Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene.