The blockbuster Masterpieces
from the Guggenheim Museum,
featuring 58 masterpieces, attracted
55,000 visitors to SAM. This was
then the most popular visual art
exhibition in Singapore.
Historic Sites Unit was established
on 1 October 1996 to plan, co-ordinate
and implement the marking of sites
of historical significance in
Singapore.
One of the highlights of SHM,
Rumah Baba: Life in a Peranakan
House, was organised in
conjunction with the annual Peranakan
Fair. It received tremendous response
from the public.
The first exhibition of the community
series, The Winding Road
Beckons: The Story of the Hokkiens
in Singapore, was organised.
This was followed in later years
by similar exhibitions on the
Jewish, Teochew and other communities.
Founding of Museum Roundtable
(MR) which looks at developing
a stronger museum-going culture
in Singapore. Today, the group
has 46 member museums which attract
more than 4.3 million visitors
annually.
The South East Asia Pacific Audio
Visual Archive Association (SEAPAVAA)
the first and only regional
association devoted to the promotion
of audio visual archiving and
professional development of its
practitioners was founded
by NAS, together with its counterparts
from Australia and six ASEAN members.
NHBs first Benefactors
Dinner to show recognition and
appreciation for NHBs significant
benefactors, which later became
a biannual event.
Launch of the first organised
mass heritage trail for the Preservation
of Monuments Board (PMB).
Leonardo da Vinci: Scientist,
Inventor, Artist, a blockbuster
exhibition featuring 270 exhibits,
was held at SAM and attracted
nearly 70,000 visitors.
Museum RoundTable members came
together to organise a week of
activities to commemorate International
Museum Day this became
the forerunner of the MuseumFest.
For the first time, the whalebone
which used to be hung within the
National Museum was brought back
during the exhibition Changing
Images: 111 Years of the National
Museum.
The Singapore Productivity and
Standards Board, now SPRING Singapore,
awarded NAS with the Standards
Council Distinguished Award for
developing a set of standards
for preservation, microfilming
and quality control.
Origins of Modern Art in
France, a blockbuster at
SAM supported by the French Embassy
and many French cultural institutions,
attracted 70,000 visitors who
viewed 70 major works from 30
French museums.
The exhibition Everest:
Singapore at the Summit,
officially launched at Singapore
History Museum (SHM) by the late
President Ong Teng Cheong, was
the first time an exhibition was
held in Singapore to commemorate
a national achievement.
Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew
received, on behalf of SAM, Henry
Moores Moon Head
the only Asian museum recipient
of the Sara Lee Millennium Gift.
This was later featured in the
blockbuster Monet to Moore:
The Millennium Gift of Sara Lee
Corporation at Singapore
Art Museum (SAM), which also featured
works from Picasso, Monet and
Gauguin.
The first MuseumFest was held
at Ngee Ann City in May 1999,
drawing more than 8,000 visitors
in one weekend.
NHB officially launched the first
permanently marked Heritage Trail
in Singapore - the Civic District
Trail - on 29 August 1999 as part
of NHB's Millennium Event.
Heritage Through Drama
Series, a collaboration
effort between NHB and ACT3, saw
its first drama Home Together
reaching out to more than 30,000
primary school students.
The first ever high-definition
three dimensional show The
Singapore Story: Overcoming the
Odds that was first shown
at Suntec City in 1998 became
a permanent exhibition at SHM.
The Singapore Philatelic Museum
(SPM) transferred from Infocomm
Development Authority of Singapore
to become a fully-owned subsidiary
of NHB on 1 April 2000.
NHBs mascots, Heri &
Musee, were officially launched
to make heritage more appealing
to younger Singaporeans.
Singapore Art Museum (SAM) presented
the blockbuster Unmasking
Vollard: His Legacy of the Avante-Garde
from the Leon Dierx Museum,
the first public presentation
of the collection of the foremost
20th century Parisian art promoter
and dealer Ambrose Vollard.
An MOU signed between National
Archives of Singapore (NAS) and
the State Archives Administration
of China marked its first formal
partnership with an overseas archival
institution in Asia. MOUs with
ASEAN nations followed.
Exquisite decorative arts masterpieces
by Carl Faberge, world famous
goldsmith and jeweller to the
Tsars of Russia, were displayed
at SAM in the blockbuster Fabulous
Faberge the first
time ever in Asia.
The first Heritage Festival ETHNIC
Diversity and Colourful MIX of
Cultures, organised to promote
the celebration and sharing of
heritage as a living history,
saw 150,000 participants.
Singapore Philatelic Museum (SPM)
hosted SINGPEX 2002 the
Singapore National Stamp Exhibition
- for the first time. Launched
by the then Senior Minister of
State for Education Mr Peter Chen,
it attracted 4,000 visitors over
four days.
79 artefacts by Rodin
perhaps the greatest 19th century
sculptor are displayed
for the first time in Asia at
the blockbuster Rodin: A
Magnificent Obsession which
attracted over 49,000 visitors
to SAM.
Reflections at Bukit Chandu (RBC),
a World War II Interpretative
Centre focusing on the last battle
of the Malay Regiment in Singapore,
was officially opened on 15 February
2002.
The 4th MuseumFest held in Suntec
City on 24 May 2002 saw a record
turnout of 180,000.
Treasures of Time - a bi-monthly
informative guide to Singapores
history was relaunched
with a new look and a new format.
This was distributed to schools
and sold at major bookstores and
news-stands to reach a wider audience.
NHB launched the following books:
History of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology in Singapore,
Faith of Our Forefathers:
The Religious Monuments of Singapore
and Singapores 100
Historic Places.
The collection of correspondence
from Thailands royal family
was exhibited in its entirety
for the first time in the world
at Singapore Philatelic Museum
(SPM), an event that was launched
by the Ambassador of Thailand
to Singapore.
The launch of Heritage
on the Move, a mobile heritage
experience housed in a converted
bus, allowed NHB to bring Singapores
heritage to schools as well as
community events.
National Archives of Singapore
(NAS) achieves ISO 9001:2000 certification
for two key operations
Archives Conservation Lab and
Image Preservation Lab.
This years Heritage Festival,
Seek, Explore, Discover
Roots! Rhythm! Blends!,
drew a record of over 230,000
participants who took part in
the week-long activities.
Education & Outreach (EDO)
assumed the Psychological Defence
portfolio from MITA.
The Singapore History Museum
was officially closed for extensive
redevelopment and will reopen
in 2006.
SHM also commissioned local film-maker
Roystan Tan to direct a 12-minute
short film, The Old Man and The
River. A poetic exposition of
an elderly man and his close links
with the Singapore River, the
film was screened at film festivals
in Sweden and Finland.
NHB's largest event, Singapore
HeritageFest was launched
in 2004 to raise awareness and
appreciation of our rich and multicultural
heritage. The event attracted
more than one million participants
in July 2007, and is into its
fourth year.
On 29 January, the boards
second permanently marked walking
Heritage Trail, the Singapore
River Trail, was launched by Minister
of State for Community Development,
Youth and Sports, Mr Chan Soo
Sen.
On 29 May, Senior Minister Mr
Goh Chok Tong launched NHBs
Singapore Family Tree portal (www.sft.com.sg)
at MCYS Gen3 Festival.
On 22 November 2005, NHB unveiled
its three-year workplan to build
a stronger museum-going culture
in Singapore.
Launch of Singapore's first heritage
and museums blog, www.yesterday.sg.
yesterday.sg covers a wide
range of heritage content to cater
to audiences from all walks of
life. Ranked 5th museum blog in
the world.
NHB organised International
Museum Day (IMD), a festival
that celebrates museums worldwide
on 18 May. Here in Singapore,
NHB extended the annual celebration
to a fortnight with exciting activities
and exhibitions at museums.
NHB together with publisher Editions
Didier Millet, published Singapore:
The Encyclopedia. One of the
most ambitious publishing projects
to be undertaken, the Encyclopedia
has more than 2,500 entries and
features 2,400 photos, maps and
illustrations, many of which are
published for the first time.
First print run sold out in under
three weeks.
On 7 December 2006, the refurbished
National Museum of Singapore was
officially opened by HE S R Nathan,
President of the Republic of Singapore
after three years of refurbishment.
At 120 years old, it is Singapore's
oldest museum with the youngest
and most innovative soul, and
redefines museum experiences through
cutting-edge ways of presenting
history.
2007
NHB launched four
new museum/heritage tour products
to make museums and heritage come
alive for both tourists and Singaporeans.
These tours provide new ways to
experience Singapore's vibrant
and unique heritage and culture.
NHB created its first children's
storybook showcasing museums.
Titled Sasha visits the Museums,
it featured the Asian Civilisations
Museum, Singapore Art Museum,
National Museum of Singapore,
and Singapore Philatelic Museum,
and highlights our national treasures.
2008
The Peranakan Museum
opens. Housed in the old Tao Nan
school on Armenian Street, this
boutique museum focuses on the
colourful history of the Peranakans
in Singapore, and will feature
one of the world's best collections
of Peranakan culture.
8Q sam was officially launched by RADM (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, on 15 August 2008. Housed in the former Catholic High School at 8 Queen Street, the museum features the growing contemporary art collection of the Singapore Art Museum.