Maybank_1920x1080 banner
Maybank_1920x1080 banner
02 May 2023 - 06 Aug 2023
LED Wall

From food to performing arts, Southeast Asia’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is an important link to our past and intrinsic to our rich cultural identity. To pay homage to the time-honoured traditions and living expressions that define and connect us across the region, the National Museum of Singapore and the Maybank Foundation will be presenting a series of four original video artworks on the Museum’s LED Wall that showcase creative contemporary responses to the theme of intangible cultural heritage (ICH).

Titled Spinning Connections: Creative Takes on Intangible Cultural Heritage, the commissioned artworks were selected from entries submitted through an Open Call exercise held between April to May last year, to foster collaboration with the artistic community to engage audiences on important contemporary issues. Each artwork highlights an aspect of ICH, namely food, dance, martial arts and storytelling, while drawing connections to the National Museum’s collection. The artworks bring contemporary resonance to the past and invite visitors to understand the present in different ways.

While ICH evolves over generations, it is also facing contemporary challenges such as rapidly changing lifestyles. These videos utilise a mix of artistic styles to inspire reflections on the enduring importance and relevance of ICH today. The four video artworks are:

Gestures

  • Gestures of One by Biome Entertainment that explores Singaporean cultural heritage and its global outreach through cinematic language. Referencing Chinese, Malay and Indian dance forms as an act of communication, dialogue and interaction with one another and the space, this artwork is suggestive of an interconnected heritage and seeks to welcome audiences into a dream-like experience of what unites us, with the intention to inspire harmony, solidarity and hope.

reunion

 

  • Highlighting the importance of food as the universal ‘language’ embraced by all,Addpetizer’s Re(union) surveys the ways in which rice is used as a central ingredient across a selection of local and regional dishes. The unifying quality of the humble crop symbolises the coming together of cultures through food heritage, giving rise to a variety of dishes that form part of Singapore’s hawker and food heritage.

kilat

 

  • Kilat Kan Silat by Paradise Pictures is driven by the desire to celebrate and bring awareness to the power and beauty of the martial art Silat Tua, which has deep roots in the culture and traditions of Southeast Asia. Inspired by the etymology of the word ‘kilat’, which could be variously read as ‘lightning’, ‘bright’ or ‘shining’, the film showcases Silat Tua as a contemporary art form and endeavours to bring the practice into the spotlight, to inspire others to appreciate and celebrate the cultural richness of Singapore and the Nusantara region.

1914-Madu-Key Visual0306_Still2 


  • Meaning ‘honey' in Malay, Madu by Studio 1914 is a retelling of a fairytale from traditional Southeast Asian honey hunters, which attempts to rejuvenate our connection between our cultural heritage and nature by uncovering living linkages. The synthesised images of Madu were developed by training an artificial intelligence (AI) model on selected datasets from the National Museum of Singapore’s William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings.

Presented by

An institution of

Supported by

Family Time

Visit our permanent galleries with your little ones and play spot-the-artefact! Our colourful Early Learning Resources introduce pre-schoolers to our artefacts according to the themes of Numbers, Colours, and ABCs. Available at $8 per set from the Museum Label shop. For more children's activity booklets, click here.

Museum guide

Download our museum guide (English, Chinese, Bahasa Melayu, Tamil) to find out about the many treasures in our various galleries. In this guide, you will also find the floor plan for easier navigation. Enjoy your visit!

You may also like

CS23-Thumbnail
Programme 27 MAY 2023 - 25 JUN 2023

Children's Season 2023

Satisfy your appetite for fun and enjoyable moments at the National Museum this June holidays, with Get Curious: All About Food!

Various Locations, Various Timings
Varies with Programmes
Thumbnail
Exhibition 27 MAY 2023 - 19 NOV 2023

Now Boarding: Experiencing Singapore through Travel, 1800s – 2000s

Hop aboard the National Museum of Singapore’s ‘flight’ to discover Singapore through a travel-themed exhibition that traces the evolution of Singapore’s identity as a popular travel destination, through the eyes of those who arrived at our shores from the past to the present.

Exhibition Gallery, Basement, 10am to 7pm daily (last admission at 6.30pm)
Free for Singaporeans and PRs. Tickets will be on sale from 22 May onwards.
Maybank_thumbnail
Exhibition 02 MAY 2023 - 06 AUG 2023

Spinning Connections

From food to performing arts, Southeast Asia’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is an important link to our past and intrinsic to our rich cultural identity. To pay homage to the time-honoured traditions and living expressions that define and connect us across the region, the National Museum of Singapore and the Maybank Foundation will be presenting a series of four original video artworks on the Museum’s LED Wall that showcase creative contemporary responses to the theme of intangible cultural heritage (ICH).

LED Wall
Curator Tour
Programme 21 APR 2023 - 29 OCT 2023

Semangat yang Baru Programmes

Explore the new spirit of Singapore, past and present, and take part in conversations that will help shape the Founder's Memorial!

Various locations, Various timings
Please see programme information for more details