Making Visible During a Pandemic
16 Oct | 3 – 4pm
Livestream on NMS Facebook Page

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the inequalities in Singapore, especially the experiences of migrant workers and the elderly who live alone. Amid the hardship, there were also moments of solidarity and grit. Many community and ground-up initiatives were organised to help the vulnerable groups weather through this public health crisis.

Join us on this livestream programme with photographer, Edwin Koo, and filmmakers Dave Lim and Adar Ng who will share their experiences of documenting the lives of the marginalised segments of Singapore society, as well as the heart-warming stories of the volunteers who went the extra mile to help those in need.

Edwin, Dave and Adar were among the group of local photographers and filmmakers commissioned by the National Museum of Singapore to document the pandemic experience in Singapore, and whose works are featured in the Picturing The Pandemic special exhibition. This programme is held in conjunction with Picturing The Pandemic: A Visual Record of COVID-19 in Singapore, which will run at the National Museum of Singapore till 17 October 2021.

Edwin’s series of photos on the migrant workers, vulnerable communities, and the community and ground-up efforts are presented as part of the exhibition in the section titled Making Visible. The 21-minute film by Dave and Adar, titled The Spaces Between Us, is presented at the end of the exhibition.

Bookmark the event here!


Biography of Moderator
Priscilla Chua is Senior Curator at the National Museum of Singapore. She joined the museum in 2008 and currently oversees the post-war section of the Singapore History Gallery (SHG). Priscilla was part of the curatorial team that worked on the SHG revamp in 2015, and was curator of the National Museum’s World War Two commemorative exhibition in 2017, Witness to War: Remembering 1942, and the 2018 photography exhibition, In an Instant: Polaroid at the Intersection of Art and Technology.

Biography of Speaker
Edwin Koo was first introduced to photojournalism in university by his mentor. He began his career as a staff photographer in a free daily Singaporean tabloid in 2003, and then as a news photographer with The Straits Times in 2005. In 2008, he moved to Nepal with his wife, and returned to Singapore in 2011 with the birth of his son. His first personal project – a documentation of the General Election that year – is dedicated to his son.

Dave Lim and Adar Ng are an artist duo who have worked together since 2018 through multiple artistic, curatorial and research projects. Dave comes from a documentary and research background and most of his work reflects conceptual concerns. Adar’s works are based on philosophical queries on reality and its impermanence in the world.

Photo by Edwin Koo for the National Museum of Singapore.

Curator Tour of Picturing The Pandemic and Sharing Session by Human Libraries

16 Oct | 7 – 8.30pm

Livestream on NMS Facebook Page 

In this last curator tour of our Picturing The Pandemic exhibition, our curator, Miriam Yeo, will share about the museum's Collecting Contemporary Singapore initiative, and the experiences and challenges of curating an exhibition during a pandemic! 

Joining Miriam are para-athletes Joan and Inez Hung and owner of Raydy Beehoon, Ray Sheng who are featured in the Picturing The Pandemic exhibition! They will be sharing their personal experiences of adapting to new ways of living during the pandemic and their efforts to help the community.  

This programme is held in conjunction with the exhibition Picturing The Pandemic: A Visual Record of COVID-19 in Singapore, which will run at the National Museum of Singapore till 17 October 2021.

Bookmark the event on our Facebook page here.

Biography of Curator

Miriam Yeo is an Assistant Curator at the National Museum of Singapore. During the pandemic, she curated the online ‘Zoom into History’ series, a theatrical foray into engaging with artefacts digitally. She most recently co-curated Picturing The Pandemic which provides a contemplative and critical foray into Singapore’s experience of the circuit-breaker and Phase 1 through visual documentation of that period.

Biography of Human Libraries

Joan and Inez Hung are sisters who are visually-impaired and they are professional goalball athletes. The circuit breaker meant that competitions and training were cancelled. They continued to train indoors and shared their workouts through a YouTube workout channel called “Lonely Workouts”.

Lee Ray Sheng is an undergraduate at the Nanyang Technological who is the founder of Raydy Beehoon, an on-campus supper stall selling fried beehoon. He opened his business in end of February and when circuit breaker was imposed, he decided to cook and deliver packets of beehoon to vulnerable families. 

Photo by How Hwee Young for the National Museum of Singapore.