SHARING PICTURES, SHARING LIVES

Local author Bessie Chua was looking at her family albums one day and found her publisher Goh Eck Kheng taking a keen interest in her old photos.

The private tales behind even the simplest of pictures fascinated Mr Goh, who heads publishing house Landmark Books.

"He found my family photos very interesting and wanted them, which took me by surprise," said Ms Chua. "That was when he told me about the project."

That project is 'Families & Friends: A Singapore Album', an island-wide call for pictures and keepsakes belonging to Singaporean families and communities.

It is organised by Landmark Books and the National Museum of Singapore.

"When I realised what the project would involve, I thought I might as well share my pictures," said Ms Chua. "I would like to tell the world about my family."

With support from Nexus, the Ministry of Defence's National Education agency, the project hopes to create a rich, well-documented archive of Singapore's social history.

From 5 Sep till 30 Nov, Singaporeans can submit images of their artefacts electronically via the website. Photos sent in by post will be digitally recorded and memorabilia will be photographed.

The pictures collected during this drive will supplement the photography gallery at the National Museum of Singapore.

"It is in these pictures that the individual stories of Singapore and Singaporeans will come together to make up a larger story of who we are," said Ms Lee Chor Lin, the National Museum's Director.

AddedMr Goh: "As the collection grows, we can highlight the common elements of being Singaporean amidst the diversity of different backgrounds."

The organisers, aided by a small team of researchers, aim to obtain 3,000 unique images.

As part of the project, a free booklet called 'Keeping Memories' will be produced as a guide for starting and maintaining personal archives.

It will be written by Mrs Lily Tan, the former senior director of the National Archives of Singapore.

The project will end with an exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore, to be held from 16 Feb to 11 Mar 2007.