REVIVING AN ICON

Singapore's National Museum has finally reopened after three years of renovation and redevelopment. PIONEER finds a youthful soul in this 120-year-old establishment.

It's the weekend. Light streams into the glass-clad concourse of the National Museum of Singapore, as children decorate a steel wall with rings, snakes and elephants shaped from coloured pipes.

In the Gallery Theatre downstairs, an audience gathers for a free talk on Cambodian dance. They watch four dancers from Cambodia perform a scene from the Ramayana, scampering across the floor. Questions are asked; issues are discussed.

Since its official opening last December, the National Museum has redefined its scope. Not only does it hold precious artefacts in its collections, it also offers a space and forum for the arts. It's a lifestyle venue where history meets modernity.

A monumental restoration

Briefly known as the Singapore History Museum, the 120-year-old monument on Stamford Road was closed in 2003 for refurbishment and redevelopment costing $132.6 million.

Architectural features once hidden by poor restoration work, such as the zinc fish-scaled tiles on its trademark dome, have been polished and restored to their former glory.

Its new extension, partially built on ground hollowed out from Fort Canning Hill, was designed by architects from CPG Corporation and W Architects.

Linking this latest annexe with the original building is a 22m-long passage; its optical-glass roof gives a clear external view of the museum's neo-Palladian-style dome.

Now twice its initial size, the National Museum presents smart, lively takes on the country's history, identity and culture, using multimedia to give visitors an all-round experience.

"We want to tell the stories of Singapore from many perspectives in an intellectually honest and rigorous manner," said Professor Tommy Koh, the National Heritage Board's chairman.

Telling the nation's stories

The museum's main permanent gallery, the Singapore History Gallery, charts the island's past from the 14th century onwards.

The Companion, a portable audio-visual guide, was specially conceived for this gallery. It allows visitors to trace Singapore's growth through historical accounts or through personal anecdotes. Here, history becomes anything but static.

There are also four lifestyle-themed spaces called the Singapore Living Galleries, which explore fashion, film, food and photography.

In the Food gallery, laksa and roti prata are made on video while the rhythmic bustle of hawker stalls fills the air. Snippets of early Malay movies, assembled by local director Royston Tan, dance across a trio of screens in the Film gallery.

"The multimedia content we have created is so rich that it is impossible to experience the full scale of the museum in one day," said Ms Lee Chor Lin, the museum's director.

"We hired an army of talents from sound designers and film-makers to voice talents, actors and many more to help us tell the history of Singapore."

Bringing the world to Singapore

Last December, the museum celebrated its opening with a month-long festival featuring Singaporean and foreign artists in free and ticketed installations, live performances and movie screenings.

Among the highlights was the world debut of Tan's newest film - a 45-minute documentary on the city's oldest Hokkien opera troupe - which was commissioned by the museum. More of such activities will be staged in the future.

The museum will host exhibitions from abroad as well. Its first, an exhibition on the 18th-century Austrian empress Maria Theresia, finished its two-month run in January. Also scheduled for this year are exhibitions on Swedish design and Arab culture.

Said curatorial project manager Ms Hairani Hassan: "As a museum for the people, the National Museum endeavours to bring in quality exhibitions from around the world.

"Singaporeans who may be unable to see them overseas thus have the opportunity to view them here."

The National Museum of Singapore is open daily from 10am to 6pm. Its Singapore Living Galleries are open till 9pm daily; admission to these galleries is free after 6pm.

General admission is $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens, students and full-time National Servicemen.

For more information, logon to www.nationalmuseum.sg