The Jungle Princess | Film Screening, Wed, 19 June 2013, 7pm

Image from here.

The Jungle Princess (1936)

Wed, 19 June 2013
7pm, NUS Museum

Produced 30 years before the 1967 Disney Classic The Jungle Book, The Jungle Princess features Dorothy Lamour, a beautiful jungle girl who takes care of a wild game hunter (played by Ray Milland) after he is attacked by a tiger. While nursing the injured man back to health, she falls in love with him, and eventually follows him back to his camp, much to the displeasure of his fiancée, and the villagers.

Join us in the screening of this 1936 film. Free admission. To register please email museum@nus.edu.sg

For more information, visit www.malayablackandwhite.wordpress.com 

Diary of an NUS Museum Intern: Sandy Yeo

Note: Diary of an NUS Museum Intern is a series of blog posts written by our interns about their experiences during the course of their internships. Besides working hard and fast in their cubicles, our interns have travelled to Bandung and Malacca, organised symposiums, waded through tons of historical research and pitched in during exhibition installations. If you would like to become our next intern, visit our internship page for more information!

For the summer of 2013, we have a total of 9 interns at the museum! Each intern will be taking it in turns to contribute an article to the Museum Blog every other week. For daily (or even hourly!) sneak peeks at what they are doing, visit the Museum's Twitter account (@nusmuseum). 

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Sandy Yeo is a first-year History major from the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She is a South & Southeast Asian Collection Curatorial Intern and is working on the upcoming exhibition In Search of Raffles' Light.

During my first visit to the NUS Museum, I found myself staring silently into the various animal specimens contained within glass jars. I was particularly impressed by the curator’s (who I later learn would be my supervisor) decision to utilize the subject of indigenous traditions and Western scientific knowledge to illustrate the nature of the relationship shared between the colonized and colonizers. This contributed to my first impression of curatorial work as being artistic and conceptual.  However, within a month into my internship, I found many of my perceptions greatly altered. 

  
The first week into my internship, I was tasked to visit Dr Tan Swee Hee at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. During the trip, I was to find out more about the various specimens that would be on display in the upcoming exhibition. These specimens dated as far back as 1890s! For example, the swallow in the center of the photo collage, was first discovered near the Raffles Lighthouse in 1930.   

With Dr Tan’s guidance, I learnt to note down the physical attributes of the specimens. These details are crucial information that guides a curator to make decisions regarding space and resource allocation. While working, it dawned upon me that behind every, seemingly effortless, exhibition - there is a huge amount of meticulous effort and work put in by many people.

It would be naive to assume that the preparatory work ends here. Equally important is the (long and tedious!) process of making references to various written and oral sources. Often, I find myself flipping through the pages of various books and newspaper articles to familiarize myself with the narratives of the lighthouses of Singapore. Last week, I had the chance to make a trip to the National Archives of Singapore (NAS) with my supervisor, Mr Mustafa. At NAS, we listened to the oral recording of an interview featuring Mr Cyril Spencer, a Lighthouse keeper from 1947 to 1985. The trip to the NAS was an interesting and highly informative one for me as I learnt how one can access historical records and eventually, effectively utilize and incorporate them into the exhibition.

While I gained many valuable insights into the technicalities involved in curatorial work, what I find most gratifying in my internship experience is the opportunity to meet new people and forge meaningful relationships. As a result of my close partnership with Mr Mustafa, I learnt much from him. He shared with me many things ranging from artistic works, literature, to his fond memories in NUS.  He would also often pass me books to read. I am both fascinated by his knowledge and deeply impressed by his passion for his work. It is under his mentorship that I became painfully aware of my ignorance. This realization spurred me to acquire more knowledge and I find myself becoming a more curious soul.

The impression that many people have of museums is that it is a dull and quiet place.  However, for me, there has never been a dull moment as I embraced the company of my fellow interns and other staff at the museum. To sum up, without doubt, the museum is a place brimming with history, heritage and culture. It is also a space where there are no walls to confine the way one thinks and expresses himself. However, in reality, there is nothing “natural” about this. Every brilliant exhibition is the product of the hard work put in by myriad of individuals!

East of Borneo | Film Screening, Wed, 5 June 2013, 7pm

East of Borneo (1931)

Wed, 5 June 2013
7pm, NUS Museum

Despite the warnings that the jungles of the island of Marado, just east of Borneo, are “entirely too dangerous” for a woman, Linda Randolph is determined to find her missing husband. But then she finally finds him in the lavishly furnished palace of Marado’s enigmatic prince, she soon realizes that the warning is all too real! 

To register, please email museum@nus.edu.sg








Please visit www.malayablackandwhite.wordpress.com for more details.  

Diary of an NUS Museum Intern: Li Ling

Note: Diary of an NUS Museum Intern is a series of blog posts written by our interns about their experiences during the course of their internships. Besides working hard and fast in their cubicles, our interns have travelled to Bandung and Malacca, organised symposiums, waded through tons of historical research and pitched in during exhibition installations. If you would like to become our next intern, visit our internship page for more information!

This summer, we have a total of 9 interns at the museum! Each intern will be taking it in turns to contribute an article to the Museum Blog every other week. For daily (or even hourly!) sneak peeks at what they are doing, visit the Museum's Twitter account (@nusmuseum). 

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Li Ling is a second-year History major from the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She is one of three interns working on the Lee Kong Chian Collection, and assisting with curatorial research for the forthcoming exhibition based on the book A Brief History of Malayan Art by Marco Hsu.

Being surrounded by Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh newspapers 

This is my second week as a curatorial intern at the NUS Museum and I am beginning to glimpse the work of a curator. Working on both the Lee Kong Chian Collection and the upcoming exhibition based on Marco Hsu’s book A Brief History of Malayan Art, I had the opportunity to experience the work that goes on “behind-the-scenes” for maintaining a permanent gallery and planning a new exhibition. 

The most exciting moment so far came when I viewed the Museum’s collection of Chinese paintings with Ms Chang Yueh Siang, my internship supervisor, and Mr Tan Teo Kwang, a prominent local artist. When we opened a scroll, a beautiful piece from master painter Qi Baishi unfolded before our eyes. The shrimps painted by Qi were so lifelike and vivid that I was amazed by the beauty of this painting. Mr Tan’s sharing on how to differentiate a masterpiece from a forgery was extremely interesting. Using Qi’s painting as an example, Mr Tan showed us that some of the indicators of an authentic painting are the strength and consistency of the strokes, as well as the quality of the calligraphy and the seal. 

Doing research for the upcoming Marco Hsu exhibition has allowed me to appreciate the often-overlooked preparation work behind the successful organization of an exhibition. Siang tasked me to look for photographs that showed art works exhibited in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as pictures that show the exhibition arrangement. Initially I was puzzled why photographs of exhibition layouts were necessary. After a short chat with Siang, I understood why. The upcoming exhibition is not just about showing paintings from the era; it is also about creating a similar ambience to the exhibitions that took place in those two decades. It is our hope that when viewers visit the exhibition, they will feel that they are being brought back to the 50s and 60s.

The book that the exhibition is based on.

Besides looking for photographs, I also looked through local English and Chinese newspaper reports on past exhibitions. As I read the reviews of the exhibitions, I became aware of how the public from these two decades perceived art works and art exhibitions. More importantly, I became more cognizant of the role of art perceived by artists, art societies and officials in a period of time when Singapore and Malaya were going through great transformations. Learning about the debates in art (art for art’s sake or service to the public), as well as the artistic direction of the 50-60s also allowed me to appreciate the dynamic and politicized art scene in those two decades in Singapore.

Reading the Nanyang Siang Pau and highlighting relevant information

I recently had the chance to share briefly about my internship experience for this year’s NUS FASS Open House Day with a group of prospective students. As I interacted with them, I found out that many were pleasantly surprised by the presence of a museum on campus. In addition, some of the students I talked to expressed interest in visiting the museum. Their favourable responses were very encouraging to me.

  

Sharing about being an NUS Museum intern at FASS Open House

The past two weeks at the Museum has been meaningful and at the same time thought-provoking. I look forward to more rewarding moments with the Museum in the subsequent weeks!

  

Publication: OMNILOGUE | Your Voice Is Mine | The Document

Contents

Foreword | Japan Foundation

Essay | The Moment "Your Voice Is Mine" | Yabumae Tomoko

Essay | Opening Eyes to Art | Ikegami Tsukasa

Dialogue | Musings and Meanderings | Michelle Ho and Shabbir Hussain Mustafa

Comment | Multiple Dialogues in Three Cities | Yamashiro Daisuke

Essay | Re: Curatorial Notes | Ahmad Mashadi

About the exhibition Your Voice is Mine

As a form of cultural production that communicates gestures and values, Your Voice Is Mineis propositioned as an exhibitionary agent for raising dialogue, exploring narratives and channeling alternate positions. Lodged between artist, curator and locale of the Museum, it may be experienced as an attempt at examining these processes within the premise of ‘transcultural collaboration’ – a concept that is experiencing renewed impetus in contemporary art circles since the 1990s. Here, communication rests at the heart of things, where the very act of transmission may be considered something that contributes to the positioning and controlling of the audience in a given space, at times ephemerally highlighting the difficulty and collusion of translation, at other times understood as a literal attempt at realizing context(s) external to the Museum. Critically examining the very premise of collaboration, Your Voice is Mine teases its audiences into considering the myriad dynamics of consensus and contestation that take place within transcultural encounters - asking if one can indeed open up newer readings into the categorical ways of defining Other and Self? It begs its audiences to consider how art and exhibition-making reveal hidden inflections, when do these processes become more important than the final production of art, and how do they in turn relate to the spaces and cultures in which they take place?

To order our publications, please write to museum@nus.edu.sg

NUS Museum

University Cultural Centre, 50 Kent Ridge Crescent

National University of Singapore, Singapore 119279

T: (65) 6516 8817

E: museum@nus.edu.sg

W: www.nus.edu.sg/museum/

Children's Season 2013: Family Fun with Herbs & Spices

Date: Saturday, 25 May
Timing: 2pm – 4pm
Venue: NUS Museum

Age Group: 5 – 12 years old

Fees: $15 per pair (Limited to 15 pairs of parent & child.)

To register, email museum@nus.edu.sg or call 6516-8817 / 4616.

Registration is confirmed only upon payment of workshop fees.

Bring your child for a day of family fun where children will be introduced to the unique and amusing characteristics of herbs and spices. We will find out more about their historical significance, scents and amazing properties. We will explore herbs such as the pandan leaf, lemongrass, lime leaf, curry leaf and many more. We will also take a closer look at spices such as cloves, cardamoms and cinnamon sticks. Working together as team, you will also learn how to make pomanders and herb sachets to scent your home!

About the Instructor

Poonam Lalwani is the Guest Relations and Outreach Manager at NUS Baba House. She handles guest services activities, outreach programmes and volunteer relations. She is constantly looking out for programmes that explore the boundaries of the Peranakan Culture.

Children’s Season 2013 is jointly presented by the National Heritage Board and Museum Roundtable.

Job Vacancy | Curator/Assistant Curator (Ng Eng Teng Collection)

 

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Participate in acquisition and valuation processes as curator in-charge of the Ng Eng Teng collection.
• Systematic cataloguing of the collection into the Museum's database according to museum conventions.
• Develop research and archival materials pertinent to the collection.
• Conceptualise and mount exhibitions as assigned, incorporating academic resources, working collaboratively where assigned, and working with with other museum staff including admin, collections management, programmes, and marketing.
• Write, edit and publish exhibition catalogues and other publications including websites.
• Develop public programs such as public talks, workshops and events in in collaboration with the Museum's outreach.
• Engage with campus and student communities and the public, through exhibition tours, educational programmes such as talks and workshops, volunteer events & others.
• Establish and sustain professional networks within and beyond campus, as well as Singapore and international institutions, academics and curators.
• Any other administrative duties, such as committee functions, as assigned by Head, Museum and Director, CFA.

Requirements:

• BA or MA in Art History, History, Cultural Studies, Arts Management or equivalent.
• Independent, with skills in research and writing. Prior experience as curator or researcher/archiver is an advantage.
• Good organisational and inter-personal skills, and able to multitask and work under pressure. Pleasant, affable disposition, resourceful and resilient in work situations.

To apply, please click here.

[Re]discovering the NUS Museum

Note: The [Re]Discover! campaign was carried out in 2013 by 3 honours year NUS Business School students Joyce Ho, Nicodemus Ler and Shirlyn Tan, as part of their Field Service Project with the NUS Museum. 

The year-long Field Service Project (FSP) experience with the NUS Museum was indeed an enriching experience for all of us in the team. It was an excellent opportunity for us to gain new perspectives and insights in the working world, particularly tackling the challenges in planning and executing a campaign.

A key highlight in our FSP experience with the NUS Museum was the [Re]Discover! event that we have successfully organised and carried out. [Re]Discover! was a student-initiated edutainment campaign aimed at reaching out to the NUS Community. It was held over 3 consecutive weekdays from 6-8 March 2013, 11 am – 4pm at 3 locations;

• Faculty of Arts and Social Science (Central Library walkway)
• NUS School of Business
• University Town (Benches outside Starbucks)

To create awareness and hype for the event, we engaged both online, (NUS Museum’s Facebook Page) and offline channels (Posters around school, flyers and tissue boxes in canteens).

The campaign was titled [Re]Discover! with the intention to brand and promote the event as a chance for existing students to rediscover and exchange students to discover the uniqueness of the NUS Museum right within their own campus.  Complemented with our on-going “did you know” campaign launched in 2012, the event provided an avenue for us to reach out to the students through the thought-provoking theme that helps to rejuvenate the museum’s formal and distant branding. At the same time, the use of various interesting yet unknown facts of the NUS Museum also helped to capture the students’ attention.

Planning a marketing campaign with the NUS Museum gave us a peek into the challenges that marketers face in the real business environment. In particular, we learnt and gained an understanding of the requirements of the NUS Museum and internalised them during our planning process.

Moreover, this project provided us an opportunity to hone our communication skills, as we often had to liaise with different parties such as the NUS Museum management, NUS facilities management and external suppliers to successfully execute our campaign. What we felt was more challenging was to attract attention of the students and tell them more about the museum. This was a step out of our comfort zone and helped us to build up our networking skills as well.

Lastly, this FSP experience has helped us gain a deeper understanding and gave us a unique opportunity to experience the culture of working in the museum industry. What’s more, it has helped us to have a greater appreciation for the arts and cultural scene in Singapore as well.

All in all, although at some points in time, we were faced with many tough challenges during the course of the project, we believed that we have emerged as better individuals at the end of the day.  Hence, we are thankful to both the NUS Business School and the NUS Museum for the opportunity to work on this project that set a memorable conclusion to our final semester in NUS.

The happy team with their Prof, Wu Pei Chuan (far left)

Check out photos from the campaign here!

Grounded Conversations Series | With filmmaker Surabhi Sharma

Thurs, 16 May 2013
7pm - 9pm
NUS Museum

Free admission with registration. To register email museum@nus.edu.sg

Please click here to read more on the films that will be presented.

Presenting a series of distinct projects on how art practitioners have begun to adopt comprehensive paradigms in their fieldwork methods traditionally associated with anthropological or historical research, Grounded Conversations brings together practitioners from the contemporary art world to unravel this ‘anthropological turn’.

SURABHI SHARMA is a filmmaker. Her films include Jahaji Music: India in the Caribbean, Aamakaar – The Turtlepeople and Jari Mari: Of Cloth and Other Stories. Using an ethnographic approach Surabhi’s key concern is to document cities in transition, and understand cultures in circulation. Her films explore a range of subjects, including music and identity, labour and globalization and women’s health. Her practice includes feature-length documentaries, video art and installation works. Surabhi is visiting faculty in film and design schools in India, and has curated programmes for festivals and organisations. Her documentaries have been awarded at international film festivals including Film South Asia, the Kara Film Festival, the Festival of Three Continents and Eco Cinema; and screened in museums and universities in Asia, Europe and north America. She is the recipient of the Majlis Fellowship, and was awarded the Puma Catalyst Award for Bidesia in Bambai. She recently completed Can we see the baby bump please? a film on commercial surrogacy in India.

Audio-visual presentation | Cultural Heritage of Sufi Nizamuddin Aulia in South Asia

Image courtsey of Yousuf Saeed

Cultural Heritage of Sufi Nizamuddin Aulia in South Asia
An audio-visual presentation by Yousuf Saeed

Moderated by Dr Gyanesh Kudaisya, Assoc. Prof, NUS South Asian Studies Programme
Co-organised by Asia Research Institute (National University of Singapore), NUS Museum and South Asia Studies Programme (NUS Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences)

Wed, 8 May 2013
6pm - 8pm

NUS Museum

Free admission with registration. To register email museum@nus.edu.sg

Please click here to view the e-flyer.

The 14^th century saint Nizamuddin Aulia and his disciple Amir Khusrau of Delhi, India, have remained popular legends for last over seven centuries through their poetry, music, anecdotes, and supposed spiritual power that seems to inspire the visitors to their combined shrine in the heart of New Delhi. This presentation will showcase examples of Khusrau’s poetry, musical compositions and cultural symbols still alive in India and Pakistan. The presentation also features the short film ‘Basant’ (12 mins) directed by Yousuf about the Sufi festival of spring being celebrated in the shrine of Nizamuddin Aulia.
 

Yousuf Saeed is a New Delhi based filmmaker, archivist and author whose documentary films such as Basant, The Train to Heaven, and Khayal Darpan have been screened the world over. He is also the author of the book Muslim Devotional Art in India (Routledge, 2012). Yousuf is also connected with Tasveer Ghar, a digital archive of South Asian popular visual culture.