Name: Wee Ai Ting Pearl

Module: HY5409 Museums and Museology: Critical Perspectives

Assignment: Final Essay
Title: Presenting Singapore’s history in the National Museum of Singapore: Narratives and
Scenography of the Singapore History Gallery and the Modern Colony Gallery

Introduction

During the reopening ceremony of the National Museum of Singapore (NMS) in 2015, Emeritus

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said, "Singaporeans, whether young or old, yearn to reconnect with

our past - who we are and where we came from. These historical moorings strengthen our sense of

identity and self-confidence. They give us our bearings in an uncertain world." 1 Mentioned in a

museum context, these words reflect the importance of the museum in providing a platform for

visitors to engage in the historical narrative of Singapore. This also means that such museums are

“more than cultural institutions and showplaces of accumulated objects: they are sites of interaction

between personal and collective identities, between memory and history, between information and

knowledge production.”2 Indeed, the museum is one of the most prominent ways in which we gain a

historical understanding of our nation, and cultivate a sense of common national identity.

In many ways, the museum has changed; from an inward-looking collector and storage of artefacts

to an outward-looking visitor-centric centre for learning and enjoyment. Today, the NMS holds a

unique position in Singapore, with its dual role as a state institution and a public museum. As a

National Museum, it serves the state as an authority to educate and inform the public about

Singapore’s history. At the same time, as a Public Museum, it serves the public’s interests. Although

they are seemingly contradictory, the NMS marries the two roles by “[continuing] to present richly-

1
Chan Luo Er, “National Museum’s permanent galleries reopen on 19 Sep 2015 after year-long revamp”,
Channel News Asia, Sep 19, 2015. https://singaporeans2.rssing.com/chan-7411488/all_p232.html accessed 13
Apr 2022.
2
Susan A. Crane, “Introduction: Of Museums and Memory” in Susan A. Crane (ed), Museums and Memory
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000): 12.
told stories and exhibitions to create personal and emotional connections with its visitors, and

inspire them to discover more about Singapore’s history and reconnect with their cultural past.” 3

This paper looks at the relationship between the exhibitions in NMS and its visitors. Comparing the

Singapore History Gallery and Modern Colony Gallery, this paper specifically questions how the

museum engages visitors with its representation of Singapore’s history. I argue that while both

galleries adopt different approaches to their narratives and scenography, they complement each

other in presenting a national version of Singapore’s history.

Clarification of terminologies

As narratives and scenography mean different things in different settings, it is important to

distinguish them in a museum context. When used in museums, narratives are more than the stories

they tell. Curatorial Fellow Iskander Mydin wrote, “Narratives – whether state-driven or derived

from human agency – are attempts at drawing out holistic meaning from a lifetime of human

experiences amid the flux, complexity and consequentiality of historical process.” 4 They are the

deliberate choices curators make about the topic and themes of the exhibitions. What are the

messages the curators hope to bring across through the exhibition? What are some ideas or values

that the exhibition will bring about? What kind of narratives would best fit the kind of historical

perspectives the curators hope to deliver? These “what” questions inform the kind of narrative that

shapes visitor’s knowledge about the past, particularly Singapore’s history.

Based on the narrative approaches, scenography in the museum encompasses the practical aspects

of the exhibition. It takes into account the exhibition design, use of space, selection of artefacts, and

the methods of displaying. These practical aspects are also determined by visitors’ expectations and

3
Sharon Lim and Ong Shihui, Dome in the City: The Story of the National Museum of Singapore (Singapore:
National Museum of Singapore, 2016): 45.
4
Iskander Mydin, “Towards a museum narrative” in Stephanie Yeo (ed), (Re)presenting Histories: Experiences
& Perspectives from the National Museum of Singapore (Singapore: National Museum of Singapore, 2017): 10.
curators’ desire to engage them. How will the artefacts be displayed? How will the narrative be

shown? How will visitors move throughout the gallery? These “how” questions inform curators’

decisions and designs of the exhibition, to create “a complex environment that deals simultaneously

with very diverse elements”5 in order to deliver a historical content that is both informative and

interactive for the visitors.

Since the NMS’s recent revamp in 2015, the museum galleries contained more decorated spaces

with an updated selection of artefacts, as well as a greater use of multimedia displays and sound to

provide a more visual representation of the past. As the then Director of NMS Angelita Teo said,

“This allows our visitors to go beyond simply observing the objects to feeling that they have been

transported back in time to another era, creating a personal and emotional connection, which in

turn generates historical understanding.” 6 With this in mind, I will be analysing the narrative and

scenography of the galleries with an eye on how they engage its visitors.

The Singapore History Gallery

As the name suggests, the Singapore History Gallery (SHG) holds significant weight for the NMS.

Physically housed in the modern extension of the NMS, it has a symbolic meaning. First, with over

30,000 square feet to accommodate its exhibits, it is the largest permanent gallery in the NMS. It is

no longer constrained by the rooms of the older colonial buildings, and has a larger unobstructed

space to explore more ways to design the gallery. Second, having better technological infrastructure

to preserve and maintain the artefacts, the SHG can pride itself to be a modern, state of the art

gallery that is akin to Singapore’s image as a global city by the turn of the century. Third, its location

in the modern extension that rests at the foot of Fort Canning Hill since 2006 alludes to a firm

5
Laura Miotto, “Collection, imagination and sense: Exhibition design as a tool for interpretation of history” in
James Francis Warren et al., The Past in the Present: Histories in the Making (Singapore: National Heritage
Board, 2009): 78.
6
Angelita Teo, “Foreword” in Stephanie Yeo (ed), (Re)presenting Histories: Experiences & Perspectives from the
National Museum of Singapore (Singapore: National Museum of Singapore, 2017): 9.
rootedness to Singapore’s cultural heritage. Symbolically, it bridges the old and new together,

mirroring the cosmopolitan Singapore nation today that is “affluent [and] sophisticated, and

increasingly conscious of a shared past.”7

Narrative

In Teo’s words, “[By] telling the story of our nation, it also helped to define a sense of national

identity and connectedness with our roots and legacies.” 8 This is the way SHG adopts its narrative

approach with a nationalist view of Singapore’s history. Using a seven-hundred-year frame and

highlighting key events or moments in Singapore’s history, this narrative takes pride in how far

Singapore has transformed since its early years. It is divided into four consecutive periods –

Singapura, Crown Colony, Syonan-To, and Singapore. Like a journey of “events in movement” 9, each

of the period is colour-coded and dynamic in display. Pioneers are emphasised, significant artefacts

and treaties are awarded space in the exhibition, and more importantly, the exhibit highlights the

achievements of the nation in trade, industry, and housing. It starts with an animated 1570 map of

East Indies that situate Singapore as a small part of a larger world then, and ended with a grand

infographic wall detailing the various achievements of Singapore by the twentieth century. The

message is clear; Singapore had a rich cultural heritage. With its past’s ups and downs, we have

progressed as a nation and achieved the global status we have today.

However, it feels as if this narrative approach seemed to have lost its pacing towards the end.

Initially, visitors were able to take a leisure walk through the periods of Singapura to Syonan-To, with

elaborate displays and a variety of artefacts to support the historical narrative. Thereafter, aside

from the turbulent years of post-war and merger and separation sections, the journey through the
7
Emily Stokes-Rees, Imagining Asia: Cultural Citizenship and Nation Building in the National Museums of
Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau (London & New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019): 61.
8
Angelita Teo, “A Golden Opportunity: Revamping the National Museum of Singapore for the Golden Jubilee
Year,” Cultural Connections 1, no. 1 (2016): 20.
9
Luis Gerardo Morales-Moreno, “History and Patriotism in the National Museum of Mexico” in Flora E. S.
Kaplan (ed) Museums and the Making of “Ourselves”: The Role of Objects in National Identity (London:
Leicester University Press, 1994): 183.
post-independent years was narrated hastily. Like a rushed job, I was hustled through the

chronological periods of 1960s to 2010s, abruptly ending the journey by coming face to face with

Singapore in the present day with all the various achievements listed on the wall.

Although the lead curators did explain that there was a lack of relevant artefacts they could put on

display, relegating this section to mere token praise of the achievements of the nation seems too

simplistic. The post-war period especially felt very sanitized, affording little or no chance for visitors

to engage with the historical period, nor to question or think about what makes the nation

Singapore – it is simply progress. Susan A. Cranes criticised such methods, stating that “the

institutional nature of the museum has encouraged the construction of narratives that inhibit

random access in favour of orderly, informative meaning-formation.” 10 By mere relegating the fifty

years after independence to two key frames of industrialisation and housing, there are gaps in the

historical understanding that are not reflected. Personally, this makes its narrative weaker towards

the end, especially if the museum had intended for visitors to emotionally and personally connect

with the exhibit.

Scenography

With a seamless space, curators have the luxury of designing the gallery without needing to take into

consideration the limitations of the architecture. As a result, there are extensive and massive

dioramas in each section, which enables an immersive experience for visitors. Museum scholar

Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett noted that although museums deal with many intangible aspects of

history or heritage, it makes the “various worlds and lands of exhibition” 11 all the more appealing for

visitors to visit. The SHG similarly provides a world where visitors embark on a journey through time.

As the visitors walk through Singapura in the 14 th century to Singapore in 2015, they are constantly

10
Crane, “Introduction: Of Museums and Memory”: 4.
11
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Destination Culture: Tourism, Museums, and Heritage. (California: University
of California Press, 1998): 167
engaged with visual presentations of the periods. For example, when visitors enter the Singapura

section, they are greeted with a coastal beach landscape. A massive hull of a ship seats in front of a

multi-media wide screen showing a film of the local natives plying their trade. These visual displays

are augmented with historical artefacts such as archaeological finds dating to Singapore in the 14 th

century, various earthenware used by the natives, and sounds of crickets chirping alluding to a

naturalistic landscape. This diorama creates a scene that visitors have entered into 14 th century

Singapura. It is not an accurate depiction of what Singapore looked like in the past, but an

imaginative past, where elements of that period were placed together to give visitors a chance to

visualise what it was like then. This is particularly useful for visitors who have no prior knowledge of

Singapore’s past. It is here that visitors take a step back into time through the life-size dioramas and

“make it come alive through imaginative play.” 12 The visual representation takes visitors into another

world where they can then connect with, the world in the past where they have a chance to explore

further into the lives of the people then.

Having a relevant collection of artefacts in the gallery also helps to give the scenography a sense of

historical accuracy. Specifically, the SHG does select artefacts which have nationalistic significance or

important documents that highlight Singapore’s past. The notion of a nation “originates not as a

historical community or group but as a myth fabricated by those who hold the power to shape what

they consider to be the cultural and historical characteristics of a particular population into a

narrative – a utopic abstraction – a myth – of a nation.” 13 The Singapore stone, points to a myth of a

common ancestry of the nation of Singapore, dating back to the 14 th century Southeast Asia; It was

recorded in William Farquahar’s observations of the island when he was the resident in Singapore. It

was the larger slab of a variant of Islamic language that has not been deciphered yet. To this day, no

one knows who wrote it, and what was written on it. Yet its presence indicates Singapore’s existence

12
Andrea Witcomb, “Remembering the dead by affecting the living: the case of a miniature model of
Treblinka” in Sandra H. Dudley (ed), Museums Materialities: Objects, Engagement, Interpretations (London and
New York: Routledge, 2010): 48.
13
Stokes-Rees. Imagining Asia: 131.
in the past for such inscription to be marked. It has since appeared in textbooks to teach students

about the origins of Singapore, undergirding the historical value and significance of Singapore since

the 14th century. Thus, its ability to “transcend its own history to become a symbol of common

values and experiences, and in that transcendental space, it holds the power to invite visitors into

particular performances of those values and experiences.” 14

Most of the sections in the SHG primarily use the extensive representations to visually engage

visitors, with the material object “perceived and sensorially experienced” 15 within the frame or

theme of the period. However, there are moments in the gallery when the scenography becomes

more object focused than scene-based. For example, after the section of Singapore’s merger and

separation, there is a small insert section on Singapore’s immediate independence before turning

out to the greater transformative period of the 1970s. The scenography here is simple, much like a

cabinet of artefacts instead of a visually stimulating scene. The small room is flushed red, with

cabinets of displays of nationhood. Among the artefacts, there were Singapore’s first national

currency series, passport, and stamp collection in one display, and another about National Service. It

tells of Singapore’s moment where we embark on a strategic national trajectory that is no longer

dependent on others but ourselves. This selection is intentionally curated to accentuate a sense of

pride in our national achievements and shared experiences of becoming an independent and

prosperous nation from the chaotic past. Although the propagandistic sentiment permeates

throughout the section, it does provide a short respite from all the visually stimulating dioramas. As

a result, I observed that people spent a little longer looking at the displays than they do in the

sections with extensive displays. The mixture of these scenography approaches enables the journey

of Singapore’s seven-hundred-year history to be quite manageable.

14
Stokes-Rees. Imagining Asia: 133.
15
Sandra H Dudley, “Museum materialities: objects, sense and feeling” in Sandra H. Dudley (ed), Museums
Materialities: Objects, Engagement, Interpretations (London and New York: Routledge, 2010): 5.
The SHG’s narrative approaches, by showing seven-hundred years of Singapore’s history, are

supported by the intensive use of displays and variety of artefacts to visually engage visitors. One

could argue that these approaches were more instructive towards a nationalist view of Singapore’s

history, especially in the years after Singapore became independent. Nevertheless, the scenography

does afford some degree for visitors to imagine what the past was like and balances the number of

artefacts and displays well to facilitate an interactive, visually stimulating but manageable

experience for visitors.

The Modern Colony Gallery

Aside from the SHG on the first floor of the museum, there are four smaller permanent galleries on

the second floor located in the well-preserved colonial buildings of the NMS. Each of these galleries

are termed “snapshot narratives”, where “they provide glimpses into a century of Singaporean life,

manners, behaviour, values and dreams, adding a multi-dimensional layer to the mainstream

narrative in the SHG.”16 Specifically, Modern Colony Gallery looks at the colonial period between

1920s to 1930s. With a microscopic lens into a specific period of time, the gallery takes on a different

approach to its narrative and scenography. In a way, it takes a “new wine in old bottles” 17 approach,

by preserving the colonial structure as it is and using a modern exhibition about the colonial period

to enhance the narrative within the room.

Narrative

The Modern Colony Gallery, as the name suggests, implies that this was the period defined by

modernity, with a sense of emancipation and cultural sophistication. Using a thematic narrative,

visitors explore various facets of modernity, much like an immersive playground. There is “an

emphasis on the individual’s engagement with history rather than an imposed narrative, and a

16
Mydin, “Towards a museum narrative”: 16.
17
Stokes-Rees. Imagining Asia: 123.
certain ownership of the historical experience.” 18 Unlike a fixed pathway that the SHG adopts, the

Modern Colony Gallery provides a space for visitors to explore however they wish. The gallery is

divided into only two rooms. The outer room set in a colonial household with various sections that

emphasize different aspects of modernity, such as education, occupation, leisure, and fashion. The

inner room showcases a variety of everyday household artefacts that modern women in the colonial

period used, complementing the short anecdotes spoken by various local women shown

systematically on a holographic mirror. There is a predominant women’s perspective in the gallery,

perhaps alluding to the idea that emancipation of women and increasing education opportunities for

them is a marker of a modern society.

However, there are limits to such a thematic approach. While the colonial period does bring about

an articulation of modernity, there are still many local people whose voices do not fit into the theme

of modernity, and thus are subsequently left out in the narrative. Even the idea of modernity seems

to only fit one social-class of women – the rich. Many of the lower socio-economic classes are

subsequently left out, such as the Samsui women, Malays and others whose lives did not reflect a

rosy and comfortable life during the colonial times. The overwhelming women’s voice in the gallery

also meant that the men are largely left out. This leaves a huge gap for visitors wanting to

understand a fuller picture of what Colonial Singapore would be like.

Nevertheless, the thematic narrative does enable visitors to reflectively question what is considered

modern. Oral history multimedia stations were placed throughout the gallery, enabling visitors to sit

down and hear the different stories of various people who lived in the colonial times if they have the

time. These different stories highlight the multi-perspective views of modernity, which reflect the

complexities of the period even if it is considered modern. What may be modern to one might not

be modern to another. Bringing this even further, what might be deemed as progressive to one

18
Jerome de Groot, Consuming History: Historians and Heritage in contemporary popular culture (London and
New York: Routledge, 2009): 246.
might be deemed as restrictive to another. In this way, when visitors watch the holographic show in

the second room where women talked about their double life between the traditional and the

modern, they are confronted with the challenges of the Modern Colony period. As such, visitors do

not just passively obtain information about this period, but are able critically engage with the

narrative.

Scenography

The scenography of the gallery makes good use of the architecture to support its gallery design. The

mise-en-scene is set in the scene of a colonial household. The existing colonial structures were used

to exude an authentic colonial theme. Victorian-style pillars act as dividers within the gallery,

demarcating different parts of the room as indicative of a colonial household. For example, visitors

are greeted with a grand portrait of Straits-born Chinese Song Ong Siang flanked by four of such

pillars when they first enter the gallery. The room behind the portrait which features women’s lives

is designed to create a more intimate setting in comparison to the grand entrance, mirroring how a

colonial household would have been like in the 1920s, which often separates the male and female

rooms. Curators also maximise the use of the ceiling, where two chandeliers are hung in front of the

staircase with mannequins to complete the look of a modern household. The existing structures

weaves into the scenography, thereby allowing the gallery to express a modern but also a colonial

feel. The mix of traditional elements with modern influences provides the gallery a more authentic

outlook reflective of the period.

At the same time, one also could come away noting the complexities of modernity during the period.

The hierarchical settings in the colonial period seem to run contradictory to the notion of modernity,

that is often synonymous with equality. The scenography cleverly uses the idea of levels to depict

the contrasting display of the privileged and the working class. For example, the Amahs’ section was

deliberately displayed underneath the staircase of the mannequins dressed in different modern
clothing. As such, they are often hidden away from prominent view, and one has to make an “extra”

effort to peep underneath the stairway in order to learn about their lives. This hints at the unsaid

hierarchy still imposed on the lower socio-economic class of the colonial period. As such, the

scenography continues to support the thematic exploration of modernity, offering different or

sometimes opposing views of modernity.

Another aspect of the scenography that directly relates to the theme of modernity is its selection of

artefacts. On the one hand, the artefacts are selected in relation to the theme of modernity. This

highlights the fact “that artefacts do not exist in a space of their own, transmitting meaning to the

spectator, but, on the contrary, are susceptible to a multiform construction of meaning which is

dependent on the design, the context of other objects, the visual and historical representation, the

whole environment.”19 On the other hand, these artefacts also bring out personal life stories of their

owners. In exploring modernity, the gallery “highlights the role of education and its impact on the

status of women.”20 Ong Nyo Hup’s report book, which detailed the different subjects she took,

allows visitors a glimpse into her life as a Singapore Chinese Girl student, and how she fared in her

school days. Her report book was placed with other items female students would use during their

school days. A photography was hung at eye-level overlooking the display. The arrangement then

points to the notion of school life, where the items on the hand can speak of their own stories

individually, on the other highlights a collective identity of female students at that time.

Furthermore, these stories allow visitors to engage with them personally or emotionally. Using Ong

Nyo Hup’s report book, it also evokes personal memories of one’s own school days. When I brought

a group of students to the exhibition during their Historical Investigation Project in 2018, they were

19
Charles Saumarez Smith, “Museums, Artefacts, and Meanings” in Peter Vergo (ed), The New Museology
(London: Reaktion Books Ltd, 1989): 19.
20
Chung May Khuen, “Hallmarks of a Progressive Society,” in Stephanie Yeo (ed), (Re)presenting Histories:
Experiences & Perspectives from the National Museum of Singapore (Singapore: National Museum of
Singapore, 2017): 42.
amazed when they looked at the subjects listed in the report book and started comparing it to their

current subjects. One commented, “Why do the girls have to take hygiene classes?” This opened up

discussions on context and the changing needs of education over the years, which subsequently

influences the range of subjects to be taken by students. This also allowed for a greater personal

connection with the artefact, where contemporary students not only came away a better historical

understanding of the period, but also to reflect upon themselves how different historical influences

have transformed education into how it is currently. Indeed, “rather than be shown the artefact and

told its meaning, interactive exhibits and museums involve the audience in the narratives of

history.”21

The Modern Colony Gallery’s use of thematic narration, space, and artefacts provides various

avenues for visitors to explore the theme of modernity. This includes both the vices and virtues of

modernity. Visitors come away not only questioning the notion of modernity, but also what

modernity could mean to them, and how it differs from the people in the past. The theme of

modernity does limit the scope and selection of artefacts pertaining to the colonial period, which

inadvertently means the omission of more prominent aspects of the colonial times. Nevertheless,

the gallery does help one to appreciate the complexities of modernity, and into the lens of the

women during this period of time.

Conclusion

Both the Singapore History Gallery and the Modern Colony Gallery have different approaches to

their narrative and scenography. Taking a chronological narrative, the SHG scenography visually

stimulates the visitors’ senses for them to imagine what the past was like as they journey through

time. As for the Modern Colony gallery, its thematic approach is well supported by its scenography,

allowing visitors to critically consider the notion of modernity. Each has its strength and weakness,

21
Groot, Consuming History: 246.
and more importantly, both complements each other in presenting a version of Singapore’s history

that can be both mainstream and diverse at the same time.

More importantly, both reflect the evolution of the NMS as a public museum. While the NMS, as a

National Museum is “responsible for charting the development of a particular nation’s historical

imaginary,”22 its approaches have become more engaging and enjoyable rather than didactic. It

definitely takes into account that its visitors are primarily not scholars with deep interest in history.

Rather, to many, the museum is a place for spare-time, and thus by definition, “recreational activity

for most visitors.”23 At the same time, it differs from other entertainment places in that it also serves

to educate and enrich visitors’ understanding of Singapore’s past and present. It highlights the

observation that Kirshenblatt-Gimblett puts succinctly:

“Museum exhibitions transform how people look at their own

immediate environs. The museum effect works both ways. Not only do

ordinary things become special when placed in museum settings, but

also the museum experience itself becomes a model for experiencing life

outside its wall.”24

In many ways, the continuously shift in museum practices and their exhibitions will continue to play

an important role in our society. Its appeal lies in the fact that it is not just a cultural institution or

entertainment place, but also a “[place] of reflection where the population can come to a better

understanding of themselves and the world.” 25

22
James Francis Warren, “Singapore history through the looking glass: Reflections on museums, memory,
history and the arts” in James Francis Warren et al., The Past in the Present: Histories in the Making (Singapore:
National Heritage Board, 2009): 32.
23
Philip Wright, “The quality of visitors’ experiences in Art Museums” in Peter Vergo (ed), The New Museology
(London: Reaktion Books Ltd, 1989): 130.
24
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, “Objects of Ethnography,” in Ivan Karp and Steven Lavine (eds), Exhibiting
Cultures: The Poetics and Politics of Museum Displays (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991):
410.
25
Groot, Consuming History: 236.
(3967 words)
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