Singapore may have successfully moved into its much-anticipated Phase 3 but that doesn’t mean our worst days are over.
To keep us reflecting, hopeful and inspired as we continue to thrust ahead, the Asian Civilisations Museum will now be offering three new exhibitions that spotlight the community of people behind ACM, revealing the lesser-known, more human side of the museum through stories of staff, tenants, partners, artists, and collectors.
All running from now till Feb 28, the three exhibitions are Faith Beauty Love Hope – Our Stories, Your ACM; Perfect Stranger; and thINK: Chinese Calligraphy, Connoisseurship, and Collecting.
Battle between Rama and Ravana, from the Ramayana, and tile panel at ‘Faith Beauty Love Hope – Our Stories, Your ACM’. Image courtesy of Asian Civilisations Museum
For starters, Faith Beauty Love Hope – Our Stories, Your ACM is a presentation of over 60 treasures from the ACM’s extensive collection. With masterpieces showcased for the very first time, the exhibition located on the gallery’s second floor will offer visitors a chance to experience these objects up close. Accompanied by anecdotes and musings from the ACM community, these pieces are contributions by conservators, student volunteers and even the museum director Kennie Ting, among others, which seek to convey meanings of love and hope.
Perfect Stranger by Dawn Ng. Image courtesy of Sarah Isabelle Tan
Also on the second level is local artist Dawn Ng’s contemporary installation, Perfect Stranger. Greeting museum-goers with a vast sea of paper washed in gradient words and colour, the exhibit stems from Ng’s Q&A project in 2016, during which she exchanged thoughts with a stranger (Israeli psychologist, Zehavit Efrati) every day, over the course of a year.
Presented for the first time in its entirety, this piece invites audiences to reflect on their own sense of time and self in an era of difficulty and uncertainty.
thINK. Image courtesy of Asian Civilisations Museum
Finally, look out for thINK: Chinese Calligraphy, Connoisseurship, and Collecting. In this showcase, find 23 exhibits specially curated from longtime ACM lender Dr Yuan’s extensive collection of literati objects as well as books and letters from important personalities from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Meant to spotlight personal responses regarding the act of remembering and collecting, visitors are introduced to human-to-human relationships, political sentiments, military affairs, and antiquity trading via Chinese ink and literati pieces.
But that’s not all. Besides the suite of introspective exhibitions, also check out new programmes focused on targeting various communities. Not only are there interactive art murals perfect for the young-at-heart, there are also themed days and nights including the Social (Distance) Fridays, where after-dark activities will take place at the museum.
So with all these cool activities and exhibits already set to take place at the Asian Civilisations Museum, you can bet more interesting programmes will be coming your way as the year progresses.
Faith Beauty Love Hope – Our Stories, Your ACM; Perfect Stranger; and thINK: Chinese Calligraphy, Connoisseurship, and Collecting runs from now till Feb 28 at the Asian Civilisations Museum. More information available here.
