FACTSHEET – SINGAPORE HERITAGEFEST 2015 SINGAPORE HERITAGEFEST 2015 Duration: 17 April – 18 May 2015 Various venues Into its 12th year, National Heritage Board’s signature Singapore HeritageFest promises yet another edition of heritage fun! Spanning five weekends from 17 April to 18 May, Singapore HeritageFest 2015 will be the largest edition to date with many more community partners coming on board to contribute and participate. In the festival’s spirit of celebration and discovery, explore familiar places, rediscover the lesser known and forgotten stories behind their past, and come to appreciate them in a whole new way. From our humble beginnings on the banks of the Singapore River, to our heartlands and neighbourhoods that are unique in their own ways, join us as we celebrate not just what connects us as one, but also our diversity that make us truly Singaporean. Weekly Programme Highlights: (Details of all the individual programmes can be found on www.heritagefest.sg) Week 1 Great Town – A Tale of Three Campongs Venue: URA Centre Duration: 17 April –17 May 2015 (Exhibition) 2 May 2015, 10.00am – 11.00am (Talk) Great Town – A Tale of Three Campongs takes a timely look at Singapore’s most iconic heritage district in the south of the Singapore River. Typically described today as Singapore’s “Chinatown”, the district was better known as Big Town, or Tua Poh in Hokkien in the past, in contradistinction to Small Town (Sio Poh), which is in the north of the river. Originally set aside by Raffles as a place of settlement for Singapore’s early Chinese immigrant population, Campong China, even in its earliest incarnation, was never an exclusively Chinese enclave. The fact that Singapore’s oldest mosques and Hindu temple can be found side by side with Chinese places of worship and habitation in the very heart of so-called Chinatown bears testimony to Singapore’s long tradition of multi-culturalism and religious tolerance. With this in mind, the exhibition takes a look at the development of Chinatown, seen as a physical embodiment of the Singapore Story, through its rich architectural heritage and the many buildings of historical interest. Page 1 of 12 Moderns in Our Midst: A Photographic Tribute to Singapore’s Modern Architectural Heritage Venue: National Museum of Singapore, Concourse Duration: 17 April –18 May 2015 Moderns in Our Midst showcases a unique group of buildings that are not usually appreciated as ‘heritage’, as they are ‘everyday’ structures that form the backdrop of Singaporeans’ daily lives – public housing, places of worship, schools, markets and workplaces. Taken over a span of ten years, these photographs by award-winning architectural photographer, the late Jeremy San Tzer Ning (1976 – 2013), represent a passionate, ambitious and wide-ranging undertaking to capture Singapore’s endangered early Modernist architecture as it stands in the first decade of the 21st century. Monument Open House Venue: Various locations Dates: 18 & 19 April 2015 Learn about the historical and architectural significance of Singapore’s historic landmarks during Monument Open House 2015. Visit our National Monuments or join one of the guided tours this weekend! Music of the Armenians Venue: Armenian Church Date: 19 April 2015 Time: 7.00pm – 9.00pm An evening of vocal music featuring Gayane Vardanyan (mezzo soprano), and performance of masterpieces by Armenian, Russian and European composers. Ole Ole Temasek – 50 Years of Singapore Malay Pop Music Venue: National Museum of Singapore, Salon Duration: 17 April –17 May 2015 Singapore played an important role in the development of music in the regional Malay music market. Throughout the last five decades, Singapore Malay music industry created a Page 2 of 12 diversity of artistes spanning various genres. Ole Ole Temasek – 50 Years of Singapore Malay Pop Music traces the various metamorphosis of Malay pop music – from the 60s Western pop influenced music called Pop Yeh Yeh to disco; to the big hair rock, to the renaissance of Nusantara World Music right to the bombastic Hip Hop of the new millennium. Ole Ole Temasek is a tribute to the legends, the artistes, the musicians, the movers and shakers of the Malay pop music of the last five decades (1965 – 2015). The Eurasian Experience Tour Venue: Eurasian Community House Dates: 18, 19, 25, 26 April & 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17 May 2015 Time: 5.00pm – 6.30pm, maximum of 20 people per session, pre-registration required A collaboration between the Eurasian Association and Quentin’s Eurasian Restaurant, the Eurasian Community House will have various stations where visitors can find out more about the Eurasian culture. This includes going on a guided tour, playing traditional games, jiving to a Eurasian folk dance and sampling Eurasian delicacy. Tours are available during the Singapore HeritageFest weekends from 5.00pm - 6.30pm and visitors are welcome to stay on for dinner at Quentin’s Eurasian Restaurant* to try the wide array of Eurasian cuisine. Register as a family. All are welcome! *Eurasian meal at own cost World Heritage Day Symposium: “Heritage in Singapore – Saving History to Build a Nation” Venue: National Museum of Singapore, Gallery Theatre Date: 18 April 2015 Time: 9.00am – 1.00pm A half-day symposium on various aspects of Singapore’s heritage and activities, it will feature speakers from ICOMOS Singapore as well as from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), including well-known and established heritage advocates and scholars: Kevin YL Tan, Yeo Kang Shua, Tan Kar Lin, Ho Weng Hin, Lim Chen Sian, and Hui Yew- Foong. Topics covered will include: ‘Fighting For and About Heritage: State-Society Engagements’; and ‘Conservation of Chinese Temples in Singapore’ amongst others. Page 3 of 12 Week 2 Gema Dikir dan Gendang (Echoes of Chants and Drums) Venue: Malay Heritage Centre Date: 25 April 2015 Time: 2.00pm – 10.30pm This Singapore HeritageFest, the Malay Heritage Centre will be paying tribute to one of the most popular and celebrated traditional Malay art form, Dikir Barat. Originating from Kelantan, Dikir Barat fuses elements of music, hand movements, creative wordplay and singing into a dynamic and energetic presentation. Moving away from the usual competitive Dikir Barat event, Gema Dikir dan Gendang will bring together enthusiasts in a friendly, non- competitive environment to share, learn and play with one another. Designed for the family, Gema Dikir dan Gendang will feature Dikir Barat performances, workshops, activity booths and a drumming circle that would be enjoyable even to the uninitiated. Launch of Geylang Serai Foot and Food Trails Venue: Khadijah Mosque Auditorium Event date: 25 April 2015 Event time: 11.00am GOH: Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef The Geylang Serai Foot and Food Trails, organised by the Geylang Serai Integration & Nationalisation Champions (INC) Committee, offer a glimpse into the vibrant character of the area as seen through the current and historical buildings still standing. These trails, which highlight various places of worship, favourite food haunts of locals and stories of residents, showcase the harmonious, multi-religious and multi-cultural nature of the neighbourhood Following the launch on 25 April, the trail will be available to public from May 2015, on the last Saturday of every month. For more information, please visit Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/gsheritagetrail Page 4 of 12 Launch of NHB’s Jurong Heritage Trail & ‘My School is Cool: An Exhibition of Educational Institutions in Jurong’ Venue: Taman Jurong Community Centre and Our Museum @ Taman Jurong, 1 Yung Sheng Road, Singapore 618495 Launch date: 25 April 2015, Saturday Launch time: 1.30pm – 6.00pm Exhibition duration: Till July 2015 Time: Monday – Friday: 3.00pm – 9.00pm, Saturday: 10.00am – 9.00pm, Sunday: 10.00am – 6.00pm. Closed on Public Holidays On 25 April 2015, NHB will launch its 13th national heritage trail in Jurong while Our Museum @ Taman Jurong will launch its new exhibition titled ‘My School is Cool: An Exhibition of Educational Institutions in Jurong’. The Jurong Heritage Trail will take visitors around sites of heritage significance in the area, including Jurong Hill (Bukit Peropok), Pandan Reservoir, and Jurong Lake. Visitors are invited to explore the story of Jurong when it was formerly peppered with gambier and rubber plantations, as well as the small industries of prawning and brick-making, and follow its transformation into Singapore’s first industrial estate. This heritage trail is launched in partnership with Taman Jurong Community Club. ‘My School is Cool: An Exhibition of Educational Institutions in Jurong’ explores the history of schools in Jurong, dating as early as the 1930s till the present day. In doing so, the exhibition charts the various communities and historical milestones in Jurong. This story also reflects the changing roles of Jurong's educational institutions, and how our schools adapted to meet the challenges we face as a nation. In conjunction with these exciting launches, there will be an Open House that will see a host of fun art activities that invite children and their families to discover and learn about Jurong’s growth over the years. Page 5 of 12 Night Out at Tiong Bahru Venue: Tiong Bahru Date: 24 & 25 April 2015 Time: 6.00pm – 10.00pm There is no shortage of heritage in Tiong Bahru, Singapore’s oldest residential estate. Its importance as a heritage icon was cemented by the launch of the Tiong Bahru Heritage Trail on 14 April 2013. The estate harbours tales of scandal, survival and hope. It is notorious for its earliest residents having housed mistresses in these flats. There were also other stories of despair such as how many grew tapioca along the roads during the Japanese Occupation in WW2, and tales of joy and hope – babies were born in the air raid shelter safe from the enemy shelling outside.