Photo exhibition on defining moments to travel around S'pore

AFTER a successful run attracting 87,000 visitors, photo exhibition We: Defining Stories will now take the form of a year-long roving showcase.

Instead of 400 images, it will feature a tighter storyline with 100 shots from The Straits Times and the National Museum of Singapore.

Curators from the National Heritage Board (NHB) handpicked historical photographs which they hope will strike a chord with Singaporeans.

For instance, the collection will include a 1973 shot of eager spectators climbing a fence to get a closer look at the Thomson Road Grand Prix.

There will also be candid captures such as a shot from 1984 where customers, unfazed by flood waters fast filling a Waterloo Street coffee shop, continued to chat while perched on chairs.

NHB said two sets of the exhibition will be produced at a total cost of $80,000. The first set will travel to 12 libraries, and the other to schools, community centres, and other venues, including an overseas one in France.

Mr David Chew, a senior assistant director and curator at NHB, said the images are meant to trigger personal memories among viewers. "It's not just about famous people and leaders, but photos where viewers can find themselves in or remember ensuing moments they were part of."

The showcase, co-presented by The Straits Times and NHB, follows a four-month permanent exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore which ended on Aug 31 last year. It was divided into six sections and featured events from the 1950s until 2013.

NHB's group director of programmes Tan Boon Hui said the year-long travelling exhibition will "resonate with Singaporeans" during the country's jubilee year.

Said Straits Times editor Warren Fernandez: "This travelling exhibition is just one of several activities we have planned to mark Singapore's golden jubilee.

"There will be several SG50- related features in the pages of the paper and on our online platforms, as well as a string of forums and events through which we hope to engage our readers more directly. We will unveil more on this soon."

melodyz@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on January 5, 2015.
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