Resonance: July - September 09

140 Hill Street, 6th Storey, MICA Building Singapore 179369 T: 65 6270 7988 F: 65 6837 9480 E: mica@mica.gov.sg www.mica.gov.sg

Issue 10 â&#x20AC;˘ Jul - Sep 2009

Esplanade Presents – da:ns festival 23 October to 1 November 2009

Coping with Vulnerability

Singapore Art Show 2009

Handy Approach to Kindness

From 23 Oct to 1 Nov, the Esplanade presents its annual da:ns festival, showcasing the spectacular power of dance on the Esplanade’s stages. The festival features the world premiere of Dunas, a fiery fusion of flamenco and contemporary dance by two of the world’s most celebrated dancers, María Pagés and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. It also features American dance productions An Evening with Paloma Hererra and the Asian Premiere of RE - Parts I, II and III, choreographed by Shen Wei, the chief choreographer of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. Finally, Australia’s RAW Dance Company presents Project X with Korean B-boy crew, Last for One, which will treat audiences to an explosive mix of funk-tap, breakdancing and acrobatics. Please visit www.esplanade.com for more on the da:ns festival.

Singapore Writers Festival 24 October to 1 November 2009

Celebrating Singapore’s Rich Multi-cultural Heritage

Creating Growth Opportunities at imbX 2009

Next Gen NBN Reaches First Home

Revamped www.sg Provides Free Photos for Public Use

Snapshots – events roundup

Co-organised by the National Arts Council and The Arts House, the Singapore Writers Festival this year features the presence of luminaries such as Neil Gaiman, Taichi Yamada, Qiu Xiaolong and John Ajvide Lindqvist. For the first time this year, the Festival is also putting together several outreach programmes in schools and during the Festival, introducing children’s literature and children’s writers from Singapore (Adeline Foo and Shamini Flint) and The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’ John Boyne. The Festival continues its strong Singapore focus with its Literary Pioneer series which will honour Professor Edwin Thumboo from the National University of Singapore as the Literary Pioneer for 2009.

Vignettes in Time: Singapore Maps and History through the Centuries 1 August to 18 November 2009 Jointly organised by National Library Singapore and the Singapore Heritage Society, this exhibition depicts Singapore as seen through cartographers, geologists, mariners, military generals and town planners. Featuring the collections of National Library Singapore and Lim Shao Bin and with over 130 maps on display, this is the single largest showcase of maps in Singapore. Come explore a littleknown Singapore through vignettes of the past. The exhibition is on at the National Library Building (Level 10) from 10 am - 9 pm daily (except Public Holidays). Admission is free.

EVENTS ROUNDUP

For more details, please log on to www.singaporewritersfestival.com.

The Image of Our Landscape 3 September 2009 – 3 January 2010 Dear Readers Our heritage and culture form an integral part of our national identity. In an ever-changing Singapore, our heritage helps to keep us grounded. The Singapore HeritageFest, organised by the National Heritage Board, is one of the community engagement projects that celebrate our culture. In this issue, you can read more about this year’s HeritageFest. You can also read about a number of initiatives that MICA and its agencies have been involved in. We hope you enjoy reading this issue of Resonance.

Editorial Board Julia Hang Gavin Chelvan Contributors Diana Ng Joseph Tan Kenneth Tan Charmaine Lin Felix Siew Roy Teo Photo Credits Infocomm Development Authority National Arts Council National Heritage Board Singapore Kindness Movement

Land of the Morning: The Philippines and its People 16 October 2009 - 10 January 2010 Land of the Morning: The Philippines and its People explores the identity of the Filipino people, created by the blending of indigenous local cultures and foreign influences. This unprecedented exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum features more than 290 rare and important artefacts - ancient gold, Catholic imagery, tribal artefacts and contemporary Filipino artworks - from museums and private collections in the Philippines, some of which will be on display for the very first time.

This National Museum of Singapore originated exhibition will look at the various depictions of 19th century Singapore, examining their meanings and representations. The various works will reveal the topography of the Singapore landscape in the 19th century with views of places such as the harbour, Singapore River, Fort Canning Hill, Raffles Place as well as depictions of the cosmopolitan trade town and Singapore’s rural scenes. Taking an approach that is both chronological and thematic, the exhibition will feature over 130 original paintings, prints and photographs, albums and illustrated books from the museum’s collection, of which a significant number were acquired in recent years and never before shown. Admission is free.

Julia Hang (Mrs) Chairperson, Resonance Editorial Board resonance:08:09

WWW.SG

REVAMPED PROVIDES FREE PHOTOS FOR PUBLIC USE

The new and improved www.sg portal now provides Singaporeans and foreigners with an additional online avenue to acquire photographs of the various faces of Singapore. www.sg, “Your Official Gateway to Singapore”, provides a breadth of information and resources on Singapore and profiles Singapore as a vibrant place to live, work, learn, and play. To add value to its traditional function as a portal to Singapore sites, the revamped www.sg features a photo and video gallery where users can share and comment on content. Photographs in the gallery are grouped into different categories such as People, Places, and Happenings. Visitors can expect to find many innovative and creative photographs of Singapore. Besides serving as a repository of images which can be downloaded free for non-commercial use, the gallery also offers foreigners an interesting glimpse of the sights of Singapore. To date, the gallery boasts more than 250 photographs. The interface is easy and intuitive for uploading photographs onto the portal. Viewers of the photographs can also comment and share the photographs uploaded. www.sg has also been collaborating with Government and private agencies to populate and promote the portal’s interactive photograph gallery. A photo competition held earlier this year also allowed the public to contribute iconic images of Singapore to the www.sg gallery. Agencies who wish to showcase their creative works and photographs of Singapore on www.sg can email mica_wwwsg@mica.gov.sg for more details. Tell your friends about the revamped www.sg today!

COPING WITH

VULNERABILITY What do you do, and how well do you react when you are faced with a terrorist attack? How many water-saving tips can you remember? What colour do you look out for when you pass through a thermal imager? In June 2009, Singapore celebrated fifty years of self-governance. Over the years, many memorable posters with stark messages like “Stop at Two”, “Save Water”, “Be Flu Free”, “What Will You Defend?” have dotted the Singaporean landscape, produced largely by government and other agencies seeking to educate or exhort the public to act or respond in a particular way. Using posters as a novel medium to retell and celebrate 50 years of the Singapore Story, the National Resilience Division (NRD) in the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) has curated perhaps the first ever public exhibition of its kind in Singapore. The “Coping With Vulnerability: The First 50 Years. Posters from our Past” exhibition was held at the National Library from 3 September to 15 October 2009. The theme revolves around the trials and tribulations of a small city state, coping with obvious vulnerabilities, in its journey to nationhood. The story is viewed through the prism of national security and traces the diversity of challenges it has had to face – communism, communalism, konfrontasi in the early years, the desperate need to ensure access to water resources, and the current-day threat of transnational terrorism. Diseases like cholera and tuberculosis have been overtaken by recent pandemics like SARS, Avian Flu and Influenza A (H1N1) which threaten the survival of city states. Today, many new challenges abound, which are no less critical than those an earlier generation faced and overcame.

Scenic shots of the Singapore skyline from different points of view.

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SINGAPORE

RADM (NS) Lui Tuck Yew viewing one of the exhibits at the imbX 2009.

ART SHOW

2009

Into its third edition, Singapore Art Show 2009 brought an exciting smorgasbord of art offerings from 21 August to 4 October 2009. The show was designed to invite, entice and trigger responses to the idea of art. The flagship event, the Singapore Art Exhibition, was organised along a buffet of themes celebrating the diverse expressions and creativity of Singaporean artists. Garnering some 475 artwork entries via an open call, this juried exhibition concluded with the awarding of the Singapore Art Exhibition Prize and the Voters’ Prize. Curating Lab: 100 Objects (Remixed) was a key developmental platform, co-presented by the National Arts Council (NAC) and the NUS Museum for young curators and tertiary students to be mentored in critical curatorial practices. It aimed to generate greater awareness of the importance of such practices in the production of exhibitions and development of new ideas. Using an archive of 100 artworks from Singapore practitioners, participants were guided towards developing their own curatorial vision, culminating in a large-scale exhibition and a publication, along with a series of workshops and talks. In a major showcase of traditional and modern art forms, the Federation of Art Societies Singapore (FASS) presented The Call of Tradition spread over three venues: FASS (Kampong Eunos), Ngee Ann Cultural Centre and Black Earth Art Museum, featuring some 180 artists from over 20 art societies. It presented a plethora of art forms from ink paintings, calligraphy and seal carving, to watercolours, oil paintings, ceramics and sculptures, all testament to how tradition continues to inform contemporary art today.

CREATING GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES AT IMBX 2009 Amid the slowdown of the global economy, opportunities and prospects for investment and development still exist in Asia. The Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbX), Asia’s largest infocomm and media trade exhibition, returned this year from 15 – 19 June 2009, bringing together government leaders, business personalities and industry professionals from the infocomm and media sectors.

Singapore Art Show (SAS) 2009 sought to continue expanding horizons and perceptions of art through developmental platforms such as Lost in the City. Co-presented by the National Museum of Singapore and NAC, it took visitors on a tour of five emerging artists’ site-specific works which responded to the nightscape of Singapore in all its buzz, excitement, dislocation and doubt.

Acting Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts, Rear Admiral (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, expressed optimism during his opening remarks at imbX 2009, saying that “the constantly evolving nature of infocomm technologies means that there will always be new growth opportunities”.

Taking art further beyond institutional walls was the launch of Public Art Showcase, a new NAC engagement initiative dedicated to raising awareness of art in public spaces across the island. The first edition took the form of a map, Your Guide to Singapore’s Iconic Public Artworks, which highlighted 52 of our most seminal public artworks. Marking the launch of the Showcase was The Amazing Art Find – an Amazing Race-style challenge in which contestants raced around Singapore in a hunt to identify selected public artworks.

The event drew 50,240 attendees and participants from 60 countries and regions across Asia-Pacific, Europe, US and the Middle-East. There were also more than 1,900 exhibiting companies taking part in the exhibition, demonstrating products and solutions throughout the value chain of infocomm and media technologies.

With its diversity of delicious offerings designed for every palate imaginable, SAS 2009 showed that art is for everyone! The veritable buffet of activities at SAS 2009 certainly whetted our appetites, leaving us hungry for future editions of the biennial event.

The annual Ministerial Forum on ICT, held in conjunction with imbX for discussion of key ICT trends, policies and regulations, centered on the topic “ICT: Transforming Governments, Businesses and Societies”. Participants sought

to identify how ICT could act as a catalyst to reinvigorate the economy, be a positive transformative force and be an investment for the future. Discussions were also held at the Next Generation Broadband forum which debuted at this year’s imbX, underlining the growing importance of high-speed broadband in recent years. The forum was held over two days, focussing on the deployment of networks and the business opportunities which could develop from these high-speed network deployments. Most significantly, the forum discussed Singapore’s Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network which commenced deployment in August 2009. Already, 80% of exhibitors have expressed an interest to return to the show in 2010. Chief Executive Officer, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, RADM(NS) Ronnie Tay, said, “The imbX offers an excellent platform for participants to learn about the latest infocomm trends, products and services, as well as seek new partnerships and business opportunities. We will continue to work with the industry and other government agencies to develop new programmes and activities at the imbX to allow for an active exchange of ideas and experiences.” resonance:06:07

Be prepared to be connected to Singapore’s ultra high-speed Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN). On 5 August 2009, residents in a housing board flat in Cantonment Close became the first to be connected to Singapore’s ultra high-speed fibre-optic broadband network, marking the start of deployment to all households in Singapore. OpenNet, a consortium of four partners - Axia NetMedia, SingTel, Singapore Press Holdings and SP Telecommunications, is responsible for deploying and operating the passive network infrastructure of the Next Gen NBN. OpenNet’s current fibre deployment to homes and commercial buildings is on schedule. Around 32,000 homes and 500 non-residential buildings across Singapore have already been covered and are ready for in-premise fibre installation. Prior to installation within homes, OpenNet will send letters to homeowners informing them of OpenNet’s initial offer of free installation and the installation period for their neighbourhood. Residents living in highrise residential blocks can also look out for the Next Gen NBN sticker at their lift lobbies, which will be their cue to call OpenNet to arrange for fibre installation into their homes. The fibre installation will take less than 4 hours and promises to be fuss-free. Homeowners who decline the initial offer will have to pay for future requests at S$220 for a high-rise apartment and S$450 for a landed property.

The Next Gen NBN sticker indicates that the block is fibre-ready.

“It is important that homeowners work with OpenNet to make sure this is implemented smoothly because the first pass is free,” said Acting Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts, Rear Admiral (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, encouraging homeowners to take up OpenNet’s offer. The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) has meanwhile also met interested retail service providers to discuss the kinds of high-speed internet services they can provide and the potential business opportunities which would be enabled by the Next Gen NBN. These services are expected to be available by the end of the first half of 2010. Once connected, users will be able to enjoy connection speeds of up to 1 Gbps and higher, allowing for highresolution movies to be downloaded and viewed within a span of minutes. Bandwidth heavy applications in the areas of teleconferencing, telemedicine and gaming would also become enhanced, revolutionising the way Singaporeans work, live, learn and play. In the next few months, 32,000 homes are set to be connected to the Next Gen NBN, with 60% of all households expected to be connected by 2010 and 95% of households by 2012. To find out when your household may expect to be wired up, log on to www.opennet.com.sg.

Acting Minister RADM(NS) Lui Tuck Yew chats with resident Rajesh Seth (centre) and his family at Cantonment Close.

HANDY APPROACH TO KINDNESS Kindness begins at home. Everyone agrees that parents are key role models and have an integral role in imparting values of graciousness to their children. But the reality is that adults often forget this and practise poor behaviours, such as queue cutting or driving ungraciously in front of their children. This means the young end up picking up these bad behaviours unintentionally. The Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) has come up with an innovative and hands-on way to address this situation. In late July 2009, it launched a resource package that includes a series of five stories about “Handy, the Helpful Fish”, accompanied by a set of activity cards and a resource guide for teachers. The package is targeted at children aged 3 to 6, and was rolled out to about 150 pre-schools and kindergartens across Singapore. Teachers at the schools will use an oversized illustrated story book to tell the adventures of Handy to the children. These stories emphasise values such as empathy, kindness and generosity. These values are then reinforced through simple actions listed on the activity cards, which parents and teachers can verify against the children’s behaviours.

These actions include: - “Greet my parents in the morning” - “Draw a ‘Thank You for your help’ card to Dad/ Mum” - “Be polite when answering questions or requests” - “Do something nice for a friend” - “Greet my teachers” What makes this unique is that the children are encouraged to ‘check’ on their parents’ behaviours as well. There are actions listed on the cards such as ‘Dad/Mum returned the tray after having a meal outside’. While the tone is light-hearted and actions are simple, this exercise subtly reminds adults that their children are constantly observing and following them, and so encourages the parents to be positive role models at all times. Taken together, these cards help affirm adults and children on their kind and gracious behaviours. Initial feedback on “Handy, the Helpful Fish” has been positive. As a result, SKM plans to create additional material, such as classroom games based on the lessons learnt and a Mandarin version of the stories.

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W

“ ho’s Your Neighbour?” That was the question posed by this year’s Singapore HeritageFest (SHF) to pique the curiosity of Singaporeans and visitors in finding out more about their neighbours. Organised by the National Heritage Board’s (NHB) Education and Outreach Division, the SHF returned for the sixth year from 15 to 26 July 2009. The SHF celebrated the cultures of not only incumbent Singaporeans, but also the cultures of the New Citizens and Permanent Residents who call Singapore home. The festival also provided a platform for visitors to get to know and understand each other’s cultures better through the various festival activities. The festival was launched by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, on 15 July at the Festival Hub @ Suntec which also housed the festival’s anchor exhibition.

Compass Point was one of the six festival satellite hubs.

CELEBRATING SINGAPORE’S RICH MULTI-CULTURAL HERITAGE

A festival first this year was the strong outreach to the heartlands with six festival satellite hubs at heartland malls islandwide. Each of the satellite hubs had its own exhibition, stage programming and activities revolving around an aspect of culture such as food, fashion, music, birth rites, weddings and traditional games, providing the heartlanders with hours of education and entertainment. Students were also engaged this year in a big way. Besides two competitions that were organised for primary and secondary school students, a specially commissioned puppet show called The Runaway Dog also visited primary schools during their school assemblies, touching the young ones with messages of cultural understanding in a light-hearted manner. For the first time, tertiary students took ownership of promoting heritage and organised youth roadshows on topics of Singapore’s heritage and culture via Project H. The roadshows were a hit with both their peers and shoppers.

There was truly something for everyone at the festival this year. There was Fun on Foot, the e-Challenge! a heritage-based treasure hunt which utilised SMS for the first time for the adventure-seeking, and Expedition H heritage bus tours for the heritagelovers who learnt more about the cultures of several ethnic communities first-hand. Photography buffs also got to show off their creative interpretation of our neighbourhoods at the Neighbourhood Landscapes photography competition. Meanwhile, music lovers were entertained by an impressive line-up of Singapore’s music legends as well as up-and-coming performers from English, Chinese, Malay and Indian concerts. The Malay and Indian concerts were also firsts in the festival’s history. Although the festival officially closed on 26 July, one of the festival’s programmes will continue running till December. Called Close {Encounters of the nice kind}, the outdoor media project features heartwarming stories of inter-ethnic friendships and care between neighbours from all walks of life. If you travel by MRT, you would probably have spotted the posters at the stations. Alternatively, visit www.mystory.sg, a newly launched media portal for all things heritage, to read their stories in full. Thanks to the support of its partners, as well as engaging programmes and activities lined up, SHF 2009 attracted 2 million visitors, a 25% increase from last year. Over 80% of the respondents said the festival helped them to be more aware of Singapore’s heritage and history, and strengthened their sense of belonging. 94% also said that SHF was a key initiative and event that helped to promote and raise awareness of Singapore’s multi-racial community. So if you have missed the festival this year, more exciting activities abound for SHF 2010, so keep your eyes peeled on the festival website at www.heritagefest.sg.

One of the stops on the Expedition H heritage bus tour. Live music was the order of the day at VivoCity.

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