The Post-Museum

Singapore

THE POST-MUSEUM

BY DR. DAVISI BOONTHARM, MS. ANITA KUNDAJE

INTRODUCTION Whilst top-down government initiatives in Singapore have attracted much attention and acclaim for enhancing the urban environment, some have been criticized for their formulaic or “packaged” approach to stimulating the arts and culture and for the expectation that a ‘suitable’ built environment will naturally attract actors who will add cultural zest to the stage. In some cases, this goal has proved elusive; strict rules on freedom of expression and other restrictions have dampened creativity, resulting in ‘Disney ed’ spaces such as Clarke Quay, rather than a truly vibrant creative and artistic milieu.

Post-Museum sought to address this challenge by a bottom-up approach. Its organizers, curator Jennifer Teo, and her partner Woon Tien Wei, opened the Post-Museumin 2007as an ‘independent cultural and social space which seeks to examine contemporary life, promote the arts and connect people.’ It was housed in two historic 1920 shop-houses in Little India, ‘an exciting and truly historical and multi- cultural area in Singapore’.

from the National Arts Council, Post-Museum survived by renting out studio space above the colonial-styled showroom on a yearly basis. Revenues were also generated by a small deli-bar (Food#03-BenBino’s). Activities included hosting of various events and activities including local and international exhibitions, residency programmes for local and international artists, talks by local and international speakers, workshops and classes, community projects, research Post-Museum relished its inde- and publishing. pendence, and at the time was the only continuously opera- Post-Museum’s initiatives were tional art space in Singapore that based on four broad objectives: was not government-funded. Engagement, Education, EnviApart from the occasional grant ronment, and Economy. ese 1

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Figure 1 Post-Museum from outside Source: http://www.post-museum.org

initiatives included Food #03, e Soup Kitchen Project, e Singapore Really Really Free Market, the Singapore QueerStraight Alliance, and the Rowell Road Reading Group. e Post-Museum soon became a prominent focal point for art, design and architecture as well as a meeting place for NGOs. It offered a rare but excellent example of an ‘alternative cultural space’, primarily focusing on providing smaller but more locally oriented, 2

accessible and affordable spaces eluded its publicly-funded counfor the practice, debate and dis- terparts- the buzz and authenplay of arts and culture. ticity of true creativity, and the provision of a platform for issues In comparison with publicly- that were a challenge for open funded museums, galleries and engagement in mainstream Sinart museums in Singapore, the gapore. e lesson is clear: supoperational scale of Post-Muse- port for social enterprises offers um was small. And although the a low-cost and low-risk route to Post-Museum closed its doors in strengthen community cohesion August 2011, its do-it-yourself as well as stimulate the arts and approach to engaging the com- culture. However, the emergence munity offers lessons for policy. of a vibrant and dynamic cultural Post-Museum accomplished scene in Singapore will depend something that has persistently upon new freedoms and fewer

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conditionalities in State funding for civil society organizations.

Innovative aspects of Post-Museum 1) Independence: Post-Museum was initiated and organized by a small group of individuals who believed in alternative approaches, and who wanted to make a difference in Singapore’s art scene. is autonomy allowed the group greater freedom to express themselves and follow their own agenda, creating an authentic forum for cultural exchange.

2) Social enterprise approach: the use of the business model to support a social mission at grass-roots level offers an alternative to depending upon State or corporate subsidy. Although in this case, the group was ultimately unable to secure sufficient nance to sustain its operations, over a four year period Post-Museum demonstrated the potential of the social enterprise approach to empower local communities and strengthen civic society, lling the vacuum le by tightly controlled, top-down State initiatives.

CONTACT INFORMATION Dr. Davisi BOONTHARM School of Architecture and Building | Faculty of Science and Technology Deakin University | Victoria | Australia Email: d.boontharm@deakin.edu.au

With support from