Housed within the Gallery's Rotunda, located at the heart of the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery, it is a site of historical importance and now serves as a research hub for the study of art history in Singapore and Southeast Asia.
No prior appointments need to be made or admission tickets need to be purchased to enter the Rotunda Library & Archive. However, users must register at the counter to access the collection.
National Gallery Singapore was established in 2015 as a leading visual arts institution overseeing the world’s largest public collection of Singapore and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art. Guided by its curatorial vision to present the art histories of Singapore and Southeast Asia; reflexively (re)write the art histories of Singapore and Southeast Asia; and examine these art histories in relation to the global history of art, the Gallery has developed a significant collection of artists’ archives and a reference library focusing on Singapore and Southeast Asian art.
The Gallery’s Rotunda, located at the heart of the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery (Level 3, Supreme Court Wing), is a site of historical importance. During the building’s former life as the Supreme Court of Singapore, the Rotunda served as the Law Library. Housed in this historical space, the Rotunda Library & Archive extends the memory of this site while serving a new function as a research hub for the study of art history in Southeast Asia.
The Rotunda Library & Archive aims to be a leading library housing one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of Singapore and Southeast Asian art-historical resources from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
Their collection currently holds over 20,000 physical and digital items, including rare publications, exhibition catalogues, ephemera and digital archives, made possible through generous donations, publication exchanges with various art institutions in the region, and partnerships with the estates of Southeast Asian modern art pioneers, such as Georgette Chen and Lim Hak Tai (Singapore), S. Sudjojono (Indonesia) and Kalaw Ledesma Foundation (the Philippines).
Most archival acquisitions are conducted through loans or donations from the archives’ owners (artists, artists’ families, estates and art communities). The Library & Archive preserves the donated physical archives and digitises loaned archives.
A large selection of materials in their Library & Archive collection is searchable here (You will be redirected to their Collections Search Portal). Due to copyright restrictions and levels of permission from the archive owners, some items are only available for viewing onsite. You can view these items in the Collections Search Portal with our digital viewing facility at the Gallery’s Rotunda Library & Archive.
In October 2015, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society successfully tendered for a landsite in Fernvale Link for the construction of a Chinese temple. The 2,000 sq m Thye Hua Kwan Temple is set to open to the public on May 20.
Thye Hua Kwan Temple will house a Hall of Filial Piety, where ancestral tablets will be placed. There will also be video screening facilities in the hall, where families can play videos of their loved ones in remembrance of them. The temple will also house Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian deities for worship and lecture halls where multi-religious dialogue will be held to promote inter racial and inter religious understanding. To promote Inter-Religious Harmony, that will be a library for the Sacred Books of all religions.
The newly reopened & renovated Masjid Darul Ghufran mosque in Tampines now has space for 5,500 worshippers to pray at one time making it the second largest mosque (after Assyakirin Mosque) in Singapore.
Located beside Our Tampines Hub, Masjid Darul Ghufran was first completed in December 1990.
Apart from structured, formal programmes, Darul Ghufran Mosque provides specialised religion courses to cater to a variety of needs and segments of society.
Singapore’s award-winning wildlife attraction, Singapore Zoo, celebrates its 45th year since it first opened in 1973 with their latest attraction, Rainforest Lumina.
A first in South East Asia, Rainforest Lumina at Singapore Zoo is a new, illuminated multimedia night walk on the wild side promises a sensory feast for visitors. Call of the Wild wows with an astounding visual narrative of how the Creature Crew bands together in times of adversity to overcome all challenges and protect the jungle.
The one-kilometer stretch within the zoo’s tropical rainforest will awaken the senses as visitors walk through 11 different zones and meet the Creature Crew, a group of unlikely heroes who will take visitors on a whimsical adventure along the paths of their enchanted world.
Created by award-winning multimedia entertainment studio Moment Factory and set up with careful consideration to minimise disturbance to the park’s animal collection and native wildlife, Rainforest Lumina will take visitors on an immersive journey as they encounter interactive and mesmerising installations and uncover a side of the zoo that has never been seen before.
With the overarching theme “We are one”, Rainforest Lumina seeks to drive home the message that humans, animals and nature are inter-connected, with each having a vital role to play to sustain life on earth. The transformation of the Singapore Zoo into a magical landscape of lights and sound, coupled with the interaction with the Creature Crew, will take guests on the spellbinding journey that will spark inspiration at every turn and nurture empathy for nature and wildlife.
Opening as one of the world’s first “open-concept” zoos, the Singapore Zoo started with a modest collection of about 300 animals. Today, the Singapore Zoo welcomes 1.9 million visitors each year and is home to over 2,400 animals representing more than 300 species, of which 34 percent are threatened in the wild. The Zoo has also been successful in breeding critically endangered species and has established itself as one of the best zoos in the world, gaining worldwide recognition.
Adding to an already well-rounded experience, the Singapore Zoo will make use of immersive technology to provide visitors with a fresh experience. It will include Rainforest Lumina’s innovative use of light, multimedia and interactive elements, as well as an engaging narrative to heighten the night walk experience.
One of the few landmarks on Waterloo Street, the 148-year old Sri Krishnan Temple reopens after four years of restoration works costing nearly $4 million.
The shrines, ceilings, temple dome and pillars were all upgraded in the renovation. Intricate decorative works on the pillars required two sculptors working on them on-site over 3 years.
One of the oldest Hindu temples in Singapore, Sri Krishnan Temple's recent consecration ceremony called Maha Samprokshanam (done every 12 to 15 years) was attended by some 10,000 devotees.
Supported by National Heritage Board, Singapore, the museum was conceptualised in 2016 and completed in 2018.
Did you know that more than two-thirds of the current Bishan town was once occupied by a cemetery and a village? Since the 19th century, Bishan was a Chinese burial ground called Peck San Theng. The Cantonese community was in charge of Peck San Theng, with more than 50,000 graves spread across the region. Kampong San Theng was the main Chinese village then.
The new $700,000 heritage gallery tells the story of Kampong San Teng.
The 560 sqm gallery held its official opening on 3rd June.
Admission to the gallery is free. It is open from 9.30am to 4pm every day except on public holidays.
The regional art scene is set to become more vibrant with the major revamp of the Singapore Art Museum (SAM).
SAM’s museum programming will continue throughout the revamp which is likely to cost around $90 million. Internationally renowned SCDA Architects have been appointed to manage the redevelopment of the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) buildings.
SAM opened to much fanfare in 1996 in a converted museum space that once housed the former Saint Joseph’s Institution and has not upgraded its premises since. The upcoming building works will address the growing needs of contemporary art in Singapore and focus on improving the visitor experience at SAM. The project is targeted for completion in 2021.
SAM currently occupies two separate buildings – the former St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) along Bras Basah Road - a gazetted National Monument, and the former Catholic High School, located along Queen Street. The redevelopment plans include the creation of a fully contiguous museum, more spaces to accommodate museum-based learning opportunities, as well as the infrastructure to display large-scale or technologically- demanding artworks.
SAM’s museum programming continues to take place at SAM at 8Q till end of January 2019. Thereafter, members of the public can look forward to pop-up contemporary art projects at partner venues, as well as co-curated and touring exhibitions by SAM.
Prior to the commencement of the building works, a series of archaeological activities will take place at the former SJI building during Singapore Heritage Festival 2018, as part of the National Monument’s bid to deepen the public’s understanding of its history, which dates back to 1855.
The renovated temple has a new facade, a multi-purpose hall and other upgraded facilities.
AVGMT is an amalgamation of three Hindu temples - the Arulmigu Velmurugan Temple, the Sri Krishna Bhagwan Durga Parameswari Devasthanam and the Sri Mariamman Muneeswarar Temple.
The Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, a 164-year-old national monument and one of the oldest temples in Singapore, was recently re-sanctified in a consecration ceremony called the “Maha Samprokshanam” which is done once every 12 years.
Major redevelopment works at the temple, costing S$4.5 million, were recently completed.
The temple had to invite foreign experts to help in the restoration as certain specific skills were not available here. A team of 20 highly-skilled artisans, known as sthapathis, were flown in from India for the job.
In 1978, Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple was declared a National Monument by the Preservation of Monuments Board. The temple also underwent major facelifts in year 1987, 1992 and 2005.
The history of Sri Srinivasa Perumal temple dates back to the late 1800s. Read more about its rich history here.
A new arts centre dedicated to the promotion of cross cultural exchanges will open in Singapore this May.
Called Temenggong House 18 • 20 and located at two historical black and white bungalows on the slopes of Mount Faber at Temenggong Road, the new centre will serve as a conducive environment for the confluence of shared experiences between communities around the region to promote Singapore as an arts and cultural hub in an increasingly globalised world.
Temenggong House will officially open on 25 May 2018. Visitors can look forward to a suite of signature events which will be unveiled closer to the date.
The venue will comprise facilities such as function rooms, dining and verandah areas which can cater to a wide range of events and programmes.
One of Singapore oldest mosques, Angullia Mosque, closes for redevelopment which will see it transform into a four-storey building that can accommodate 2,500 congregants.
Angullia Mosque has been an iconic landmark in the area of Serangoon Road and Little India for more than 120 years.
The Mosque was built on Wakaff land bequeathed by MSE Angullia. Still standing at its present site, the first blueprints of the Mosque was dated in 1890.
Since its initial construction somewhere in the late 1890s, several upgrading works have been undertaken to maintain its functionality and relevance to its immediate community.
Angullia Mosque serves a large community of Muslims within the Serangoon Road district and many of their congregants include both the local and foreign workforce within the Serangoon Road business district.
Over the years, the capacity and infrastructure of the mosque are not able to keep up with the numbers and demands of their daily congregants.
The main building of the former National Aerated Water Factory at 1177 Serangoon Road will be gazetted for conservation by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
Recognising the building’s heritage value, its role as a landmark in the area and the social memories it holds for the community, the building owner, Selangor Dredging Berhad (SDB) is supportive of the conservation efforts and is working closely with URA to keep the building as part of our national history.
Completed in 1954, this Art Deco Style building is a well-known local landmark along Serangoon Road. It was the bottling factory that produced popular soft drinks such as Sinalco, Kickapoo Joy Juice and Royal Crown Cola. It is also one of the last few remaining structures along the stretch of Kallang River that reflect the area’s rich industrial past, and contribute to the heritage of the Kallang River.
The two-storey L-shaped main building facing Serangoon Road will be conserved. This includes the signage tower, a representative feature that many will be familiar with. Read more about this conservation effort.
Expect an extended design experience at the Red Dot Design Museum, with the exhibition galleries, museum shop and the design cafe & bar opening late till 2am daily!
As the only museum in Singapore that opens past midnight, the Red Dot Design Museum is an alternative night-time desitination to visit after-hours.
In 1955, the “Ständige Schau formschöner Industrieerzeugnisse” (Permanent Show of Elegant Industrial Products) was established in Villa Hügel in Essen, Germany. It evolved over the years to become the Red Dot Design Museum.
Today, the Red Dot Design Museum in Germany and Singapore presents the world’s largest exhibition of contemporary design.
Red Dot Design Museum Singapore now sits on a glass building located along the Marina Bay Waterfront. The building used to be the Marina Bay City Gallery that showcase the story of Singapore’s urban transformation and the development of Marina Bay.
With the museum as the new tenant, the iconic building has been given a new lease of life with clever space transformations to include several galleries, retail, cafe and outdoor seating space to host year round design exhibitions.
Marina Bay Sands is set to unveil an unprecedented entertainment experience with a new, state-of-the-art light and water show, Spectra, on 2 June.
The city skyline will glimmer with a kaleidoscope of colours and spectacular lights each night with Spectra, a free-to-public outdoor light and water show displayed over the water at the Event Plaza along the promenade.
Combining an array of state-of-the-art lasers, lighting, water effects and projections, the show promises to be a multimedia extravaganza set to an orchestral soundtrack composed by award-winning local music producer Kenn C. At the heart of the performance lies a bespoke, 12-metre tall laminated glass-and-stainless-steel prism that bursts into life throughout the show.
Say Ahoy! Singapore Maritime Gallery has reopened on 17th April 2017 after a nearly S$2 million and nine-month long makeover.
Sail yourself into Singapore's maritime beginnings and discover how this quiet little island transformed into one of the world's leading International Maritime Centres!
Try out the Ship Bridge Simulator which is a major highlight of the gallery and be a ship captain for a day, Take the helm and pilot eight unique ships through story-driven missions.
Take on the role of a Junior Maritime Explorer. Keep the fun going for the little ones at their specially designed "Children Zone" and be occupied with different hand-on activities and interactive.
Masjid Yusof Ishak is the 26th mosque funded by the Muslim community through the Mosque and Mendaki Fund (MBMF). It was designed with a very unique architecture, blending the traditional characteristics of a mosque with Nusantara heritage; while also addressing functional requirements. Islamic motifs and Nusantara patterns are prominently used throughout the mosque.
The new landmark in Woodlands will cater to the socio-religious needs of the Muslim community in the north. Yusof Ishak Mosque will have numerous facilities to cater to the needs of the elderly and more space dedicated to family praying areas. It was also designed for the community to fully utilise all its spaces, with a multi-purpose hall, conference room, a sizeable auditorium, seminar rooms for teaching purposes as well as a roof terrace catering to several amenities.
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