Renaissance City Plan III Heritage Development Plan - MICA

UNIQUELY SINGAPORE:
CREATING DISTINCTIVE
‘MADE-IN-SINGAPORE’
HERITAGE CONTENT
“
We are part of a long
civilisation and we should
be proud of it. We should
not be assimilated by the
West and become a pseudo-
Western society. We should
be a nation that is uniquely
multiracial and Asian, with
each community proud of
its traditional culture
and heritage.
”
~ Then First Deputy Prime Minister,
Mr Goh Chok Tong,
at the PAP Youth Wing Charity
Night on 28 October 1988
3
A nation’s heritage is a unique resource
that should be cherished by its people
as the pride of their society. In an
increasingly borderless world, individuals
are bombarded by content of every
kind, round-the-clock, in a plethora of
accessible and convenient platforms.
There is no shortage of options competing
for one’s time and attention. Heritage and
cultural content however is not generally
the favourite item on the lifestyle menu.
A recent survey 2 of the Singaporean
public and visitors revealed that museums
ranked low as a leisure destination choice
compared with shopping centres, cinemas
and libraries. This is a reality check and
underscores the need for the heritage
sector to deliver distinctive and innovative
positioning of its programmes, discover
fresh ways to tell stories and become even
more relevant to the public.
So how can heritage and cultural
institutions stand out from the mass of
offerings in the market and engage its
audience – Singaporeans and visitors –
without compromising its authenticity
and substance? How can the agenda of
nation-building and cultural identity be
incorporated into the new offerings? NHB
will address these challenges by focusing
on the following key strategies:
(A) Instill excellence and innovation
(B) Strengthen the NHB brand
(C) Build the heritage ecosystem
A: INSTILL EXCELLENCE
AND INNOVATION
Our heritage offers a rich resource of
artefacts, records, experiences and
memories. In the context of Singapore,
this history is distinctive in that it has
been couched in a largely peaceful multiracial
and multi-religious co-existence.
Collectively, they form an immense
database of facts and powerful lessons
that can be accessed and harnessed for
the re-construction of past triumphs and
setbacks. These stories can be presented
in new ways, offering fresh perspectives
and insights that are cogent and compelling
for the audience today. NHB has developed
some significant works that exemplify
this principle, including Convergences:
Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition and
Empire of Nature: The William Farquhar
Collection of Natural History Drawings.
BCH Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition at Singapore Art Museum (SAM)
© National Heritage Board
2 Brand Equity Awareness Survey commissioned by NHB ‘s Corporate Communications and Industry Promotion in 2007
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