Exterior design
of Asian Civilisations Museum
Background Information
The Asian Civilisations museum is located at Empress Place Building and was opened to the public on 1 March 2003. John Frederick Adolphus MacNair was the architect and engineer of this building. Upon completion of original construction in 1865, it was intended for use as a Courthouse. In 1907, the placed was revamped to commemorate the visit of the Empress of India, Queen Victoria’s visit to Singapore. After 1959, when Singapore attained self-rule, it housed and operated several government municipal functions, such as the Immigration Department, the Muslim Registry of Religious Council of Singapore, the Registry of Births and Deaths and the Singapore Citizenship Registry. As there was an increase in complexities of functions, the existing space was insufficient to support government facilities, and they subsequently moved out. In 7 April 1989, after 14 months of renovation, the first showcase of major Chinese dynasties did not attract the following that it needed to stay afloat and closed in 1995. In a bid to preserve and promote heritage in Singapore, the National Heritage Board labelled this place as a national monument in 1992, and re-opened it as an Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) in 2003 – a second wing showing Asian Civilisation on top of its existing branch at Armenian Street. It has since gone through multiple phases of revamping and re-construction. Today, it is the first museum in the region to present a broad, yet integrated perspective of pan-Asian cultures and civilisations. This is reflective of the roots of Singapore’s historic past, which stemmed from our forefathers who came from diverse regions. Therefore, the focus on this museum is to demonstrate the material cultures of the different groups originating from China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia.
When we entered the building,
the designs and architectural form adopts a neoclassical European
Style, underscoring Singapore’s colonial past under the British Rule. The first
storey is a reception area for visitors and has 2 open galleries to house
seasonal exhibitions to showcase the history, people and cultures of major civilisations. During our visit, 1
gallery spot was opened to the public to exhibit the history of Zodiac Symbols.
Singapore and Southeast Asia Collections on the Second Floor
On the second floor, there are 11 galleries which permanently
house 5 components: Singapore River, Southeast Asia, West Asia, China and South
Asia collections. In the former, it provides information on the roles of this river to the
commercial and social life in the history of Singapore. These presentations of
findings are anchored on pictures and archaeological digs. They are also a continuous emphasis of how trade
has promoted the prosperity and affluence to Singapore.
In the latter, there is a showcase of over 1300 artefacts
from the Museum's growing collections on the civilisations of China, Southeast
Asia, South Asia and West Asia/Islam. Some collections include recent
acquisitions as well as artefacts inherited from the historic Southeast Asian
ethnographic collection of the former Raffles Museum. It is also noteworthy
that the gallery employs state-of-the-art technologies to ensure that the
experience of the tour would be as relevant and realistic as possible.
Reflections
The Asian Civilization Museum is an overview of cultures
found in pan-Asia, and it reflects the cultural make-up of Singapore’s
multi-ethnic society. I find the experience in this place to be enriching,
because there is really a repertoire of information displayed. There is a good
effort to consolidate various cultural aspects in a single space, but I find it a
bit messy and there are chunks of long paragraphs. The presentation of
information on the boards is slightly verbose and I think the museum can use different
layouts, colours and fonts to make the viewing experience a more appealing one.
Interestingly, most of the visitors present in the museum were foreigners. There were barely any
locals present, except for our group. I think this is something we can work on: to encourage locals to see the importance of heritage and recognise that it is
the duty and responsibility of every local to see heritage as their own.
There are also cases when there are artefacts displayed
in the Southeast Asian and India sections, but no interpretations, except for a
simple label. I find it to be exceptionally puzzling, because visitors would simply walk past without a firm understanding of what they have
seen. It occurred to me that this museum was more of an avenue of visual
satisfaction, than a provision and dispensary of learning experiences. Whether
or not this museum has been appealing to them is open to debate, but I believe there
must be a purpose for putting artefacts in the museum. Hence, I am sure there
could be more curators around to deconstruct and explain the significance of
these artefacts.
Trivia
Do you know that the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) was named the top museum in Singapore and ranked ninth in Asia? Also, the restored building won the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s 2003 Architectural Heritage Award.Suggested Activity
Research on all the accolades of Asian Civilisation Museum since its re-opening in 2003.
A Group Picture Outside the Asian Civilisations Museum
