Singapore Arts, Culture, Heritage: Singapore Art Museum

Upon reaching the Singapore Art Museum, we found out that it was opened in the year 1992, which was not a very long time ago. We also found out that the mission of Singapore Art Museum stating that they are to preserve and present the art histories and contemporary art practices of Singapore and the Southeast Asian region. The current Singapore Art Museum is located in a restored 19th century mission school. We then went to 8Q Singapore Art Museum which is opened in August 2008. 8Q Singapore Art Museum is a contemporary art space with fresh, multi-disciplinary, interactive and community oriented programming. Its main aim is to engage a broad and diverse audience, create a sense of community and be a place for contemplation, stimulation, and discussion about contemporary art and culture, at the same time educating students.

As we walked around the museum, we were astonished by the amount of art work in the museum. Of all of them, the main highlight of the Singapore Art Museum is the Mang Emo+ Mag-himo Grand Piano Project. It is a work of many stories and journey. We read from the description that a person by the name of Alwin Reamillo, who is from one of the most well-known piano-making family in Philippines, is the maker of it. After the closure of his family business, he went to look for the lost techniques and now-forgotten methods his late father had developed. Working together with the former factory craftsmen, he created a masterpiece which is both a “social sculpture” and functioning musical instrument- and a deeply poetic piece bound up with family history and memory. On various parts of the piano, we are able to see signs of travel and migration, such as whale and cartographic markings. There are also other personal images, like a picture of Reamillo’s father, half-hidden under the piano strings. The name is a combination of phonetic play of “Mang Emo” (“Mang” suggesting uncle or an affectionate way of addressing a senior figure, “Emo” being his father’s nickname) and “Mag-himo” is a waray word meaning “to make, to craft”.

From a brochure we found in the museum, we realised that the Singapore Art Museum is extremely concern about community involvement. Singapore Art Museum wants to promote appreciation and awareness of art in both local and regional context, hoping to improve the cultural environment in Singapore as a whole. Singapore Art Museum has come out with a lot programmes to try and achieve those goals, ranging from exhibitions to public lectures, from art trends and practices to fringe activities.