Heritage Grant Scheme: $1.4 million awarded

Part of $5m to be disbursed over 4 years to keep Singapore's past alive

By Melody Zaccheus, The Straits Times, 3 Feb 2014

OVER the past five months, nearly $1.4 million has been given out to fund 41 community projects celebrating Singapore's heritage.

The projects range from a month-long Peranakan festival to a documentary on xinyao, a type of Chinese folk song popular in the 1980s and 1990s.

The money is from the Heritage Grant Scheme, which was launched in August by the National Heritage Board (NHB). The initiative plans to disburse $5 million to deserving projects over four years till 2016. So far, applications have been pouring in - an encouraging sign that people here are keen to keep Singapore's past alive, said NHB chief executive officer Rosa Daniel.

The fact that the projects have come in all shapes and sizes - from documentaries to books and games - has also pleased Mrs Daniel.

She said: "Their ingenuity and creativity speak of the interest and passion the applicants have for our history and heritage."

The scheme is split into two categories.

The Heritage Project Grant is for initiatives with the potential to plug gaps in the heritage scene and have a significant and lasting impact. Funding starts at $30,000 and is capped at $150,000 annually for each project.

This grant was awarded to 15 applicants in November, including the Singapore Red Cross Society, whose project involves a travelling interactive exhibition to showcase the stories of its volunteers for its 65th anniversary next year.

Some $150,000 has also gone into co-funding the development of a $30 million maritime heritage centre, expected to be located along the Kallang River.

For smaller projects by individuals or groups, the Heritage Participation Grant gives funding of between $1,000 and $30,000, or up to 50 per cent of a project's cost.

This was awarded to 26 different applicants, including the Singapore Film Society for a heritage film competition and the Dunearn Neighbourhood Committee for its Peranakan festival.

The Eurasian Association was also awarded $50,000 to help complete its 500-page hardcover biography of former Speaker of Parliament E. W. Barker, who as Minister of Law, drafted the document announcing Singapore's separation from Malaysia in 1965.

Production and publication of the book, which is expected to be completed by year-end, is estimated to cost $150,000.

Eurasian Association president Benett Theseira said: "As a small community, it's not easy to raise money, especially when our first priority is helping the needy in terms of welfare and education."

The book is part of the association's efforts to spread awareness about Singapore's Eurasian heritage and the community's contributions to society.

Said Mr Theseira: "Mr Barker was a leading light of the Eurasian community and as Singapore nears its 50th birthday, it is important that we have the book ready to showcase what he has done for us and post-independence Singapore."

Applications under the smaller grant are assessed internally while those for the larger one go through a panel comprising members from the public and academic sectors, non-governmental organisations as well as private industry.

A proposal, among other things, is judged on its quality, impact on the heritage scene and the applicant's ability to execute the project. The money is disbursed after the project is completed.

The board said the scheme seeks to promote learning and appreciation of Singapore's heritage through research, documentation and other creative means of presentation.

The aim is to seed ground-up initiatives by interest groups and community networks, especially in the lead up to Singapore's 50th birthday.

Said Mrs Daniel: "We hope the grant will bring forward more community efforts and diverse projects to commemorate heritage in different ways."

Preserving the island's maritime past

By Melody Zaccheus, The Straits Times, 3 Feb 2014

SINGAPORE'S transformation from a humble fishing village in the early 1900s into a key international sea hub, and the people behind this, will form the centrepiece of a new maritime heritage centre.

The $30 million project, which is expected to set up port along the Kallang River, if all goes according to plan, will chronicle the history through interactive displays and artefacts, including photographs, telegraphs and fishing tools going as far back as the early 1900s.

The centre will also have on board artefacts such as bumboats, river taxis and sampans from Sentosa's now defunct Singapore Maritime Museum, said the project's head Frederick James Francis, who is a senior lecturer from Singapore Polytechnic's Singapore Maritime Academy and a former ship captain.

Captain Francis' initiative has already received $150,000 in funding from the Government in the form of the National Heritage Board's Heritage Project Grant.

He hopes to get more support from the Government, the maritime industry and the public for the centre, which is slated to be ready in about five years.

Capt Francis said the proposed centre, which will be led by members of the Youth Skipper Flotilla and Singapore Polytechnic's Singapore Maritime Academy, will be an "important scaffolding which can help build up the national identity".

The 52-year-old envisions it as a place where events such as forums, talks and chats can be held. It will serve as a meeting point for youth to learn about the industry from former seafarers.

There are also plans to roll out a thematic "Museum on Wheels" travelling show, which students from across the island will be roped in to help set up.

"We want the centre to be more vibrant than just a place to display artefacts," said Capt Francis, who served as a captain on merchant ships under container shipping and logistics company Neptune Orient Lines and has more than 15 years of experience sailing the seas.

"We want the public to be able to embrace Singapore's maritime past and (the centre to also) provide a sense of what the future holds."

School uniforms are 'part of S'pore culture'

By Melody Zaccheus, The Straits Times, 3 Feb 2014

FROM the iconic green polka-dot dress of St Margaret's Secondary School to Woodgrove Secondary School's quirky Japanese-sailor-inspired navy blue outfit, school uniforms here deserve a place in Singapore's culture.

So says arts educator Yixian Quek, who will be putting together a photography book of secondary school uniforms over the next two years.

"There are stories behind each uniform - how they came to be and how students used and modified them over the years, for instance," said the 29-year-old, who still remembers the "pain" of having to remove the "unique round, metal buttons" of her Dunman High School uniform each time it needing washing.

Her "Uniform Project" was awarded $42,000 in funding under the National Heritage Board's Heritage Project Grant last November.

The money will cover the cost of photography, editorial work, design and printing of the 300-page book, said Ms Quek, who teaches in a private arts institution. It will comprise largely photos of current students, but Ms Quek also aims to track down the uniforms of bygone schools.

Photos will be shot by former Reuters photojournalist Nicky Loh, now a commercial photographer. The book will take inspiration from the style of The Sartorialist - a New York street style blog featuring photos of people decked out in interesting attire.

The book is expected to retail at $30 in August next year, to coincide with Singapore's 50th birthday.

Said Ms Quek: "It's important to create an archive of our school memories through an A to Z documentation of school uniforms. With the nation's relentless drive to stay ahead and the ever-changing education landscape, important memories may be forgotten."

Chijmes to set up gallery on CHIJ's history

By Melody Zaccheus, The Straits Times, 3 Feb 2014

THE historic 160-year-old Chijmes will soon pay homage to its original occupant - the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ).

Since it was transformed into a lifestyle and entertainment complex housing pubs and restaurants and hosting nightlife events, Chijmes has drawn criticism for being neglectful and at times insensitive of its heritage as a Catholic convent.

But a gallery, to be located within the walls of the complex's former chapel on Victoria Street, will showcase the school's history from when it was first established in 1854 by an order of French Catholic nuns.

It will feature exhibition panels, a short film and artefacts.

Co-owner and property manager Perennial Real Estate Holdings, which is in the midst of carrying out a $45 million renovation plan at the property, is heading the heritage gallery project in partnership with the convent's Alumni Association.

A free walking trail to be rolled out by the end of the year to coincide with the completion of the revamp is also in the works.

The developer received $40,000 in funding from the National Heritage Board, under its Heritage Project Grant. This will mainly cover the cost of setting up the gallery.

The CHIJ Alumni Association's president and ex-convent girl Claire Ang, 52, said recognition of the site's history has been a long time coming.

"Like a lot of other old girls, the presence of F&B (food and beverage) outlets and bars really bothered us. It was very commercial and there was little recognition of the building's history," said Dr Ang.

The gallery, she said, will give the school, which had occupied the complex for 132 years, a chance to "showcase and preserve" the history and memories of generations of girls who passed through the school's doors and the work of the Infant Jesus Sisters.