SG50 walkway and Jubilee Walk trail to be lasting landmarks

Art Connector and Jubilee Walk will pay tribute to nation's people, history
By Priscilla Goy, The Straits Times, 14 Oct 2014

SINGAPORE'S 50th birthday will be marked not only with things to do, but also by new landmarks to see that will pay tribute to its people and history.

A commemorative walkway embellished with a mural depicting ordinary Singaporeans and an 8km walking trail that highlights the nation's story will be launched in November next year, said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong yesterday.

"Many things that we are doing for SG50 are events and activities," Mr Wong told staff and partners at the ministry's second work plan seminar in the Bugis+ shopping mall.

"But (the new walkway and walking trail) are physical landmarks which we can leave behind and remember even for many years to come."

The permanent 300m Art Connector will link the City Hall MRT station to the National Gallery Singapore, which opens officially next year.

The walkway's design will feature the "diversity of our people" in portraits taken from the community.

From next month, Singaporeans will be invited to sketch themselves from a digital photograph for portraits to be incorporated into the design.



These will be made and collected through the Portraits of the People campaign roadshow, which will travel to 50 locations until May next year, and through a microsite, to be announced later. People whose portraits are used will be able to look for themselves in the resulting large community mural on the Art Connector.

Yesterday, Mr Wong also announced the route for the Jubilee Walk, a walking trail announced earlier this year that aims to connect elements of Singapore's past, present and future.

Highlights of the trail include the National Museum, Padang, Marina Barrage, and a new Jubilee Bridge to give pedestrians barrier-free access between the Merlion Park and the promenade in front of the Esplanade.

There will be trail and monument markers, mobile guide apps, and a mass walk in November next year to launch the trail.

Mr Wong said the ministry has worked on "building a cohesive community" in the past year through infrastructure and programmes in sports, the arts, volunteerism and youth sectors.

Next year's sporting calendar would be busy as well, he noted, with Singapore hosting both the South-east Asian Games and the Asean Para Games.

Student Cleavon Tei thought the Art Connector was a creative idea.

"It'd be interesting to walk along that area and see portraits of Singaporeans. It's a different kind of artwork that you won't usually see at an art gallery," said the 15-year-old.

Post by Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth - MCCY.

Art Connector, commemorative walking trail among SG50 highlights
By Olivia Siong, Channel NewsAsia, 13 Oct 2014

A new Art Connector and a Jubilee Walk are some highlights that Singaporeans can look forward to when the country celebrates its 50th birthday next year, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong announced at the ministry's Work Plan Seminar on Monday (Oct 13).

A covered 300-metre walkway linking City Hall to the new National Gallery will be built by November next year. Singaporeans will not only be able to walk to the new art gallery in comfort, they can also have their portraits permanently etched in the walkway.

Next month, the National Gallery will launch its Portraits of the People Campaign. It will travel to 50 locations islandwide, with Singaporeans encouraged to send in self-portraits symbolising their re-commitment to the values and aspirations enshrined in the National pledge. A dedicated microsite will also be launched to collect and host contributions.

It is relatively simple to make your contribution. All you have to do is take a picture of yourself on an app and trace the outline of your face. All collected portraits will then be curated into a community mural on the Art Connector.

The idea of a covered walkway linking City Hall and the National Gallery would provide better access, but "we thought that this being a special year, and also for the National Gallery, it will be very useful and very good to get Singaporeans involved in the project and do something special together", said Mr Wong. "So it is an Art Connector but also a way to commemorate our 50th anniversary."

The Art Connector will be unveiled in November next year, with a festive art carnival at the Padang. This will coincide with the launch of the Jubilee Walk - an eight-kilometre walking trail that will take participants through the past, present and future of the Singapore Story.

The trail starts at the National Museum and travels along the Singapore River - past Empress Place, the Padang and Esplanade Park. It will also incorporate the Jubilee Bridge, a pedestrian bridge that is being constructed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, and set for completion in April next year.

The curved six-metre wide, 220-metre long bridge will link the Merlion Park to the Esplanade, connecting to the Esplanade Bridge in the middle and providing an extended viewing platform for visitors.

The trail also extends to Gardens by the Bay and Marina Barrage and will feature special trail and monument markers.

"We have been very busy with SG50, doing many events and many activities. But we think it is also important, for SG50 purposes, to leave behind some physical landmarks or some physical legacy," said Mr Wong. “These landmarks have a functional requirement. So they are needed. The pathway, the pedestrian bridge - we were planning to do already from a functional point of view. But we are now putting it together, doing it not just functionally, but doing it in a more meaningful way, to celebrate SG50."

Post by National Gallery Singapore.