The Image of Our Landscape @ National Museum

Free admission Venue The Balcony and The Canyon Date THU 3 SEPT 2009 - SUN 3 JAN 2010 10:00am - 8:00pm
The 19th century saw Singapore transformed dramatically by trade and commerce, and by a British colonial government eager to develop it into a metropolitan city, reflecting its status as the lynchpin of British strategic and commercial power in the region. The changing face of the island was recorded by all kinds of people – artists on board specially commissioned naval expeditions undertaken for trade and scientific exploration, naturalists eager to capture its flora and fauna, British administrators or official surveyors, leisure travellers who stopped at Singapore in their journey around the world, or professional photographers who eventually set up their business here. Most recorded their impressions in writings, but a small group captured their impressions in paintings, prints and photographs.

This National Museum of Singapore originated exhibition will look at the various depictions of 19th century Singapore, examining their meanings and representations. The various works will reveal the topography of the Singapore landscape in the 19th century with views of places such as the harbour, Singapore River, Fort Canning Hill, Raffles Place as well as depictions of the cosmopolitan trade town and Singapore’s rural scenes. Taking an approach that is both chronological and thematic, the exhibition will feature over 130 original paintings, prints and photographs, albums and illustrated books from the museum’s collection, of which a significant number were acquired in recent years and never before shown.
FREE GUIDED TOURS
Meeting point: Stamford Visitor Services Counter (Level 1).
Limited to 15 participants per session on a first come, first served basis.
Estimated tour duration: 60 minutes.

English
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays 1.30pm
Saturdays and Sundays 3pm

Mandarin
Saturdays 3.30pm
Please note that tours are subject to the availability of volunteer guides. Exclusive tours for Corporations and groups can be arranged. Please contact Hospitality Unit at +65 6332 4405 / +65 6332 4429 for details.
CURATOR'S TOUR
A Visual Journey into the 19th Century Singapore Landscape
Fri 9 Oct 2009 & Fri 13 Nov 2009, 7pm – 8pm

For more information on the curator's tour, click here.
PUBLIC LECTURES
Images of Landscapes: Intertextual Readings of 19th and 20th century Singapore
By Lai Chee Kien, Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore
Wed 16 Sept 2009, 7pm
<<小坡风采– 寻找新加坡昔日的万国风情>>
主讲者：吴庆辉，新加坡国家博物馆高级研究助理
Wed 30 Sept 2009, 7pm
Déjà-Vu: Visions of Colonial 19th Century Singapore through Photography
By Jason Toh, Curator, National Museum of Singapore
Wed 21 Oct 2009, 7pm

Hidden Lifeworlds, Humanised Landscapes in Colonial Singapore
By Brenda Yeoh, Professor, Department of Geography and Vice-Dean (Research), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore.
Fri 13 Nov 2009, 7pm

Journey through 19th Century Singapore: Travellers’ Impressions through Paintings and Prints
By Wong Hong Suen, Curator, National Museum of Singapore
Wed 9 December 2009, 7pm

For more information on public lectures, click here.