Exhibitions @ the Asian Civilisation Museum

Hey everyone!

This week, we found out that the Asian Civilisation Museum was opening its doors for free this past weekend (3-4 September), so with a piqued interest about the exhibitions being held there, we decided to check it out, along with our camera companions!

DSCF9220 — The neoclassical building which houses the Asian Civilisation Museum was built in 1867; as it was situated beside the Singapore River, ti was previously used as government offices.

The Asian Civilisation Museum is one of three ‘National’ museums in Singapore, the other two being the National Museum and the Singapore Asian Museum. The Asian Civilisation Museum is dedicated to the exhibition and preservation of Asian heritage, especially Singapore’s ancestral heritage. Singapore is well-known for its cosmopolitan, multi-racial and multi-religious society, and this ‘melting pot’ of races and religions is best seen in their legacies and interactions!

DSCF9223 — The beautiful flight of mahogany stairs, with equally ornate rails.

DSCF9234 — I… AM… GROOT? (a reference to Guardians of the Galaxy).

We were particularly interested in the ‘Christianity in Asia’ exhibition, which outlines the movement of Christianity and its influences in different Asian countries such as China, Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore. Apart from curated objects, there were exhibits from the Louvre Museum in Paris, Italy and Japan as well!

Looked who we bumped into while at the museum; Kit Yeng, who joined us at the Chinese Gardens! (Photo taken with Kit Yeng’s iPhone)

DSCF9248 — A section of the museum where people can write down their dreams and wishes!

DSCF9250 — Acrylic-made shapes of birds hanging from the ceiling.

DSCF9253 — Sandra having fun with stencil shading (which seems to feature in most museums, for kids!)

DSCF9255 — A snapshot of several old church buildings in Singapore; some of them really look magnificent!

DSCF9265 — Sandra was intrigued at the painting of Chinese men, with a small group of colonial British men watching on. Cultural hegemony…?

DSCF9273 — Apart from the *Christianity in Asia* exhibition, we visited this hall full of Chinese ornaments, including this exquisite vase with a golden dragon as a handle.

DSCF9291 — After the museum trip, we decided to walk along the Singapore River and Damian was in the mood for a favourite *cool* delicacy…

DSCF9297 — … ice cream with wafer sticks!

We also had the opportunity to use our Pathfinder 110b, with the view of taking advantage of the bright daylight!

We certainly had a fun time learning about our heritage, and discovering more about other cultures! Entrance to the museum is free for Singaporeans, and there’s certainly much to do in the Asian Civilisation Museum and around it (including the Singapore River and the tall office buildings juxtaposed with the shophouses). We hope you have enjoyed our entry, and we look forward to sharing more with you!

Till next time,

Damianwithsandra