Driving change and participation in Singapore’s arts and culture

In 2010 Angelita Teo received a scholarship from Singapore’s National Heritage Board to take a break in her career and complete further study. She chose to study the Master of Art Curatorship at the University of Melbourne. 

“People were asking why I didn’t go to Europe or the USA, but coming to Melbourne was quite an easy decision. Being closer to home was important as there were personal reasons, but mainly I felt I’d be able to learn a lot more here in Australia because our two countries are quite similar,” she says. 

“We have similar challenges in arts and heritage, and there are a lot of similarities between our arts policies. We’re both multicultural and multi-ethnic and in our museums we need to deal with related issues. In both Australia and in Singapore we are still trying to build an audience and get people to participate more in museums.” 

While the decision of where to study was easy, transitioning from full time work back to study was a challenge. She had not studied full time since graduating with a Bachelor in Archaeology from the University of British Columbia, Canada, almost 20 years before. 

“Working and studying is very different. I had to be disciplined enough to read everything before my classes. In the program you have four or five classes each week so there is quite a lot of reading. Sitting down and writing again was difficult, but I started enjoying it again,” she says. 

After performing administrative and organisational tasks in managerial positions for much of her career, she found it interesting and refreshing to look at the curatorial work of an unfamiliar field. 

“Studying art curatorship opened my eyes to new things. I have always been in a history museum. Curating an arts exhibition is very different.

“It helped me gain a better understanding and appreciation for contemporary art. It’s important for people to understand our history and heritage but also important to have a reference for what is happening now. Contemporary art is a great way to see how an individual views and reacts to some current situations.” 

A broad understanding across artistic and historical exhibitions will be important as she takes on the next challenges in her career, which will involve driving reform inside and outside of the NMS. Within the Museum, she is aiming to increase visitor participation. 

“Attendance numbers are important, but it’s also important to get people participating in the museum. We no longer just educate. We want to have a dialogue with our audience.”

The NMS is hoping to attract new audiences. Upcoming changes to encourage family participation include cheaper eateries, adding colour to the traditional building, weekend programs and a discovery centre for pre-schoolers. 

“The discovery centre was one of the first things I wanted to do because if we engage the pre-schoolers we are also engaging young parents.” 

Ms Teo says the Museum is competing against shopping malls as a place for a family outing. 

“For Singaporeans going to the shopping mall is probably more attractive than going to a museum, especially on weekends when they go to the mall to eat and shop together. Going to a museum doesn’t come quite as naturally. We’re trying to position the Museum as an alternative.”

Outside the Museum, Ms Teo will be taking a leading role in the development of Singapore’s arts precinct. As the largest institution in the precinct, which includes five museums, public galleries and arts schools, the NMS is the largest stakeholder. 

“In my previous roles I was working with a lot of other precinct stakeholders and I understand the things they want to do. Now as Director of NMS there are a lot more opportunities to make those things happen,” she says.

Institutions within the precinct work together to promote and stage one of the biggest annual events in Singapore – the Night Festival in August. 

“Night Festival is one of those opportunities where we get to work with the schools and stakeholders, private galleries and museums to create an event where people can enjoy themselves. It’s the party of all parties in August after Singapore’s National Day and is a very important part of the annual calendar.”

Her advice to students who hope to one day influence the direction of arts and cultural participation in their country is to follow their passions. She made this decision herself when she changed her major from mass communications to archaeology while completing her bachelor degree. 

“If you feel strongly enough about something you actually work a lot harder at it, and it makes the work so much easier. You have to have a reason to get up every day to go to work. If it’s not something you enjoy then it makes it so much harder.”

www.graduate.arts.unimelb.edu.au/degrees/18-master-of-art-curatorship

www.nationalmuseum.sg