SINGAPORE – Mr Kennie Ting, director of the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) and Peranakan Museum (TPM), as well as the group director (museums) at the National Heritage Board (NHB), is stepping down from his multiple roles on July 1.
The 46-year-old tells The Straits Times that he will be concentrating on his first love, writing, and promoting his new book, The Great Port Cities Of Asia: In History.
He says: “I have not been able to really promote myself as a writer all these years given my heavy work commitments at the museum. I wish to take the rest of the year to do this, and also travel to some of the port cities featured in my new book. And, with luck, also start writing a new book.”
Mr Ting was appointed group director (museums) in 2015 and took over the ACM and TPM in 2016.
He holds a master’s degree in world cities and urban life from the University of London’s Goldsmiths college, and was instrumental in shifting the ACM’s curatorial focus.
The change from an ethnographically- and geographically-themed museum to a cross-cultural and global outlook centred on the port cities narrative made the museum more relevant to Singapore’s heritage and context.
He also oversaw the museum’s shift to arts and design, and spearheaded the setting up of a fashion and jewellery gallery, which opened in 2020.
Mr Ting says he knew he would conclude his ACM stint with Manila Galleon: From Asia To The Americas, which ended in March. “I’m a storyteller at heart, so I wanted the story of my time as director to begin and end with exhibitions on port cities.”
Looking back on his stint, he adds: “Eight years is a good and long time to be in one place. I feel like I’ve done all I wanted to do: uplift the ACM brand and profile, bring in more and stronger support from the public, our patrons and the Government; and take exciting risks in our exhibitions and programmes to show ourselves and Singaporeans what museums can do, and how museums can make an impact on community and industry.”
Taking over the directorship on July 1 is Mr Clement Onn, who is principal curator of Asian export art and Peranakan, and deputy director of curatorial and research, at ACM and TPM. The 44-year-old polyglot, who speaks six languages and three Chinese dialects, has been with ACM and TPM for 16 years.
Another announcement will be made on May 10 about who will take over the NHB’s group director role, which oversees five museums as well as Singapore HeritageFest and Singapore Night Festival.
Mr Onn says: “I am thrilled and excited about this opportunity. Of course, there’s anxiety and nervousness. I started with curatorial, so I have to learn the corporate side of things.”
He has risen through the ranks at ACM and most recently curated the Manila Galleon show, which presented a decolonised narrative about the Spanish treasure ships which plied the Pacific Ocean in the 17th century.
He acknowledges the contributions of the ACM’s three previous directors and adds: “My job is to consolidate all the legacies and also to find my, and my team’s, new voice.”
He hopes to engage communities more and to emphasise the living heritage element of history. Mr Onn points to how the Manila Galleon exhibition was improved by engaging the Filipino, Latin-American and Mexican communities in Singapore.
“We were presenting a very complicated, very loaded history,” he says. “I learnt a lot from the whole process of engaging with the core communities and how to formulate the narrative.”
He is also keen to explore the performing arts, which he thinks has the potential to bring to life objects and themes in ACM and TPM.
“When you don’t understand Baba Malay or music, you look at a Baba play or a musical instrument, it’s just a dead object.
“While we still have practitioners, we can do a lot more, whether it is documentation that we can then unveil later in an exhibition, or performances that can be recorded, so that people can be more connected to these living heritages.”
Asked about upcoming shows, the avid weiqi player says the ACM is planning an Asian-games themed show for 2025 which will bring together the museum’s various thematic strands of cross-cultural influences and design.
He points out that board games like Western chess, for example, have their roots in South Asia; while weiqi, also called go, has cross-cultural links across East Asia.
He says: “There’s a lot of divisionist politics around the world, so what role can museums play to counter that?”
While museums are serious institutions, Mr Onn hopes his team will not forget to have fun. “That will translate to the quality of the work that we show and the engagement with people. People will see that we’re having fun and we’re really passionate about it.”
