New Founders’ Memorial exhibition spotlights multiculturalism in Singapore

SINGAPORE – When Dr Uma Rajan entered National Gallery Singapore’s City Hall Chamber on Oct 22, she felt like she had been transported back to 1959, when she had performed classical Indian dances in a multicultural concert series.

Playing in the chamber was a video by animation studio Finding Pictures that reimagined the Aneka Ragam Ra’ayat (or People’s Cultural Concerts), a series of performances which were organised by the then Ministry of Culture from 1959 to the early 1960s.

The concerts, held in various places across the island such as the Botanic Gardens and Queenstown, were put on to promote cultural exchange through song and dance by various groups in Singapore, which had then attained self-governance after more than a century of British colonial rule.

“The music in the video brought all the cultures together, so, when I walked in, all the memories kept flooding back to the days when we were teenagers, performing on an open stage to an audience seated on the floor,” said Dr Rajan, a medical doctor, who was in her late teens in 1959 when she performed at the Aneka Ragam Ra’ayat.

The video is the first exhibit in a new exhibition by the Founders’ Memorial titled Not Mere Spectators: The Makings Of Multicultural Singapore, which unpacks and explores the value of multiculturalism in the country.

“Participating in Aneka Ragam Ra’ayat helped me understand and develop myself as a true multi-ethnic Singaporean,” said Dr Rajan at a media preview of the exhibition.

“It was more than just arts and culture development; it brought us closer as a people as we were learning how to be a cohesive and harmonious society.”

Slated to open in end-2028 in Gardens by the Bay’s Bay East Garden, the memorial is dedicated to independent Singapore’s pioneers and the values they exemplified.

Not Mere Spectators is the Founders’ Memorial’s second and final pilot exhibition. The institution has used such pilots to test various presentation and programming ideas

ahead of its 2028 opening

, and will consider the feedback for the design of its permanent galleries.

The first pilot exhibition, Semangat Yang Baru (New Spirit), was

held in 2023 at the National Museum of Singapore

and featured dilemmas and decisions that pioneer Singaporeans and leaders faced.

In a statement, the Founders’ Memorial said its new exhibition invites visitors to step into Singapore in the 1950s to 1970s, “when multiculturalism was thought about, talked about and consciously forged through policies, ground-up efforts and the daily choices of ordinary citizens”.

The exhibition uses art, interactive media and conversation prompts to “spark reflection and honest dialogue about living together in our multicultural society”, said the institution.

Ms Siau Ming En, senior manager for curation and engagement at the Founders’ Memorial, said that, instead of just showcasing archival material, the exhibition used more modern elements – such as video animation – which contemporary audiences are more familiar with and drawn to.

To make the exhibition content relatable, headlines of news articles relating to race and language issues from recent years are interspersed with the exhibits, which Ms Siau said nudges visitors to consider current issues surrounding race and identity.

Not Mere Spectators is part of an ongoing year-long initiative, Project Citizens – The First Million, which has two other parts: a programme to

engage the first generation of Singaporeans and collect their stories

, and

pop-up installations

.

To encourage conversations on multiculturalism, the Founders’ Memorial will run several fringe programmes and initiatives alongside Not Mere Spectators.

For instance, from November to December, visitors to the exhibition can pick up wristbands and exchange stories about multicultural Singapore with others also wearing wristbands in the exhibition space, under an initiative called #NoStrangerDanger.

To incentivise groups of friends to visit, meal vouchers worth $60 will also be given to the first 100 groups of five who register to visit the exhibition. This initiative begins in January.

Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Dinesh Vasu Dash, who toured the exhibition on Oct 22, said that multiculturalism remains a work in progress in present-day Singapore.

“As we have seen from different parts of the world where multiculturalism has failed, it can be a very deep, polarising force that pulls society apart,” he said.

“We will have to constantly be working to ensure that we are swimming against the current, and to make sure that we are able to then bring everybody together.”

He added that, as society constantly changes, Singapore will have to evolve and make sure that “we are pulling everybody together as we go through this journey”.

“It’s a work in progress. The ingredients may change, but, at the end of the day, it’s the same soup,” he said.