SINGAPORE - A travelling exhibition to highlight the significance of the kebaya as a form of shared cultural heritage across South-east Asia was launched on Tuesday, following its nomination in March to Unesco’s intangible heritage list.
The exhibition, Love, Kebaya, showcases six unique kebaya designs from local craftspeople as well as photographs of women wearing the garment. The women are from various ethnic groups here, including the Malay, Peranakan and Eurasian communities.
The series of photos acts as a visual timeline of the kebaya’s evolution across different eras, from its use in traditional performing arts and cultural festivals to being worn as casual and wedding attire.
The women’s upper garment is popular throughout South-east Asia, with variations in fabric, colour and embellishment across different cultures. It is traditionally worn with a batik skirt as “sarong kebaya” or “kain kebaya”.
The exhibition, presented by the National Heritage Board (NHB), will be at the National Museum of Singapore until April 23, before moving to Gardens by the Bay from April 26 to May 14 and Our Tampines Hub from May 16 to May 24.
It comes on the heels of the joint nomination for the kebaya to be added to the Unesco Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity from five countries in South-east Asia – Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
The nomination process started with Malaysia initiating meetings with Singapore and the other countries in early 2022. NHB subsequently worked with a network of local stakeholders.
The 51 stakeholders, known as Kawan Kebaya, or Friends of Kebaya, attended focus group discussions to share information about the kebaya in preparation for the nomination.
They also proposed measures to safeguard the kebaya and provided letters of consent in support of promoting the cultural garment in Singapore.
Members of Kawan Kebaya include Mr Raymond Wong, designer and craftsman of Rumah Kim Choo and adjunct lecturer on fashion design and textiles at Lasalle College of the Arts, as well as Ms Oniatta Effendi, cultural entrepreneur and founder of Baju by Oniatta.
This year, Ms Oniatta launched her latest collection Fertil, from which NHB selected a dark blue kebaya kemben (a body wrap) to be displayed. She believes it is possible for the kebaya to evolve over time without losing the reverence needed to preserve this classic silhouette.
“Many of us grow up seeing a kebaya worn by our mothers and grandmothers. It represents our culture, our identity. It is a symbol of empowerment, aspiration, character and memory,” she said.
“It embodies a certain soul and spirit. Through this nomination, we can strengthen our ties and friendship and celebrate ‘kesuburan’ or the abundance of cultural wealth within the region.”
Mr Wong said: “The exhibition is an acknowledgement of the shared history of the embroiderers and makers of kebaya in the past and today. I hope the younger generation will feel a greater sense of pride in wearing the kebaya.”
The travelling exhibition aims to engage and involve the community during the nomination process, as part of NHB’s effort to raise awareness among the public.
“We will continue to look at different opportunities in the future,” said NHB senior director for heritage policy Yeo Kirk Siang. “We believe students are an important group as we hope to get them to understand how the kebaya can be fashionable as well.”
He highlighted future outreach programmes, including the Peranakan Museum hosting a kebaya showcase and a Malay Heritage Centre roadshow featuring Malay textiles in June.
“We have some future plans on nominating potential elements to the Unesco list, but what exactly we intend to nominate has not been decided yet. We will make further announcements in the future,” said Mr Yeo.
Celebrating the multicultural identities of the participating countries, the joint nomination of the kebaya was submitted in March to Unesco for evaluation.
The nomination file submitted includes photos illustrating the practices of the kebaya as well as a video featuring a show of support for the nomination by members of the kebaya community from all participating countries, among other videos and forms.
An intergovernmental committee will deliberate over the nominations during Unesco’s annual meeting in late 2024. The result will be announced by end-2024.
If successful, the kebaya will join a renowned series of diverse intangible cultural heritage practices from around the world, including Singapore’s first inscription on the list in 2020 in recognition of its unique hawker culture.
