For nearly 200 years, Kreta Ayer has been the vibrant heart of Chinatown. When the area south of Boat Quay was designated by Sir Stamford Raffles as a Chinese enclave in 1821, Kreta Ayer was where people came to eat, drink at its teahouses while listening to Nanyin music, enjoy its theatres and visit its brothels.
In keeping with its history, it is now home to the National Heritage Board's first community gallery to focus on the traditions and practices of local cultural art forms.
The Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery, which opened to the public yesterday, has six broad sections: Chinese opera, Nanyin, Chinese puppetry, Chinese painting and calligraphy, and tea drinking and appreciation.
Many of these cultural art forms were brought here and practised by migrants and are inextricably linked to the area's history.
The gallery will include a puppet stage for workshops and live shows, interactive panels for visitors to "play" Nanyin instruments, and a calligraphy station, with works loaned by calligraphers Yong Cheong Thye and his student of 10 years Malik Mazlan.
To breathe new life into traditional art forms, artists have been experimenting with different fusion and contemporary elements.
Ms Lyn Lee, the 27-year-old arts manager of the Siong Leng Musical Association, said it is a fine line between pushing the boundaries of the art form, and preserving its artistic integrity and traditions.
Migrants from southern China brought with them their style of music known as Nanyin, and the musical association has donated some of its traditional Nanyin instruments to the gallery for public viewing and education.
Mr Malik, 31, said he has learnt more about Chinese culture through its calligraphy, but knowing the language is only the start of understanding the culture, he said.
"I hope to be a bridge between different cultures, and to create art that reflects Singapore's multicultural society," he said.
Ms Yin Lee, a 63-year-old retiree, has enjoyed the operas at the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre, which is next to the gallery, since she was a young girl.
Such cultural practices, which still live on today, are integral to and showcase the unique heritage of Kreta Ayer, said Mr Alvin Tan, NHB's deputy chief executive for policy and community.
The history of Kreta Ayer was written in its calligraphy-donning shophouse entrances, its energetic Chinese opera and puppet shows, and the live Nanyin music that filled its bustling teahouses on a sunny day.
