Singaporeans look to recreate slice of home in San Francisco Bay Area to mark SG60

SINGAPORE - Ms Joy Chee sat on a bench facing Gardens by the Bay’s Supertrees, her sketchbook and pen in hand. With furrowed brows and unwavering focus, she recreated the towering structures stroke by stroke.

The 19-year-old, a second-year computer animation student at the Ringling College of Art and Design in the US state of Florida, is part of a team of overseas Singaporeans hoping to commemorate the Republic’s 60th birthday by recreating a slice of it abroad.

Their event, themed A Legacy of 60 Years, will take place on Sept 21 in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is being organised by a team of volunteers from SingaporeConnect, a non-profit organisation that hosts social and cultural events for Singaporeans residing in the Bay Area.

First conceptualised in October 2024, the one-day celebration will be open to Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans alike, said Mr Richard Chan, 52, one of the event’s co-chairs.

With a core team of 11 people, this event is SingaporeConnect’s most ambitious yet, said Mr Chan, with a projected attendee size of 3,000, and a volunteer pool of 100 to 150.

“This event will be a good opportunity to showcase what Singapore looks like, and who Singaporeans are,” said Mrs Tabitha Chee, 54, Ms Chee’s mother and the other event chairperson. Mrs Chee currently works as a human resource associate at a church.

The Chees were speaking to The Straits Times while they were in Singapore on a trip to gather archival images and other materials for the exhibition.

SingaporeConnect is also working with the Singapore Global Network (SGN) to obtain funding for the event. SGN did not reveal the amount of funding granted to SingaporeConnect, citing confidentiality reasons.

This event is one of more than 30 ground-up National Day events being organised worldwide, with celebrations also planned in countries such as Australia, China, Saudi Arabia and the UK, the Ministry of Defence said in response to queries from ST.

Mr Chan, a start-up founder, likens SingaporeConnect’s vision to the tech hub’s mindset. “Here in Silicon Valley, we are used to developing start-ups, which are always about dreaming big and persisting through hardships – this is the same mentality we are taking with the SG60 event,” he said.

Before this, the team had organised several National Day events, including a live-streamed pandemic edition in 2021, with Singaporeans across five American cities.

Singapore’s history, in themed rooms

The event’s theme was the brainchild of Ms Emily Lim, the 33-year-old chef and owner of Dabao SG, a Singaporean restaurant in San Francisco, and a volunteer with SingaporeConnect.

The Singaporean moved to America’s West Coast 11 years ago in pursuit of her culinary dreams, and fondly remembers her childhood in Singapore.

She recalled playing in her neighbourhood’s dragon-shaped playground, catching spiders and tadpoles, and buying food in her primary school canteen for “just 50 cents”.

Drawing inspiration from Singapore’s history, she aims to evoke a sense of nostalgia through the event.

“I wanted to revive the Singapore of yesteryears and rekindle some memories. It’s this sentiment that makes us human and pushes us to connect more with one another,” she added.

One of the highlights will be themed rooms, designed to guide visitors through pivotal moments in Singapore’s history: from Sang Nila Utama’s arrival in 1299 to the beginning of British colonial rule in 1819, the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, and Singapore’s remarkable growth after gaining independence in 1965.

Ms Chee, the event’s lead artist, is playing a key role in bringing Ms Lim’s vision to life. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, she grew up with limited knowledge of Singapore’s history.

To conceptualise the rooms, she received a crash course in the Republic’s history from her mother, who grew up in Singapore, but emigrated to the United States in 1999.

Ms Chee supplemented her mother’s information with her own research on Singapore’s art and cultural history and decided to “incorporate different art styles through the ages”.

“I began researching art references and various artists that were from that period. For example, the room which depicts Singapore under British colonial rule is designed to resemble a traditional British painting, instead of the more brushy and airy style of traditional Asian artworks from that era,” she said.

In addition to the themed rooms, the event will feature a performance area with Singaporean talent.

Ms Janice Chua, the home-grown creative and associate producer of the film Crazy Rich Asians, will share insights into the movie’s production process, while Ms Elisha Tan, a Singaporean comedian based in the Bay Area, is slated to put on a stand-up comedy show at the event.

In a dining area decorated with murals of a kopitiam, visitors can enjoy a taste of Singaporean dishes like satay and chicken rice. There will also be kopi and teh at the event, with one vendor putting up live teh tarik demonstrations.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to shop for souvenirs at a marketplace showcasing Singaporean entrepreneurs and brands.

Ms Lim of Dabao SG said she hopes the event will foster community among Singaporeans living overseas.

She said: “As someone who has lived abroad for so long, I hope to see more Singaporeans come together and embrace the value of shared connections.”

As for Mrs Chee, she hopes attendees will come away with a good sense of what Singapore is, which to her, includes not just its food, but also the story of its people.

“The key to Singapore is its resilience. Visitors will be able to see how Singapore has evolved over time, emerging stronger and maintaining its competitiveness at every stage,” she said.