ACM to launch new gallery spaces, wings with 24-hour celebration
SINGAPORE – Come Saturday (Nov 14), the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) will mark the end of the first phase of its S$25 million revamp with a round-the-clock extravaganza featuring a mix of concerts, film screenings, craft making, museum tours, mass tai chi and a DJ party.
Called 24Hours@ACM, the event - starts on 7pm on Saturday and runs until 7pm the next day - celebrates the completion and opening of ACM’s new gallery spaces, such as the Khoo Teck Puat Gallery and the Kwek Hong Png Wing, as well as the new riverfront entrance.
Under the first phase of the revamp, the museum’s content will be given a fresh new look, with its permanent galleries and artefacts being organised by theme, rather than geographical regions, in order to reflect the interconnectedness and evolution of Asian cultures.
ACM director Alan Chong said: “The changes at the ACM are twofold. One, we have new spaces with great new architecture which is open and light-filled, and new ways to get in and out of the museum. Secondly, we have realigned the vision of the museum to reflect the cultures of Asia have connected with each other through the years.”
He added: “We still want to discuss the heritage of China, India and the Islamic world (but) we’re going to concentrate on how they mingled and created new art forms through the centuries.”
Dr Chong said the ACM did not want to repeat or echo what the other museums, such as the National Museum or National Gallery, were doing with their revamps. “We did try to be different. I hope that people will have a very different experience and look at things in a new way,” he said, adding that the revamp is being done in phases because the ACM wanted to keep its door open.
The first phase of the revamp covers the architecture, amenities and galleries in the new buildings while Dr Chong described the second phase - to be completed in March - as “filling in the gaps”. “The galleries that will be opened next year will be devoted to trade, ceramics and religions of Asia,” he said.
One of the highlights is the museum’s first contemporary art space, housed at in the Kwek Hong Png Wing, where visitors will be able to view works such as Grains Of Thought – two large, suspended sculptures inspired by a grain of rice – by Singaporean artist Eng Tow.
Another highlight is the Tang Shipwreck Collection, which is housed at the Khoo Teck Puat Gallery. It features artefacts such as ceramic bowls and ewers, as well as gold and silver items onboard a ninth century vessel that sailed from Africa to China around 830 to 840 AD, and sank off the coast of Belitung Island in Indonesia. Other highlights include exhibitions on the role of the scholar in Chinese culture and artefacts from South Asia and the Islamic world.
Apart from new exhibitions, two new mobile apps have also been launched to “transform the visitor experience”. The first is the ACM app which provides visitors with information, videos and interactive elements on their mobile devices when they approach a particular object on display.
The other app is the ACM VR App, which allows visitors to enjoy a virtual reality experience of the Tang shipwreck exhibition. It provides “a 360-degree” view of 12 objects in the collection, said Dr Chong. Both apps are available for free from Nov 14 onwards on the iOS and Google Play Store.
