Two years into the pandemic, we have become accustomed to working, learning and playing in new ways. During this period, we also gained new muscles and made new friends. One significant area was in strengthening our capabilities to build meaningful connections through digital technology.

 I am happy to share that we have made advances in this endeavour by creating new online programmes, as well as using digital channels to enhance our physical offerings.

The SINGAPO人 Online microsite is a new online platform for the public to learn more about our Chinese Singaporean culture, before or after their visit to our onsite SINGAPO人 exhibition. This platform has enabled us to share additional content which could not be accommodated in the physical exhibition due to space constraints.

The Festive Fever microsite was launched in January in conjunction with Chinese New Year (CNY).

We extended the lifespan of our physical exhibitions by making them available online. We have put up our well-received onsite exhibitions such as Afterwords and Poetic Strokes on our website, and would be progressively putting up more.

Intermission was our first podcast which saw our two young staff, Shaun and Justin, share light-hearted insights and experiences about Chinese Singaporean culture.

One of Us video series highlighted the unique characteristics of our five main local Chinese dialect cultures and how they shaped and influenced our distinctive Chinese Singaporean culture.

Ways of Being video series examined ten values that Chinese Singaporeans treasure through a different narrative style for each of the ten episodes.

With the easing of pandemic restrictions, the resumption of physical shows delighted many. We worked closely with our partners to present newly-commissioned works which included:

Masters of Comedy 2, a light-hearted talk show based on the five main local Chinese dialects, was presented jointly with Toy Factory.

Electrify My World, based on the story of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, was co-presented with Nine Years Theatre with an unconventional theatre-in-the-round set design.

Night Walker, a cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary performance produced by RuanAtWorkz, explored the interaction of Chinese ruan music, traditional bharathanatyam dance and live soundscaping.

Age of Revelation, a sound-film by SAtheCollective and local filmmaker Liao Jiekai, examined man’s fraught relationship with nature and technology through music, film and dance.

In 2022, our building celebrates the 5th year of its opening. We are grateful to our board directors, committee members, donors, partners, crew and volunteers for their support over the years. We look forward to exploring more possibilities with our new capabilities, and sharing our distinctive Chinese Singaporean culture with everyone.