The idea of setting up the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre was proposed by Mr Chua Thian Poh, then-Chairman of the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA), and supported by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The Centre was intended to:

• Promote Chinese culture and the arts.
• Support the local community to celebrate our shared culture, strengthen the bond between all groups and forge a strong national identity.
• Hub for high quality performances, exhibitions, and cultural activities.
• Inclusive platform that welcomes all Singaporeans.

A taskforce, chaired by Professor Eddie Kuo and supported by Mr Choo Thiam Siew, was set up to propose the future direction and functions of the Centre.
A separate committee led by Mr Seow Choke Meng was set up to oversee the construction of the Centre.

A retreat was held with more than 40 representatives from various social organisations and arts and cultural groups to discuss the Centre’s strategy, positioning, and programming. The name “Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre” was decided then.

Incorporation of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre by SFCCA.

Mr Chua Thian Poh was appointed the Chairman of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.

Mr Choo Thiam Siew, President of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), was appointed as the Centre’s Chief Executive Officer. The Centre’s temporary office was located at SFCCA’s headquarters in Toa Payoh.

A ground-breaking ceremony, officiated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was held to commence construction work. DP Architects was appointed to design the building.

A topping-out ceremony, officiated by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, was held to celebrate the completion of the main structure.

The Centre presented its inaugural cultural exhibition, Blooms of Vitality, Colours of Life, which showcased various elements of local Chinese culture across literature, arts, culture, festivals, food, home furnishing, and medicine. This is the first official event organised by Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.

The opening of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre was officiated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The building’s construction cost was primarily funded by the government, and more than $29 million was raised from clan associations, foundations, companies and individuals. The donation was topped up by another $15 million by the government’s Cultural Matching Fund.

The Centre launched its first cultural festival Cultural Extravaganza with Voyage, a specially commissioned multi-media musical by Royston Tan. As part of the festival, the Centre commissioned Singapore’s first-ever dialect film anthology 667, comprising five dialect short films by five young local filmmakers. The anthology was screened at the Busan International Film Festival in 2017. One of the short films Ke directed by Jun Chong, won the Best Asian Short at the 13th Sapporo Short Film Festival in 2018.

Two other signature events of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre were launched along with Cultural Extravaganza 2017.

The Singapore Chinese Cultural Contribution Award (SCCCA) was set up to give recognition to individuals and organisations who made significant contributions to Chinese Singaporean culture. Mr Han Lao Da (Individual category) and Siong Leng Musical Association (Organisation category) were the recipients of the inaugural SCCCA.

Sing·浪 concert was a highlight and grand finale to Cultural Extravaganza. It boasted a line-up of Singaporean artistes, including xinyao icons and the next generation of rising stars.

TGIF Music Station was launched in 2018. This is a series of Mandarin pop music performances featuring Singapore’s favourite performing artistes and rising stars. In February 2020, TGIF Music Station adopted a hybrid format and garnered 41,000 online viewership.

Lunar New Year 2018

The Centre ushered in the Year of the Dog with its first Lunar New Year Carnival and Concert.

The Centre held a three-month-long Tian Tian @ SCCC exhibition which was co-presented with Zuni lcasahedron, a Hong Kong based international experimental theatre company. It featured over 120 figurines, showcasing the artistic inspirations of many individuals in the local arts and cultural scene.

Mr Low Sze Wee, Director (Curatorial, Collections and Education) of the National Gallery Singapore was appointed as the Centre’s second Chief Executive Officer.

The Centre commissioned TOY Factory to produce the theatrical production Masters of Comedy to pay tribute to Singapore’s iconic comedians over the years. 

The Centre commissioned its first singing red packet with an original artwork by local illustrator Ah Guo and a song by local composer-pianist Peng Chi Sheng. The Centre was also invited to a New Year event in Shanghai Crystal Galleria to introduce Singapore’s lohei culture with the singing red packet.

The Arts Support Framework was launched to support the local arts and cultural sector with the Arts Housing Programme, Visual Arts Partnership, and [email protected] The first three arts tenants in the Centre are Drum Feng, Nam Hwa Opera and TENG Ensemble. SCCC also signed Memorandum of Understanding with eight local visual arts organisations to provide venue support for their annual exhibitions.

In commemoration of Singapore’s Bicentennial, the Centre commissioned its first original dance-drama, Whispers from the Dragon’s Teeth Gate, produced by Dance Ensemble Singapore (DES Arts) in collaboration with Sri Warisan Som Said Performing Arts.

The Centre jointly organised its first Diversity and Singapore Ethnic Chinese Communities International Conference with the Department of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore. It brought together over twenty Singaporean academics from local and overseas tertiary institutions to examine and discuss different aspects of the Singapore Chinese community.

The Centre commissioned the recipient of the inaugural Singapore Chinese Cultural Contribution Award, Siong Leng Musical Association, to create a cross-cultural musical performance Memoirs of Nanyang which highlighted a bold fusion of traditional nanyin music with contemporary Malay and Mandarin pop tunes.

To cater to a larger audience, the Sing·浪 Concert was held at an external venue for the first time. The event at the National Stadium drew a crowd of 5,000, and garnered 278,000 viewers during its delayed telecast on MediaCorp Channel 8.

Nine Years Theatre and Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre jointly presented First Fleet, an immersive theatre experience which placed the audience on stage with the performers. This production won the Production of the Year award at The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards 2020.

The Centre launched its first youth cultural festival RE•MIX. A festival for youths by youths, RE•MIX brought together youths to experience Chinese culture through pop music, street dance, technology and more. 

In collaboration with MeshMinds, the Centre launched Asia’s first augmented reality (AR) red packet for Chinese New Year. The artwork on the red packet illustrated festive celebrations in the heartlands. Through AR effects, the illustrations on the red packet came to life, and provided information on the origins of these customs.

The opening of the Centre’s permanent exhibition “SINGAPO人: Discovering Chinese Singaporean Culture” was officiated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The exhibition was supported generously by Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho (Temple). 

“展览有太多细心的巧思，每个抽屉每扇门打开来都有惊喜，对“新加坡华人”的诠释也不落俗套。什么是“新加坡华人”这样的命题可以回答得很轻松直接，但策展人显然很用心地挖掘了新加坡华人文化更深一层的形成原因，展览不只是简单地从历史层面交代，还有从文化、语言、习俗、方言群各个角度切入，并不用简单的摆设，而是互动性很高的科技来吸引我们的注意。”– Excerpt from “张承尧：新加坡华人” on Zaobao.com.sg

To engage online audiences, SCCC launched an original animated video series Kaki Says which introduced the origins and lesser-known stories behind Chinese festivals in a light-hearted way. For the Keeping Traditions Alive and Try Leh, Singaporean video series, viewers were encouraged to try their hands at traditional dishes and crafts.  These videos, each attracting an average of 35,000 views, received many positive comments from viewers.

“What a cute and fun way to share the meaning of the festival! 讚啦！” – Yeo Shu Yin on Kaki Says: Duanwu Festival

“Thanks for bringing this knowledge in a light hearted way ” – Woo Hong Ling on Kaki Says: Chinese New Year 

View more videos here.

SCCC was awarded the SG Clean quality mark, having met the sanitation and hygiene checklist for arts and cultural premises. This shows the Centre’s commitment to uphold high standards of sanitation and environmental public hygiene.

The Centre piloted a range of online school programmes for the exhibition, “SINGAPO人: Discovering Chinese Singaporean Culture” to provide educators with an alternative teaching method for students to learn issues related to identity, history and language.

Music At Monuments – National Heritage Board x Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (NHB x SCCC) is a line-up of four music videos featuring Singapore artistes, performing at Singapore’s national monuments. The videos provided a different perspective of Singapore’s built heritage, while showcasing the diverse talents of local musicians. View the video series here.

SCCC collaborated with JangandFox to create a series of comics for viewers to learn more about values cherished by the Chinese. View the comics here.

The Centre’s annual youth festival, RE•MIX, was held in a hybrid format, comprising onsite and online activities over two weekends. 

The MeshMinds Foundation and the Centre jointly presented Moo Moo PARK, Asia’s first drive-through exhibition. Eight young local artists were commissioned to produce artworks inspired by the Year of the Ox. These were supplemented by special AR effects designed by the artists. With safe distancing measures in place, the Centre made use of its sheltered carpark to display art installations, and visitors enjoyed the artworks whilst being driven in electric vehicles.

After its display at the Centre, the exhibition later travelled to external venues like shopping malls.  

SCCC introduced its “talking” red packet which included audio recordings of Chinese New Year greetings in Mandarin and the five major dialects in Singapore (Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, and Hainanese). The intent was to encourage the young to learn how to greet their elders in dialect during Chinese New Year. Click here to find out how the red packet works!

To widen their reach, SCCC’s temporary exhibitions travel to external venues. The exhibition content is also shared on SCCC’s website. This would enable more people to appreciate such exhibitions on Chinese Singaporean culture. For example, Afterwords exhibition was on display in various local libraries and is also available online.

The Centre was inducted as a member of the National Heritage Board’s Museum Roundtable.

The “SINGAPO人: Discovering Chinese Singaporean Culture” permanent exhibition was awarded the Singapore Good Design Awards under the “Experience Design” category in 2021.