DISCOVER SINGAPORE’S PIONEERING TRADES THROUGH FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS OF SIX TRADESMEN AND COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS
Community comes on board to contribute their stories, memories and artefacts to a community exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore.
Singapore, 14 March 2013
– Casting wedding jewellery, writing letters and hand-painting movie posters are not occupations that are commonplace today. Hence, the National Heritage Board (NHB) is working with the community to document and present our nation’s old trades through a community exhibition titled Trading Stories: Conversations with Six Pioneering Tradesmen.
2. Featuring the personal stories and memories of six pioneering tradesmen and contributions from the community, Trading Stories provides fresh insights on the old trades of Singapore. From a traditional goldsmith to a movie poster painter, tukang urut or Malay confinement lady, Samsui woman, poultry farmer and letter writer, the exhibition recounts the eventful journeys and experiences they had in Singapore’s early years of development.
3. The exhibition also looks at how some of these early trades have evolved to remain relevant and needful in society today. These poignant stories of sacrifices and struggles, of passion and courage, and of resilience and adaptability, serve as lessons and inspiration for the younger generations of today. Hence, Trading Stories is a tribute to the pragmatic fortitude and entrepreneurial courage of Singapore’s older workforce, and an acknowledgement to the many experiences and voices that make up the fabric of the Singapore story.
4. As a showcase of the community by the community, the exhibition is the result of the close collaboration with many Singaporeans to identify these personal stories of early Singapore. It features over 20 exhibits contributed by the community. These items include private artefacts and keepsakes, locally produced documentaries and a community photography exhibit on old local trades. In addition, visitors to the exhibition will be able to leave their personal memories of old trades which will enhance the existing content as well, thus growing the exhibition further.