There's a new exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore – and it's very relevant to the times we're living in. In fact, it's the museum's first major exhibition that charts the Covid-19 pandemic in Singapore. Called Picturing the Pandemic: A Visual Record of Covid-19 in Singapore, it documents contemporary events and developments in Singapore by collecting related artefacts and stories from the everyday Singaporeans.
The exhibition showcases commissioned works by five local photographers (Bob Lee, Brian Teo, Edwin Koo, How Hwee Young and Zakaria Zainal) and two filmmakers – Adar Ng and Dave Lim – to visually document how the pandemic was experienced in Singapore. It spans five themes – A Day in the Life, Essential Workers, New Ways of Living, Making Visible, and The Spaces Between Us.
Through 272 photographs, a short film and 16 donated artefacts on display in this exhibition, you can catch a glimpse of fellow Singaporeans and how they have adapted to this "new normal". Revisit 2020 through the lens of the photographers, filmmakers, curators as well as the subjects themselves, which lend a voice to lesser-known stories of this pandemic. It also offers a glimpse into the social bonds, tenacity and resilience across the diverse communities in Singapore. All in all, it presents a poignant and resonant portrait of a nation responding to and coping with an unprecedented global crisis.
Want to be part of national history and flex your creative muscles while at it? The museum is extending its public call for objects and creative responses from now till June 30.