NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE HERITAGE SECTOR IN 2016

>This year’s Committee of Supply debate saw the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) announcing that a sum of $3 million will be channelled into place-making efforts in the Bras Basah.Bugis precinct, and the Civic District. Museums under NHB, as well as the Singapore Art Museum and the National Gallery Singapore will offer concessions to persons with disabilities to permanent and special exhibitions. In addition, National Heritage Board (NHB) has launched its latest digital offering, Roots.sg – a one-stop portal for discovering rich heritage content and resources.

Place-making in the Bras Basah.Bugis Precinct and Civic District

The Bras Basah.Bugis Precinct (BBB) and Civic District will receive $3 million over the next 3 years to boost place-making efforts. The funds will be used to expand programming and publicity, and build social and civic connections.  As the designated place manager of the Bras Basah.Bugis precinct, NHB will continue to engage precinct stakeholders through our bi-annual network meetings, securing participation and contribution to upcoming plans and events in the precinct, and provide opportunities for stakeholders to network and get to know their neighbours. BBB’s signature event is the popular Singapore Night Festival held over two weekends every August. In March 2016, BBB hosted the inaugural Armenian Street Party which will be held annually from hereon.

Museum Concessions for Persons with Disabilities

With effect from 1 June 2016, public museums, including NHB museums and heritage institutions, the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) and the National Gallery Singapore, will extend concessions to persons with disabilities (PWDs). For NHB museums and heritage institutions, Singaporean/PR PWDs will have free admission to special exhibitions. This is on top of the existing free admission to permanent galleries at all NHB museums for citizens and PRs. Foreign PWDs will enjoy a special concession admission rate to both permanent and special exhibitions.  For SAM and the National Gallery Singapore, Singaporean/PR PWDs and foreign PWDs will have special concession admission rates to both permanent and special exhibitions. The first caregiver of PWD visitors will also enter all museums free of charge, regardless of their nationality.

Roots.sg – A New Digital Platform for Heritage

Roots.sg is the newest digital offering from NHB, as part of its larger Digital Engagement Strategy.

Roots.sg is an inspiring content bank filled with a wide range of heritage content and resources to encourage discovery of Singapore’s heritage and culture in a fun and engaging way. Comprising content such as 120,000 artefacts from the National Collection, 85 heritage trails including those by agencies such as National Parks Board and Singapore Tourism Board, and civic groups like My Community, national monuments, multimedia and other research and publications, Roots.sg presents NHB’s resources in a dynamic, engaging manner. A key feature of Roots.sg is its intelligent recommendation of links between the different resources, thus offering an enhanced understanding of different aspects of our heritage.

Digital Gallery at National Museum

To reach out to new audiences, especially digital-savvy audiences, National Museum of Singapore will have a new digital gallery. As part of this new gallery, National Museum of Singapore will partner with National Arts Council where digital media will be used for visitors to engage with traditional arts.