NLB Exhibition - Stories Behind Singapore Streets

I start my first post in 2012 with a piece of good news.


I'm not ashamed to say this is a shameless plug. Usually I do not blog about exhibitions unless they are relevant to this blog. This upcoming NLB exhibition about the stories behind Singapore streets is and with a good reason as well. Few weeks ago, NLB contacted me for permission to use some of my second shots for the exhibition. I thought good, if my shots can be illustration to their content, or if they want to display something fresh and aesthetically pleasing, they are welcome to use it. The curator picked a few, all downtown shots, nothing like the Choa Chu Kang tiger shot or any of those published in My Paper and elsewhere. I have seen the 3D illustrations by their interior designer, how and where they are going to display the "then and now" combinations; the presentation is refreshing and not in the format you see in this blog.

"Street names not only help us navigate our way through Singapore, they also yield interesting information about our country’s history, geography, politics, heritage and culture. Much of Singapore’s history is hidden behind the names of places and streets that we see every day. Embark on a journey with us, as we unfold the fascinating insights into the history of Singapore through the naming of streets over the years."

Do visit the exhibition if you are interested. It will run from Jan 12 to June 29, 10am to 9pm, on Level 7 and 8 Promenade of the National Library building. As usual, there would be some kind of teaser on the ground floor, so look out for them the next time you visit the National Library. The building has many exhibition venues and do not kay kiang like me try to find every exhibition at Level 10.

At least two other events have spawned from this, a 90 minutes talk -  Singapore Street Names in a Changing Landscape - on Friday Jan 13 and a 45 minutes guided tour of the exhibition on Saturday Jan 21. There was a heritage trail to Chinatown announcement earlier, but the information has gone missing on the library website.