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LATEST EVENTS
Thu, 18 May 2023
7pm – 8pm
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Archives Invites: Dr Mok Kin Wai Patrick & Chew Tee Pao
Practice as Research: Learning Chinese Martial Arts for the Creation of Dance Pieces
Chinese martial arts is an ephemeral representation of intangible culture, which is difficult to document, archive and transmit, not to mention its tactic knowledge and skills that needed to be first learned before it could be transformed into a dance piece. Based on a case study by Hong Kong Dance Company Ltd., the talk presents how to take a “being-doing-knowing” approach in a project that aims to learn and explore the embodied knowledge of practising martial arts and transform the cultural heritage into a choreographic work. The practice and research would also help us formulate a methodology for the transmission of intangible culture into creative works.
The Preservation and Restoration Journey of Ring of Fury
Inspired by the 1970s kungfu craze sparked by Bruce Lee, Ring of Fury (1973, Tony Yeow & James Sebastian) is Singapore’s first and only martial arts film. It starred a practising Singaporean Kyokushin karate master, Peter Chong. Banned for more than 30 years, the film was largely unseen until 2017 when the Asian Film Archive (AFA) restored the film from a sole surviving film print. AFA’s archivist will share the challenges in preserving and restoring the film, the impact to the advocacy of preservation, and the experience of reintroducing the restored film to new audiences.
In conjunction with this Archives Invites talk, the film Ring of Fury will be screened at NAS Oldham Theatre on 24 May, 8pm
Tickets to be purchased on Asian Film Archive’s website.
About the Speaker
Dr Mok Kin Wai Patrick is Assistant Professor of the Cultural and Creative Industries Programme at the Art and Design Department, Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. He is interested in studying history, heritage, cultural policies and cultural-creative economy. He co-authored the books Cheng Yu Tung: A Lifetime of Diligence, Integrity and Dedication (2020) and The Roadmap of Design Strategy for Hong Kong Manufacturing SMEs (2019 and 2020). Dr Mok is currently researching on the social and cultural impact of the arts, heritage of Chinese martial arts and dance choreography and dancers’ career planning and development.
Chew Tee Pao has been with the Asian Film Archive (AFA) since 2009. As Archivist, Tee Pao plans AFA’s preservation strategies and oversees the development of film collections, as well as curating various film programmes to showcase these collections. He also selects and oversees AFA’s film restorations, and has delivered presentations on AFA’s advocacy efforts and the issue of film preservation. His publications include an article on NANG magazine (Issue 8, 2020) and a co-written chapter “Independent Digital Filmmaking and its Impact on Film Archiving in Singapore” for the book Singapore Cinema: New Perspectives (2017)
About Archives Invites
Community histories unfold in this series that traces Singapore’s social past with help from the archives.
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Tue, 30 May 2023
7pm – 8pm
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Archives Unlocked: Conserving J.T Thomson Maps
*Suitable for all audiences, no prior conservation background required
Conservators work on different media such as photographs, building plans, manuscripts and maps. What are some of the considerations when deciding whether to initiate painstaking and complex treatments on valuable records?
John Turnbull Thomson was a prominent government surveyor from 1841 to 1853 who created many maps of early Singapore. Using the Turnbull Thomson maps, follow two of our conservators from the Archives Conservation Lab as they take you through the steps in the treatment of these maps so that they can be safely handled and preserved for generations to come.
About the Speaker
Ayaka Ajiki and Michelle Ng are Assistant Conservators from the Archive Conservation Lab department at the National Archives of Singapore. They conduct interventive conservation on paper-based records and support preventive conservation work undertaken by the department.
About Archives Unlocked
Curious about what goes on in the National Archives of Singapore? Join us for this series of talks, as we unlock stories of our nation through the archives’ collections.
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Thu, 15 Jun 2023
7pm – 8pm
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Archives Invites: Everyday Modernism and Sources for the Ordinary
Everyday Modernism: Architecture and Society in Singapore is the first comprehensive documentation of the city-state’s modern built environment. Through a series of building biographies, the book uncovers the many untold histories of the Southeast Asian city-state’s modernisation, from the rise of iconic buildings, such as the Pearl Bank Apartments, the former PUB Building and the Jurong Town Hall, to the spread of ordinary typologies like the condominium, the multi-storey car park, the podium-tower block, the flatted factory, the community centre, the standardised school building, the pedestrian overhead bridge, and the columbarium. In this talk, Chang Jiat Hwee and Justin Zhuang will share how they researched the book using different textual and visual sources. They will focus on the use of a few lesser known magazines and the different types of government publications to write a more inclusive history of the built environment in Singapore.
About the Speaker
Chang Jiat Hwee is Associate Professor of Architecture and Research Leader of the STS (Science, Technology and Society) Cluster at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. Besides Everyday Modernism (2022), his books include A Genealogy of Tropical Architecture (2016), Southeast Asia’s Modern Architecture (2018), and Non West Modernist Past (2011).
Justin Zhuang is an observer of the designed world and its impact on everyday life. The journalism graduate has authored numerous articles and books on Singapore design and its built environment. He is also the co-founder of the writing studio and publishing imprint, In Plain Words.
About Archives Invites
Community histories unfold in this series that traces Singapore’s social past with help from the archives.
Subscribe to eNewsletter
Do you like this programme? Sign up for our eNewsletter to be the first to learn about our other upcoming programmes: [https://go.gov.sg/nlb-subscribe-to-enewsletter].
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Tue, 20 Jun 2023
7pm – 8pm
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Archives Unlocked: Bugis People Through Archival Images & Recordings
Assistant archivist Mohamad Karazie traces the transformation of the Bugis community in Singapore from the early 1980s through archival images and recordings. Join us as we take a closer look on how the Bugis community made an impact in Singapore and the mark they have left behind.
About the Speaker
Mohamad Karazie is an assistant archivist with the National Archives of Singapore. He works at the Audiovisual Archives, where he focuses on acquiring and preserving audiovisual materials from Government agencies which includes social media post.
About Archives Unlocked
Curious about what goes on in the National Archives of Singapore? Join us for this series of talks, as we unlock stories of our nation through the archives’ collections.
Subscribe to eNewsletter
Do you like this programme? Sign up for our eNewsletter to be the first to learn about our other upcoming programmes: [https://go.gov.sg/nlb-subscribe-to-enewsletter]. ____________________