Preserving Cultural Heritage

Dr. Kenson Kwok

Dr. Kenson Kwok, guest speaker for the third Curator’s Circle event of 2004, is director of one of the world’s newest and most unusual museums. Denver art lovers had the opportunity to hear a fascinating account of the development of the Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore and to see some of its treasures during Dr. Kwok’s two local presentations.

In 1991 the government decided to devolve the historic National Museum of Singapore into three separate institutions. Kwok was given responsibility to establish a new museum, the Asian Civilizations Museum, that would highlight the ancestral cultures of the major ethnic groups of the country. After much discussion and analysis of factors such as trade routes and settlement patterns, museum staff determined that the major population subgroups had their origins in parts of China, Southeast Asia, and South Asia including India. Islam, the predominant religion of the region, was recognized as a significant cross-cultural influence, so Islamic art was included in the focus of the new museum.

The National Museum’s historic collection had consisted mainly of ethnological objects from Southeast Asia. Since the mission of the Asian Civilizations Museum was much broader, the existing holdings had to be expanded to represent additional cultural groups. A number of government grants and special tax incentives enacted in the 1990s enabled the new museum to acquire needed art and artifacts. Kwok and his team also worked closely with a number of individual and corporate donors who contributed funds for purchases as well as gifts of objects. When acquisition was not possible, museum staff arranged loans from private and public institutions to supplement its collection.

The next major task in forming the Asian Civilizations Museum was to provide proper facilities to house the collection. Two existing physical structures, both aging government buildings that had been designated national monuments, were renovated and expanded to display the art and artifacts. The first opened in 1997 after a four-year conversion project; the second, much larger facility located on the banks of the Singapore River, opened in March of 2003.

Kwok showed several images of objects from each of the major cultural groups represented in the museum’s collection. Textiles, jewelry, sculpture, calligraphy, paintings, and architectural elements were presented and accompanied by Kwok’s knowledgeable commentary about their history, provenance, and circumstances of acquisition.

Finally, Kwok described the many ways that the Asian Civilizations Museum is trying to educate the general public about the ancestral cultures of Singapore. One major strategy is to “contextualize” objects by providing information on environmental, agricultural, and trade factors to supplement maps and timelines. Organizing exhibits around themes like “filial piety” or “performing arts” is another technique for engaging the public. The new museum utilizes computer technology to support multimedia programs and interactive experiences, but also employs traditional reference materials, e.g., drawers of artifacts. With four official languages in Singapore, museum staff has also had to develop multilingual materials and programs for its visitors.

Attendees at this Curator’s Circle event were amazed by the remarkable accomplishments described by Kwok. In just over twelve years he and his staff have defined the focus of a new museum, built a substantial collection, constructed proper facilities for its holdings, and established a multifaceted educational program. Other tasks are ongoing: generating income for facilities and services, maintaining a network of interested benefactors to build greater depth in the collection, and providing for conservation and proper storage of the art and artifacts. These responsibilities do not seem to faze the enthusiastic and energetic Kwok, who appears to thrive on the complex challenges inherent in his work.

At the workshop presentation, Kwok showed slides of blanc de chine or Chinese white porcelain, which originated in Dehua, a town in Fujian province in southern China. The Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore has one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive collections of this type of ceramic art. Blanc de chine is made from white clay and finished with a glaze containing porcelain stone. With firing, these materials fuse together so well that one cannot distinguish the glaze from the pottery underneath.

Blanc de chine was originally manufactured for domestic use, but as trade increased, so did the production and export of this unique porcelain. Kwok pointed out that there was not a well-established tradition of porcelain making in Southeast Asia or even in Europe before the 17th century, so these imports were highly valued. The Chinese developed and used molds, a technique that enabled mass production; thus, Dehua’s blanc de chine was a profitable industry from the earliest times. To this day, Dehua is a major center for manufacturing blanc de chine and other types of porcelain.

Workshop participants had the opportunity to examine a couple of blanc de chine objects that Kwok brought with him, as well as a few from the Denver Art Museum’s collection. All agreed that its color and homogenous appearance were quite attractive and unusual.

Blanc de chine is one small example of Singapore’s rich cultural heritage, which the Asian Civilizations Museum is committed to preserving. Dr. Kenson Kwok and his staff continue to develop ways to illustrate aspects of the region’s ancestral cultures with the hope that the connection between past and present will be better understood.

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