Peranakan Museum Reopening: “In the Mood for Kebaya” Parade @Armenian Street Party
You are cordially invited to celebrate the much-awaited reopening of the newly revamped TPM! As part of the festivities, TPM will be hosting the Armenian Street Party which will feature, among others, “In the Mood for Kebaya” parade, presented by The Peranakan Association Singapore (TPAS) on 17 February at 7p.m
TPAS has also specially curated vendors, some from as far as Indonesia, who will be selling Peranakan kueh kuehs, batik and kebayas, as well as daily cooking demonstrations at our gazebo on all three nights of the Armenian Street Party. There will also be a membership booth at our gazebo so bring your friends to sign up for our lifetime membership. Be among the first at the opening weekend party. Do mark your calendars and we hope to see you here!
SM Teo Chee Hean at the Reopening of the Peranakan Museum
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Peranakan Museum, housed here at the former Tao Nan School. I am glad that the museum is finally reopening after a three-year revamp, with refreshed galleries and improved accessibility. The revamped galleries present the Peranakan culture with greater breadth and depth, reflecting the cross-currents of Asia as it blended with the Malay-Indonesian world.
The Peranakan story is also, in many ways, the story of Singapore today. It is a cross-cultural place, a place where cultures, peoples from around the region, all over the world met to create something beautiful and better. For centuries, Chinese and Indian traders visited ports in our region to trade spices, silk, tea, lacquer-ware, porcelain and other goods. Singapore grew into a vibrant port and maritime trading hub, and attracted many of these traders to settle down here, marry the local people and start families. Their descendants came to be known as the Peranakans. The Peranakans created a new hybrid culture that combined practices from their original civilisations with elements of the local culture. The result was a highly diverse and inclusive culture with fusion flavours, lively music, colourful textiles and intricate motifs. In many ways, the Peranakan culture reflects our own multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society here in Singapore, a unique and harmonious product of cross-cultural interactions that we are all part and proud of.
Our reopened Peranakan Museum will tell this story and capture all the rich and fascinating aspects of Peranakan culture. It holds one of the finest and most comprehensive public collections of Peranakan objects, including furniture, ceramics, batik, decorative textiles, jewellery, and fashion. By showcasing a culture unique in Singapore and our region, the museum will provide a platform for cultural exchange and dialogue. More importantly, it will serve as a window to our own history and distinctive Singaporean identity, and help us as Singaporeans to develop a deeper appreciation of our past, who we are, and where we came from.
Singapore’s Revamped Peranakan Museum Promises Gorgeous New Galleries And Cultural Jewels
After a four-year renovation, the Peranakan Museum is set to reopen on 17 February. Dedicated to presenting the cross-cultural art and heritage of Peranakan communities in Southeast Asia, the museum boasts one of the most comprehensive public collections of Peranakan objects. The reimagined space, which spans three floors, examines the diversity of Peranakan communities through nine themed galleries—focusing on furniture, ceramics, batik, decorative textiles, jewellery and fashion.
Harper’s BAZAAR spoke to Kennie Ting, the director of the Peranakan Museum, who shares what we can expect. To me, the most exciting thing about the new Peranakan Museum is the exhibition design. I am very particular about display and design and I took a very active hand in shaping and guiding the overall aesthetics of the museum. People used to say that the old Peranakan Museum was like a “jewel”. This new Peranakan Museum will be like a “jewel box”, where each and every gallery has its own look and feel, and there is a sense of building drama as you walk through the museum to the very last gallery, which, as it so happens, is our Jewellery Gallery.
Some of the galleries will reference the old Peranakan Museum—we’re not throwing the baby out with the bathwater, entirely. So our visitors will find some parts of the museum familiar. There are some galleries, however, that are going to be wildly different—shockingly contemporary. We thought we’d experiment and push the envelope for one or two galleries. I won’t say more, but keep a look out for the Ceramics Gallery, which will be very different than what anyone expects though it keeps to the maximalist essence of Nyonya ware and Peranakan material culture. Another highlight is our Fashion gallery on the third floor. We will be presenting a full suite of dress: kebaya of course, but also shoes and accessories; not only womenswear but also menswear. There will also be contemporary takes on kebaya that are kind of intriguing. And the best thing is that gallery will have the look and feel of an intimate boutique—walking into it will be like going shopping. I’m super-pleased with this gallery.
The Peranakan Museum to open on 17 February 2023
Have you heard that the Peranakan Museum is finally reopening after 4 years of renovations? You’ll be able to swing by from 17 February 2023 onwards. To welcome the museum home, be sure to join the Armenian Street Party, which runs from 17 – 19 February 2023.
The revamp’s focus can be understood in terms of what Director Kennine Ting called “routes” and “roots,” which considers Peranakan culture as one that has multiple starting points and many different expressions due to a diverse confluence of cultures throughout history. The three galleries are themed ‘Origins’, ’Home’, and ‘Style’, making for a comprehensive and thoughtful exploration of the lives, histories, and cultures of the various Peranakan communities.
Another thing we enjoyed was how the Peranakan Museum worked with a variety of Peranakan communities in Singapore and beyond to highlight the culture’s living histories. On top of this, we loved how the Museum commissioned local artists such as Lavender Chang and Sam Loh to respond to Peranakan culture, the museum’s collections, and their own heritages.
Peranakan Museum reopens with 9 galleries chock-full of culture and memories
Singapore’s Peranakan Museum reopens after a four-year renovation. At 39 Armenian Street stands a three-storey building in a fresh coat of mint green and white, looking decidedly like a giant ondeh ondeh cake — and, like the nyonya kueh, it is equally inviting.
While you can’t take a bite out of it, the refreshed Peranakan Museum — which reopens its doors after close to four years of renovation and other complications, (no) thanks to the Covid pandemic — is a veritable buffet of treasures that throw the spotlight on the multi-faceted diversity of Singapore’s deliciously rich Peranakan culture.
Over 800 objects, artefacts and set pieces are proof that it would be grossly erroneous for one to reduce being Peranakan to simply wearing a sarong kebaya and beaded slippers.
The Peranakan Museum finally reopens after four years
The Peranakan Museum reopens its doors today (February 17) after nearly four long years of renovation. This heritage neoclassical building has always been a true beaut with its pastel green hues and now, its interior has been suitably refreshed to match. While the Peranakan Museum was once known as a ‘jewel’, its newly revamped galleries have nudged its status to become a ‘jewel box’.
In showcasing over 800 objects across three floors, each of the nine galleries shed light onto the different facets of Peranakan culture. All are thought-provoking, and will get you pondering: What is Peranakan even? Find out for yourself at the Peranakan Museum, where the exhibits have been divided into three themes: Origins (first floor), Home (second floor), and Style (third floor).
As a nod to the evolution of Peranakan culture over the years, Origins has a massive photo wall. It’s a visual scattering of both the past and present, with hand-coloured photographs and portraits shared by Peranakan families and communities. Take the time to watch the on-screen video interviews for interesting thoughts on what being Peranakan means. Head up to the second floor to explore Home. True to its theme, these galleries hold everything that Peranakans associate with home – food, traditions, and even everyday furniture. Look out for the floor-to-ceiling displays of Nyonyaware, fine porcelain pieces that have been painstakingly hand-painted with intricate motifs. There’s also a tok panjang setup, a traditional long dining table filled with all sorts of dining ware.
ABOUT PERANAKAN MUSEUM
The Peranakan Museum explores the culture of Peranakan communities in Southeast Asia, and possesses one of the finest and most comprehensive public collections of Peranakan objects. On February 17, 2023, the museum reopened its doors after nearly four years of renovation work.
Presenting the cross-cultural art of Peranakan communities in Southeast Asia
The Peranakan Museum explores the culture of Peranakan communities in Southeast Asia, and possesses one of the finest and most comprehensive public collections of Peranakan objects. On February 17, 2023, the museum reopened its doors after nearly four years of renovation work.
The newly refreshed Peranakan Museum holds brand-new permanent galleries presenting exceptional objects from Peranakan material culture, as well as a more contemporary exhibition design and an enhanced museum visitor experience. In particular, one key shift in the curatorial approach was to also include contemporary expressions of Peranakan culture, by way of works of contemporary art, fashion, design and craft, created by local and regional artists, artisans and designers, and inserted into every gallery.
The three floors of the museum explore Peranakan life through themes related to origins, home, and style as aspects of identity. Community interviews, recorded demonstrations, art commissions, and other contemporary expressions of Peranakan culture provide a multi-faceted experience for visitors, encouraging them to ask themselves: "what is Peranakan?". The museum is a department of ACM, operating under the National Heritage Board.
‘We are all updated Peranakans’: Reopened Peranakan Museum gives fresh spins to artefacts
The Peranakan Museum manages to give its 800 or so artefacts a fresh spin, even if they are largely similar to the collection before. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Who is a Peranakan? A person of mixed Chinese and Malay heritage? Someone who eats buah keluak and babi pongteh? A Chinese-looking person who is bad at Mandarin?
For a term stitched so firmly into the fabric of Singapore, there seems to be no clear definition. As with many questions about ethnic categories, porous boundaries and shifting definitions make for uncertain territory: What you get often depends on who is being asked.
