Museum Lab 2024 was an eye-opening experience for participants as they explored art and museology through the lens of multidisciplinary approaches. Under the mentorship of NUS Museum’s curatorial and academic staff, they were equipped with foundational knowledge and skills necessary to engage critically in modes of seeing, displaying and relaying art and visual cultures.

Taking place across several weeks, the programme was divided into four themes: Seeing, Situating, Expanding and Relaying. During the first week themed “Seeing”, participants were introduced to new perspectives on visual experiences by Academic Director A/P Lilian Chee. The second week themed “Situating” saw participants exploring ways to contextualise art objects within their own historical, cultural, and social backgrounds, in a session led by NUS Museum’s Senior Curator Siddharta Perez and Ahmad Bin Osman from Collections Development.

In week three themed “Expanding”, participants sailed to St. John’s Island to learn more about “Jongs” (wooden unmanned sailboats) from Fawzi Nasir, a native of the Southern Islands and a passionate “Jong” boat racer. In the final week of Museum Lab themed “Relaying”, participants crafted innovative responses to NUS Museum’s collections by proposing an experimental curatorial project of their choosing.

Former participants of Museum Lab share how the interactive programme has given them fresh insights for navigating the contemporary museum landscape.

“The hands-on nature of the workshop engaged me in new ways of analysing symbolism, techniques, and cultural contexts. It has sharpened my ‘semiotic vision’ and equipped me with fresh lenses for exploring art’s hidden depths.”

Aqil Akmal, Year 3 student at NUS Dept of Architecture

“Museum Lab has significantly contributed to my understanding of anthropology by offering practical insights into how artefacts and cultural objects are curated, preserved, and interpreted. ”

Jasslyn Oh, Year 1 student at NUS Dept of Sociology and Anthropology

“There was a lot of learning, unlearning and relearning that I went through, and I can confidently say it has empowered me in more ways than I can imagine professionally.”

Neera Gopakumar, MA Arts and Cultural Leadership, LASALLE College of the Arts