In this instalment of Behind the Museum, join Assistant Curator, Zinnurain Nasir, and Faculty Engagement Executive, Eugene Koh, as they explore the evolution of NUS Museum’s Resource Gallery, reflecting on its historical development to its present-day curatorial practices. Their discussions will explore the principles guiding collection access and how the gallery facilitates engagement with students and researchers. Key themes will include the decolonisation of museum collections, the influence of founding curators Michael Sullivan, Lu Yaw, and William Willetts, and how their philosophies shaped current practices.
Additionally, the talk will address how temporality is integrated into the collection’s narrative and how educational strategies can leverage the Resource Gallery to bridge gaps in academic discourse, especially in Southeast Asian history and art. The Resource Gallery at NUS Museum continues to serve as a platform for both historical and contemporary dialogues, fostering interdisciplinary connections and reinterpreting past curatorial lines of thought.