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In The Spotlight
Diary of an NUS Museum Intern: Michelle Lee
Diary of an NUS Museum Intern is a series of blog posts written by our interns about their experiences during the course of their internships. Working alongside their mentors, our interns have waded through tons of historical research, assisted in curatorial work, pitched in during exhibition installations and organised outreach events! If you would like to become our next intern, visit NUS Museum’s student development page for more information.
Michelle Lee is a third-year Anthropology student at the Yale-NUS College. As our Radio Malaya Exhibition Research Intern, Michelle built on existing research generated for the exhibition Radio Malaya: Abridged Conversations about Art, as well as conceptualizing video interviews with personalities featured in the exhibition.
As one of the research interns for Radio Malaya, I organised the exhibition bibliography and carried out research on performance art in Singapore. As someone with limited art history background before this, and who have had relatively little exposure to the art world, this truly gave me a crash course on the history of art in Singapore. When reading sources written at different points in history, what truly fascinated me was how intently people have been thinking and writing about art and its role in contemporary society at every given point in time. By reading critical essays, I came to appreciate how Singaporean art has influenced and been influenced by society and politics throughout the decades, and how it sheds light on history.
A research interest that I had the chance to develop further during this internship was performance art in Singapore. Performance art has always intrigued me because of its elusiveness and the impossibility of preserving it. With the guidance of my supervisor, Sidd, I tried to untangle the relationships between alternative art and the state, art, and funding, international and local, and performance and not-performance. The end result of this task was a literature review, which really challenged me as I had to read through lots of sources, find and select the most useful, read through them and try to understand the dense language, and then summarize each one concisely. It really impressed upon me how much research and thought goes into every single exhibition, and gave me a taste of what it would be like to be a researcher or art historian.
One highlight of the internship was the conservation workshop. I was completely fascinated by all the small nuances and details that have to be holistically taken into account when preserving an artwork, such as historical origin, materials used, museum environment, and artist’s intent. We got to interact with the artwork in a very hands-on manner, including using UV and infrared light and handling actual porcelain artifacts. Throughout the workshop Lawrence, one of the conservators, would ask us to figure out why an artwork appeared a certain way, or had to be preserved in a certain way, thus getting us to participate in the half-forensic science, half-art criticism puzzle of conservation.
Another highlight was the field trips. We visited NUS Baba House, the National Gallery, and had a more in-depth tour of the NUS Museum itself. Not only did these trips expand the scope of my exposure beyond the immediate area of art history I was researching (e.g. by teaching me about Peranakan culture), this also helped me think more critically about how different museums curate exhibits, create narratives, and utilize space.
I came away from this internship with a newfound interest in museums and potentially working in one. I also greatly appreciate the friendships I formed with the other interns, as well as the support and encouragement from the museum staff, especially Sidd and Michelle. Thank you NUS Museum for a wonderful December filled with art and nice people, and you can be sure I’ll be back!
- Student Voices
18 November 2025
16 May 2025
NUS Baba House to undergo two years of conservation works
Enthusiasts can look forward to a slate of programmes ahead of and during the temporary closure.
6 October 2023
NUS Museum receives largest-ever donation of Straits Chinese artefacts
"Collected by Mrs Alice Tan over a 30-year period, the donated artefacts will contribute to a deeper study of the impact of Straits Chinese culture in Singapore and the region, and provide broadened avenues for interdisciplinary collaborations."
15 August 2023
From personal photo collection to exhibition: NUS Museum's latest showcase features visual narratives by 9 members of the NUS community
Titled Photography Journal Open Call (PJOC), the exhibition presents an eclectic collection of photographic works by nine NUS students, alumni artists and academic staff.
12 April 2021
Nurturing a creative campus through public art advocacy
The Public Art Initiative was launched to underscore NUS’ commitment to deepening the role of public art in holistic, interdisciplinary and broad-based education.
8 October 2019
October at the NUS Museum: between war and the artist, art and the tropics
This October, NUS Museum unveils two new exhibitions surveying the art historical in the region from distinct positions.
31 May 2019
New exhibition from Gilles Massot to be unveiled at NUS Museum
“…you have to lose your way to find yourself in the right place” presents the works of Singapore-based French artist, Gilles Massot. Featuring a selection of photographs, videos, sketches and writings from his extensive corpus of works.
14 February 2019
Glossaries of the Straits Chinese Homemaking
Following eleven years of giving glimpses of a Peranakan family’s domestic life in the early 20th century, NUS Baba House presents the exhibition Glossaries of the Straits Chinese Homemaking.
22 March 2018
NUS' cultural icon refreshed for a new generation
The University Cultural Centre's first major renovation improves the high standard of guest comfort, efficiency and production possibilities.
3 February 2017
Exhibition: From the Ashes: Reviving Myanmar Celadon Ceramics
NUS Museum presents ongoing attempts to revive the technology of making ash-glazed ceramics in Myanmar.
23 November 2016
Exhibition: Between the brush lines of Lim Tze Peng
Solo exhibition at NUS Museum considers 70-year oeuvre of Singapore's oldest living artist.
1 November 2016
Book Launch: NUS Baba House launches inaugural guidebook
From architecture to social history, book reveals the myriad facets of Singapore's only restored Straits Chinese family home.
21 October 2016
Exhibition: Looking within - What makes an exhibition?
NUS Museum presents exhibition introspecting into curatorial impulses and the exhibitionary medium.
1 July 2016
Exhibition: "Who wants to remember a war?"
NUS Museum draws on war posters, woodcuts and drawings to explore contemporary narratives of the Vietnam War.
10 May 2016
Award: NUS Museum wins inaugural award for innovative museological practice
International Committee of University Museums and Collections recognises efforts to facilitate conversation between audiences and exhibitions.
14 April 2016
Exhibition: Figuring Ng Eng Teng
NUS Museum reveals unstudied elements and works from the late Cultural Medallion recipient’s practice.
Student Voices
Diary of an NUS Museum Intern: Michelle Lee
Diary of an NUS Museum Intern is a series of blog posts written by our interns about their experiences during the course of their internships. Working alongside their mentors, our interns have waded through tons of historical research, assisted in curatorial work, pitched in during exhibition installations and organised outreach events! If you would like to become our next intern, visit NUS Museum’s student development page for more information.
Michelle Lee is a third-year Anthropology student at the Yale-NUS College. As our Radio Malaya Exhibition Research Intern, Michelle built on existing research generated for the exhibition Radio Malaya: Abridged Conversations about Art, as well as conceptualizing video interviews with personalities featured in the exhibition.
As one of the research interns for Radio Malaya, I organised the exhibition bibliography and carried out research on performance art in Singapore. As someone with limited art history background before this, and who have had relatively little exposure to the art world, this truly gave me a crash course on the history of art in Singapore. When reading sources written at different points in history, what truly fascinated me was how intently people have been thinking and writing about art and its role in contemporary society at every given point in time. By reading critical essays, I came to appreciate how Singaporean art has influenced and been influenced by society and politics throughout the decades, and how it sheds light on history.
A research interest that I had the chance to develop further during this internship was performance art in Singapore. Performance art has always intrigued me because of its elusiveness and the impossibility of preserving it. With the guidance of my supervisor, Sidd, I tried to untangle the relationships between alternative art and the state, art, and funding, international and local, and performance and not-performance. The end result of this task was a literature review, which really challenged me as I had to read through lots of sources, find and select the most useful, read through them and try to understand the dense language, and then summarize each one concisely. It really impressed upon me how much research and thought goes into every single exhibition, and gave me a taste of what it would be like to be a researcher or art historian.
One highlight of the internship was the conservation workshop. I was completely fascinated by all the small nuances and details that have to be holistically taken into account when preserving an artwork, such as historical origin, materials used, museum environment, and artist’s intent. We got to interact with the artwork in a very hands-on manner, including using UV and infrared light and handling actual porcelain artifacts. Throughout the workshop Lawrence, one of the conservators, would ask us to figure out why an artwork appeared a certain way, or had to be preserved in a certain way, thus getting us to participate in the half-forensic science, half-art criticism puzzle of conservation.
Another highlight was the field trips. We visited NUS Baba House, the National Gallery, and had a more in-depth tour of the NUS Museum itself. Not only did these trips expand the scope of my exposure beyond the immediate area of art history I was researching (e.g. by teaching me about Peranakan culture), this also helped me think more critically about how different museums curate exhibits, create narratives, and utilize space.
I came away from this internship with a newfound interest in museums and potentially working in one. I also greatly appreciate the friendships I formed with the other interns, as well as the support and encouragement from the museum staff, especially Sidd and Michelle. Thank you NUS Museum for a wonderful December filled with art and nice people, and you can be sure I’ll be back!
- Student Voices
News
18 November 2025
16 May 2025
NUS Baba House to undergo two years of conservation works
Enthusiasts can look forward to a slate of programmes ahead of and during the temporary closure.
6 October 2023
NUS Museum receives largest-ever donation of Straits Chinese artefacts
"Collected by Mrs Alice Tan over a 30-year period, the donated artefacts will contribute to a deeper study of the impact of Straits Chinese culture in Singapore and the region, and provide broadened avenues for interdisciplinary collaborations."
15 August 2023
From personal photo collection to exhibition: NUS Museum's latest showcase features visual narratives by 9 members of the NUS community
Titled Photography Journal Open Call (PJOC), the exhibition presents an eclectic collection of photographic works by nine NUS students, alumni artists and academic staff.
12 April 2021
Nurturing a creative campus through public art advocacy
The Public Art Initiative was launched to underscore NUS’ commitment to deepening the role of public art in holistic, interdisciplinary and broad-based education.
8 October 2019
October at the NUS Museum: between war and the artist, art and the tropics
This October, NUS Museum unveils two new exhibitions surveying the art historical in the region from distinct positions.
31 May 2019
New exhibition from Gilles Massot to be unveiled at NUS Museum
“…you have to lose your way to find yourself in the right place” presents the works of Singapore-based French artist, Gilles Massot. Featuring a selection of photographs, videos, sketches and writings from his extensive corpus of works.
14 February 2019
Glossaries of the Straits Chinese Homemaking
Following eleven years of giving glimpses of a Peranakan family’s domestic life in the early 20th century, NUS Baba House presents the exhibition Glossaries of the Straits Chinese Homemaking.
22 March 2018
NUS' cultural icon refreshed for a new generation
The University Cultural Centre's first major renovation improves the high standard of guest comfort, efficiency and production possibilities.
3 February 2017
Exhibition: From the Ashes: Reviving Myanmar Celadon Ceramics
NUS Museum presents ongoing attempts to revive the technology of making ash-glazed ceramics in Myanmar.
23 November 2016
Exhibition: Between the brush lines of Lim Tze Peng
Solo exhibition at NUS Museum considers 70-year oeuvre of Singapore's oldest living artist.
1 November 2016
Book Launch: NUS Baba House launches inaugural guidebook
From architecture to social history, book reveals the myriad facets of Singapore's only restored Straits Chinese family home.
21 October 2016
Exhibition: Looking within - What makes an exhibition?
NUS Museum presents exhibition introspecting into curatorial impulses and the exhibitionary medium.
1 July 2016
Exhibition: "Who wants to remember a war?"
NUS Museum draws on war posters, woodcuts and drawings to explore contemporary narratives of the Vietnam War.
10 May 2016
Award: NUS Museum wins inaugural award for innovative museological practice
International Committee of University Museums and Collections recognises efforts to facilitate conversation between audiences and exhibitions.
14 April 2016
Exhibition: Figuring Ng Eng Teng
NUS Museum reveals unstudied elements and works from the late Cultural Medallion recipient’s practice.
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