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Welcome to Encounters: Exploring New Perspectives
☉ Level 1, Main Entrance
"What happens at the point of encounter? What unfolds in the interstitial space of exchange? What emerges when artefactual and textual resources are placed in dialogue with each other?"
Created for the purposes of teaching and research, the collections in the care of NUS Libraries and NUS Museum comprise artefacts, artworks, archival materials, rare books and current scholarship collected and studied at distinct periods. Collections come with histories shaped over time by the accretion of acquisitions and donations in institutions like libraries and museums, their meanings contingent on the contexts in which they are situated. By uniting them in the form of NUS Collections, Encounters brings forward the multifaceted interactions between communities and the cultures they encountered.
Batu Blair or Sail Rock, Old Straits of Singapore
Charles Dyce, 1846-53
Watercolour Painting (Reproduction)
Singapore River
Foo Chee San, 1965
Woodblock Print (Reproduction)
Situated in different locations within the Central Library are displays of curated artefacts and artworks from the NUS Museum collections paired with resources and publications drawn from the NUS Libraries. A 200-year-old Bugis manuscript, replicas of a Kolek and Golekkan, an artist’s woodblock carving, an exhibition catalogue of the first woodcut print show held in Singapore in 1966 – these are just some resources highlighted in Encounters. These groupings trace the dynamic interplay of influences, from colonialism to global trade networks, that have shaped art, culture and identity in the region. Such transnational encounters and exchanges have woven a complex tapestry of our regional heritage within the ever-evolving nature of Southeast Asian cultural identity. Each interpretive display proposes new, multimodal ways of interpreting and understanding our collections; each offers a gateway for discovery, further study and inquiry.
Explore our catalogue of showcased items, designed to enhance your visit or serve as a preview before you arrive. Move through the sections for your encounters. Click on the banners below to begin.
☉ Level 2, The BookBridge
Navigate a forgotten intertidal imaginary through a digital collage of mix-media.
☉ Level 4, Entrance Gates & Tech Central
Explore the diverse ‘scapes’ of the region, examining their portrayal and transformation across time
☉ Level 5, Main Collections
Contemplate the artistic expressions and cultural commentaries of the region's complex heritage and craft traditions
☉ Level 5, Quiet Reading Area
Delve into notions of connections, exchange and cultural cross-currents through replicas, literature and ceramics works.
