Singapore STories: Then, Now, Tomorrow multimedia exhibition

Nomination for Inma’s ‘Best use of an Event to build a News Brand’ award

• Connecting past, present and future

• The Straits Times, established on July 15, 1845, has seen Singapore through several wars, an economic depression, race riots, change of regime and national allegiance. It has also fought off many competitors and rode waves of change in technology. Through it all, the ST survived, and thrived, and lived to tell the story.

• As part of its 170th anniversary celebrations and Singapore's Golden Jubilee in 2015, The Straits Times held a major multimedia exhibition, Singapore STories: Then, Now, Tomorrow, at the ArtScience Museum (ASM), Marina Bay Sands, from July 17 to October 4, 2015.

• It was the first exhibition co-curated by the ASM that was free to the general public, running throughout Singapore's Golden Jubilee celebrations in August 2015.

The Singapore Story through ST pagesAbout the exhibition:

• It celebrated two milestones – ST’s 170th anniversary and Singapore’s Golden Jubilee.

• It tells the Singapore story, celebrating the nation's achievements, looks forward to the future, creating a dialogue between past and present as we build for tomorrow.

• It chronicled Singapore's developments through the pages of The Straits Times, Singapore’s oldest English-language daily.

• The exhibition featured hundreds of The Straits Times front-page stories, headlines and photographs that captured pivotal and piquant moments in Singapore.

• The newspaper also unlocked its rich archive that dates back to July 15, 1845 when it was first published to showcase never-before-seen photographs in the exhibition. Also on display were artefacts, including the original first issue of the newspaper and a photo assignment book .

Living HistoryAbout the exhibition:

• Singapore STories was more than a trip down memory lane. It looked back on how far Singapore has come but it also gazed ahead at how plans in the pipeline would continue to impact Singapore.

• Visitors could "walk through the pages of ST and feel like they are living history", journeying from Singapore’s beginnings, struggles and triumphs which unfolded across six galleries, which mirrored the core segments of the newspaper: Business, World, Home, Sport, Life and Forum.

• Within each gallery, historic front-page reports and photographs were featured alongside lesser-known but captivating stories to reveal the depth of the histories of both Singapore and The Straits Times.

• Galleries also included interactive activities for visitors. In the Sport gallery, for example, visitors had the opportunity to build a futuristic sports complex. At the Home gallery, they could test their knowledge of local acronyms.

• The accounts ranged from Singapore’s robust trade in the mid-1800s to Singapore’s independence in the mid-1900s and the push towards a sustainable future in the new millennium. Events from the past were also juxtaposed with photographs and headlines that pointed to future developments in these areas.

Showcase of past from present framework, with an eye on the future

• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnK3VE4BKduMy6PzFsNJMlMNhKUeGLzqr

Involving staff, stakeholders and ST AlumniST journalists as co-curators

• The six-member curatorial team behind the exhibition included Straits Times Press general manager Susan Long, the newspaper's picture editor Stephanie Yeow, chief photographer Joyce Fang and arts correspondent Huang Lijie. The ArtScience Museum was represented by its executive director Honor Harger and curator Julia Vasko.

• The team spent five months doing extensive archival research. The challenge was how to tell the Singapore story in the form of an exhibition without drowning viewers in information overload. They needed to look beyond just text and pictures, and also look at using walls, spaces and structures while integrating sound as well as activities for the public.

• Art writer Huang Lijie also led several curator's guided tours for several groups, taking turns with curator from the ArtScience Museum.

SG50 celebration for Sponsors

• Property giant CapitaLand was the presenting sponsor. Standard Chartered Bank was a gold sponsor and Best Denki was the equipment sponsor. The exhibition presented an occasion for them to celebrate the nation’s 50th birthday, with the community.

Reunions for ST Alumni

• Some 200 former editors, journalists and staff of the ST newsroom came on the opening weekend’s "reunion" at the ArtScience Museum to be part of the ST170 celebrations.

A guided tour of the exhibition

Reunion for former staff and sharing a heartfelt moment together

Exhibition brings history alive for today’s Singaporeans

"This is a story not just of the history of The Straits Times, but also the history of Singapore as told by the pictures and pages of this newspaper. This exhibition pulls back the lens and showcases the last 50 years, set against a longer history.

“This exhibition trawls through our rich archives to bring that history alive for today's Singaporeans to help us remember where we have been, how we got here, and where we might be heading." - Warren Fernandez, Editor, The Straits Times

"This is a unique exhibition as it showcases historical events from the framework of the present and with an eye firmly on the future, creating a dialogue between past and present.” - George Tanasijevich, Chief Executive Officer and President of Marina Bay Sands.

"This is a meaningful exhibition that depicts not just milestones in Singapore’s history, but also how lives have changed against the backdrop of our evolving skyline and cityscape. As we celebrate Singapore’s Golden Jubilee, it is important that we remember the value of the past that has brought us success as we build for tomorrow.” - Lim Ming Yan, President & Group CEO, CapitaLand, which also invited Singaporeans to envision the next 50 years for Singapore, in conjunction with the exhibition.

“Let’s celebrate Singapore’s achievements, look forward to the future and continue to play a part in the Singapore story.” Mr Neeraj Swaroop, former Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore, which opened its first branch in Singapore in 1859.

Photographs and news about Standard Chartered Bank were featured in the Business gallery, from its opening in 1859 here to being the first merchant bank here in 1970.

Exhibition draws 140,000 visitors• More than 140,000 people visited the exhibition from

July 17 to October 4, 2015

• According to a visitors' survey of about 500 responses, those who had seen the exhibition gave it an average rating of 4.07 out of five points.

• The survey also showed that the elements that left the deepest impressions were the late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the nation's separation from Malaysia, and photographs of Singapore's past and present.

"The exhibition was nostalgic, and it helped us to relive past memories. Singapore has changed significantly, and the transformation over the years is just remarkable." - Retiree Yeo Cheng Ann, 66, who was impressed with the amount of work put into the exhibition.

• "We are greatly encouraged by the strong attendance and interest shown by visitors of all walks of life. The appeal of the exhibition lies mainly in the way it uses innovative exhibition design, cutting-edge new technology and historical material to look at the past, present and future of Singapore." - Ms Honor Harger, executive director of the ArtScience museum.

"This was an incredible exhibition. Very few nations have such a sense of their collective future." - Comments from a visitor in the survey conducted by the ArtScience Museum on the ST170 exhibition.

Feedback from visitors

Travel back in time with ST e-book• In conjunction with the exhibition, The

Straits Times also produced an e-book, Living History: 170 Years Of The Straits Times, which takes readers back in time and relive highlights from the last 170 years, as told by Singapore's oldest paper.

• The Straits Times deputy foreign editor Bhagyashree Garekar led a team of 12 in putting together Living History: 170 Years Of The Straits Times.

• Supported by the National Heritage Board, the e-book was also the paper's gift to the country for its Golden Jubilee. It can be downloaded for free through The Straits Times Star E-books app. More than 21,000 copies have already been downloaded.

• Readers can view old copies of The Straits Times since the 19th century, read about Singapore in World War II and the evolution of the country's hawker food tradition. There are even picture spreads of beloved spots such as Katong and the Singapore Botanic Gardens which capture the country's journey from fishing village to modern metropolis.

Souvenirs popular at ST exhibition• About 200 images in the exhibition were published as a book titled Front Page: STories Of Singapore Since

1845. About 5,000 copies of were sold at the museum and bookstores islandwide.

• The book mines the 170-year-old archives of The Straits Times for articles, headlines and photographs, including never-before-seen pictures, to tell the familiar story of Singapore in a fresh way. It borrows its themes from sections of the newspaper and looks to Singapore’s past to contemplate its present and future.

• A series of ST vintage image notebooks featuring photos of Singapore scenes in the early years were also produced, and about 6,000 copies were snapped up.

AD REVENUE:

• The exhibition brought in total revenue of S$2.3 million for the company. This included a S$500,000 eight-page wrap of ST, a print supplement, digital executions and a book (STories Of Singapore Since 1845).