Introduction.

This blog is set up as a platform to promote the art, culture and heritage of Singapore.

Singapore is a dynamic city that is rich in contrast and colour – where visitors will find a blend of culture, cuisine, arts and architecture. The new branding, YourSingapore, was being launched in March 2010 to replace the previous branding, Uniquely Singapore.

Art

Despite having many leisure attractions such as Marina Bay Sands, Resorts World Sentosa and the Singapore Flyer, there are also places in Singapore that promotes art, such as Esplanade, Victoria Concert Hall, Asian Civilization Museum, Singapore Art Museum, National Museum of Singapore and Chijmes.

Events such as Ballet under the Stars, Biennale (held once every 2 years), Singapore Art Festival, UOB painting of the year, Singapore Youth Festival (a competition held at victoria concert hall or at chijmes once every 2 years, which is competed by the primary and secondary school students. The main types of performances are by the schools' choir clubs, dance clubs, drama clubs and the school's band groups.).

There are also schools in Singapore that promote art, such as Lasalle, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and School of the Arts (SOTA).

Culture and Heritage.

Culture is an integral part of every society. It is a learned pattern of behavior and ways in which a person lives his or her life. Culture is essential for the existence of a society, because it binds people together.

Heritage is an essential part of the present we live in - and of the future we will build.

The pattern of Singapore stems from the inherent cultural diversity of the island. The immigrants of the past have given the place a mixture of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and European influences, all of which have intermingled.

Behind the facade of a modern city, these ethnic races are still evident. The areas for the different races, which were designated to them by Sir Stamford Raffles, still remain, although the bulk of Singaporeans do think of themselves as Singaporeans, regardless of race or culture.

The “Ethnic Quarters” in Singapore consists of places such as Chinatown, Kampong Glam and Little India. These districts are home to religious monuments as well as charming shop houses selling ethnic goods and cuisine. The old streets of Chinatown still remain. The Muslim characteristics are still conspicuous in Arab Street . And Little India along Serangoon Road still has its distinct ambience. Furthermore, there are marks of the British colonial influence in the Neo-Classical buildings all around the city.

Each racial group has its own distinctive religion and there are colourful festivals of special significance all year round. Although the festivals are special to certain races, it is nonetheless enjoyed by all. The Chinese are followers of Buddhism, Taoism, Shenism, Christians, Catholics and some considered as 'free-thinkers'. Malays are Muslims and Indians are Hindus. However, there is a sizeable number of Muslims and Sikhs in the Indian population.

There’s a few religious places in Singapore which have been constructed long ago, as early as 1800s. These are a few examples of such places: Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, Sultan Mosque, St Andrew’s Cathedral, Singapore Hokkien Hway Kwan, Thian Hock Keng Temple, Chijmes, Clarke Quay, Fort Siloso, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

Due to World War 2, there are a few places that still consist of memories of WW2 such as , Bukit Batok Nature Park, Old Changi Hospital, Changi Gaol, Civilian War Memorial, Fort Canning Hill Park, Lim Bo Seng Memorial which are symbols of fortitude, courage and inventiveness of the prisoners of war during the Japanese Occupation. You can find out more about this in this website (link)

World War 2

Here is a brief summary of what happened in Singapore during World War 2, which is an important component to the heritage of Singapore.

In 1923, the British began to build a naval base building in Singapore. British saw it as the “Gibraltar of the Far East”. One of British's greatest defeats in the history was to let one of its colonies, Singapore, fall to the hands of the Japanese Army in 1942. The Japanese occupied Singapore from 1942 to 1945. Singapore was then renamed to “Shonan” which means the “Light of the South” in Japanese. Many Singaporeans suffered severe hardships and brutality similar to that experienced by other prisoners of Japan during World War II.

During the final stages of World War 2 in 1945, after the attack Japan made towards United States, United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, which led to Japan formally surrendering to the Allies, though it was not announced in the press. The Japanese quietly retreated to the internment camp that they had prepared. The Japanese military command in Singapore surrendered to the Supreme Allied commander in the SouthEast Asia, Admiral Lord Louis Mount Batten, a week later on the steps of the municipal building.

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The other posts before the current post are categorised under the following categories:

• Culture - Singlish.
• Art - Esplanade.
• Art - Singapore Art Museum.
• Art - Peranakan Museum.
• Culture and Heritage - Local Cuisines.
• Culture and Heritage - Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.

Reference Links:

http://www.focussingapore.com/photo-gallery/historical-places/
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/what-is-culture.html
http://www.marimari.com/content/singapore/best_of/culture/culture.html
http://www.umass.edu/chs/about/whatisheritage.html