NHB to host street festivals, guided tours from 2023 to 2027 as part of ‘Our SG Heritage Plan 2.0’

In efforts to strengthen Singaporeans’ connection to their heritage, the National Heritage Board (NHB) has launched Our SG Heritage Plan 2.0, a roadmap featuring initiatives like street festivals and guided tours.

Announced by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong on Friday (May 19), the plan will serve as “the roadmap” for Singapore’s heritage and museum sector from 2023 to 2027. 

The first heritage masterplan, Our SG Heritage Plan, was launched in 2018 and concluded in 2022. 

Our SG Heritage Plan 2.0 will build on its previous edition through four new building blocks that aim to increase the plan’s impact – Identity, Community, Industry and Innovation.

To encourage more in the community to celebrate Singapore’s heritage, there will be the roll out of Heritage Activation Nodes (HAN) in various precincts from 2024. 

Under the initiative, NHB will work closely with community partners to introduce heritage programming and enhance spaces in their neighbourhoods. According to NHB, each HAN will be unique and tailored to the needs and character of the individual precincts. 

The first HAN will be launched in Katong-Joo Chiat, a precinct known for its rich heritage and affiliation with Peranakan culture, in the first half of 2024.

NHB will work with community heritage group Katong Culture, an interest group established by the Joo Chiat Community Club Management Committee to organise regular activities such as street festivals, guided tours and talks.

Other initiatives include a design collection produced by NHB, the Singapore Art Museum, Urban Redevelopment Authority, National Library Board, and the DesignSingapore Council.

The collection will cover a range of design disciplines – including fashion, craft, graphic design and architecture – focusing on contemporary Singaporean designers, architects, and artists. 

NHB will also engage local collectors of design objects and collect works from the Southeast Asian and Asian regions. 

The design collection aims to help expand Singaporeans’ understanding of their local identity. 

Visitors can also look forward to significant initiatives like the transformation of Armenian Street into a creative and craft hub featuring collaborations with businesses and the arts community.

Details of these initiatives and more will be announced progressively.

To mark the launch of Our SG Heritage Plan 2.0 and in celebration of NHB’s 30th anniversary this year, a series of special guided tours, titled From 2023 to 1887: A Museum Journey, will take place over two weekends.

These public tours will offer participants insight into Singapore’s heritage through NHB’s most recently reopened museum, the Peranakan Museum, to its oldest, the National Museum of Singapore.

Participants will explore the origins and diversity of the Peranakan culture, as well as the building’s history as the old Tao Nan School. 

They will then proceed to the National Museum of Singapore, where they will delve into lesser-known facts of the more-than-century-old building. 

The tours had taken place on May 20 and 21 and is set to run again on May 27. Interested participants can find more information on the tours here.

More information on Our SG Heritage Plan 2.0 can be found on Our SG Heritage’s website.