Thursday, June 26, 2008

EVENTS MANAGEMENT FIELD TRIP REPORT - THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SINGAPROE (THE LIVING GALLERIES)

Introduction

The event for my fieldtrip is the National Museum of Singapore, Living Galleries. The Living Galleries is based on four parts of Singapore’s history through fashion, film, food and photography. Fashion identifies the changing of socio-economic and political roles through women’s fashion and style from the period 1950s to the 1970s. Film exhibits the growth of mass entertainment through film and media during the olden days and portrayed the Chinese opera traditions. Film clips, entertainment magazines and soundtracks can be view and listen by visitors. Food displays the energetic and unique street culture during the past, recreates the lively atmosphere of public life of food hawkers and recipes through images and sounds. Photography exhibits the idea of family and the demographics of Singapore from the period 1900 to 1970 through studio portraits. Photo albums and film cabinets can be admire by the event visitors. This event is both enjoyable and educational as it reflects the history of Singapore in an interesting and delightful manner for visitors.

Background of Organizer

The National Museum of Singapore has a rich history; it was first opened by the Governor Sir F.A.Weld, G.C.M.G. in the jubilee year of Her Majesty Queen Victoria in the year 1887. And the building has officially opened to the public on 7 December 2006 after its 3-year redevelopment. It is designed to be the people’s museum as Singapore prides itself on introducing diverse methods of presenting olden times to redefine the conventional museum experience. It is supported by wide range of amenities and services such as food & beverage, retail shops, resource centre, gallery theatre and the public sculpture garden. Other than exhibitions, events and artifacts, the museum also distinguishes itself through its challenging and sparkling events that release novel motivated potential in traditions and heritage.

Role of Events to Organizer (or Attraction/Venue)

The Living Galleries is a very remarkable event for the National Museum of Singapore because it reflects Singapore’s history and multi-racial culture through exhibitions of past memories and stories to visitors, it generate and improve themes of the National Museum of Singapore with its extraordinary displays and stories shared and create a positive image attracting visitors and tourists. In addition, there are other events such as the History Gallery, National Museum Cinematheque, Indian Communities in Singapore and other workshops which also portray local histories and heritage. Museums are not only history which might bore children; there are highlights especially for children such as games, kids’ crafts workshop, storytelling and animated movies which can keep them entertained while the adults enjoy the various exhibitions. All these events assist in attracting more tourists and increase the visitors’ length of stay because after visiting the Living Galleries, they might be curious about other activities and happenings going on at the museum. With that it will also improve the businesses at the Museum Shop by Banyan Tree located inside the museum selling range of museum-inspired souvenirs/merchandise and restaurants and cafes inside the museum such as the Novus Restaurant/Bar and Café, Muse and Chef Chan’s Restaurant. There is a recent statue of David towering at 8.5 meters tall displaying at the centre of the Museum’s historical rotunda; it is made of fiberglass, surface cover by material of kebaya, inspired by one of the most famous Western art icons. All these add vibrant color to the National Museum of Singapore, making it more alive, attractive and exciting for all ages.

Stakeholders in Event

The Living Galleries is organized by the National Museum of Singapore and it is under the National Heritage Board, with the help of various staff (counter receptionist, security guards, shops assistants, food & beverage staff, etc) and volunteers such as tour guides for the operating of the place, events and visitors be it locals or tourists. The staffs were knowledgeable about the place and events going on, helpful when approach with questions from visitors. The sponsors of the National Museum of Singapore are namely Star Hub, Sony, Hugo Boss, Cisco, Sennheiser and Panasonic. Some of the display items such as photographs were donated by the public as a gesture of good will.

Target Market

Generally the target markets for the Living Galleries were locals such as families and students as it is essential for locals to understand the history and traditions of Singapore, especially family with kids, it is educational as it will be good to let their children identify with their heritage from young. And tourists from overseas, creating interest for them to appreciate and enjoy the memories preserve by millions of Singaporeans, the unique culture of Singapore and admire the museum with its long history and nostalgia infrastructure.

Marketing Strategies

The marketing strategies adopted by the National Museum of Singapore in their effort to promote the Living Galleries were mainly through their official website and brochures available at information counter at the venue itself and other tourists’ attractions such as shopping malls, Singapore Tourism Board, other tourists’ attractions and museums. There is also a promotion namely the International Museum Day during the period of 31 May to 2 June 2008, offering free entry to the National Museum of Singapore for everyone and giving goodie bag to the first 500 visitors. It also allows free access or discounts for people visiting other museums and tourist attractions, this promotion is brought to us by the National Heritage Board and Museum Roundtable. The International Museum Day is quite successful and encourages visitors as during my fieldtrip on 31 May, I noticed there are many fellow Singaporeans bringing their family with them, enjoying and appreciating the various galleries and exhibitions at the museum. There are also some tourists and students at the event as well. The alternative strategies of effective marketing which National Museum of Singapore can consider will be implementing family package pricing for the galleries entrance tickets with more discounts and benefits, promoting through the media, newspapers and magazines, enhance the exhibition by adding more animation and effects for viewers and providing shuttle buses at some MRT stations to ferry visitors to and fro, it will be convenient for visitors, especially to tourists who are not very familiar with the directions to the museum.

Information and Tickets

The information of various events going on at the National Museum of Singapore and its accessibility can be found in the official website and brochures. It is quite accessible, within 5 to 10 minutes walking distance from both Dhoby Ghaut and City Hall MRT Stations. General enquiries, feedbacks from the public and school/group bookings were also welcome via hotline and email. The tickets to the event can be purchase at the counter sales at the Stamford Visitor Services Counter and online booking from the official website. The price of the tickets to the Living Galleries is quite reasonable and affordable as it can also access to the Singapore History Gallery. It is quite close as compared to the price of other museums and events.

Using of Blog

The National Museum of Singapore can improve its marketing and promotions of the Living Galleries with the help of the blog, to create more awareness with people nowadays more technology savvy, providing easy access to the event’s news; it is convenient especially among youngsters. The blog is quick, easy and inexpensive to set up. With the blog, it can provide links of website and information, video clips and appear more accessible as it allows visitors to post comments. However, blog cannot entirely replace media and newspapers, there are still limitations. Creating a blog does not guarantee that visitors will use it unless it is widely publicize on the web address, and this will also means more advertising and promotions through media, brochures, newspapers and magazines.

Rate Organization of Event

The National Museum of Singapore did a fine job in organizing the Living Galleries event as the decoration and lightings of the exhibition hall exuded a very nostalgic feeling and the information display is relevant to both history and themes of galleries, it is clear and easy to understand. The various promotions, marketing strategies and staff employed to operate this event is also appropriate. However, there is still room for improvement for the Living Galleries; the National Museum of Singapore can execute more new attractions and activities instead of just sticking to the original display in order to attract more visitors and tourists to the exhibition.

Potential of Event by Organizer to Meet Tourist Demand

The Living Galleries is quite entertaining for Singaporeans as we are able to identify our culture, customs and beliefs easily with the items display and photographs. It is also interesting for tourists as our culture is distinctive with different races and traditions. However, it may not be the case for some tourists as it might be difficult for them to understand and relate to the multi-racial society of Singapore. And the galleries is quite small compared to others, it is also kind of dull with just displays and some repeating short video clips to entertain visitors, especially tourists. There should be more new entertainment programs for all visitors to add more excitement and entertaining to the whole event.

Value of Event Align with Tourism Mission of Singapore

As the Living Galleries focuses on the history and ethnicity of Singapore and attracts both local and foreign visitors to the National Museum of Singapore, therefore it is one of the key driver to develop and champion tourism and contribute to the economic growth for Singapore. The Living Galleries event introduces Singapore’s history and background which emphasized the slogan of the Singapore Tourism Board “Uniquely Singapore” as it portray different culture of races in Singapore which is distinctive and special. The Living Galleries can raise the value of the event to align with the tourism mission of Singapore by having more promotion of the event and the National Museum of Singapore and creating more awareness among tourists via media and advertising on the event and activities.

Personal Reflection

I very much enjoyed this event that I have chosen for my fieldtrip, part of the reason is because I like history and love to explore new things. The Living Galleries reflects on our ancestors’ life and ways of living in a very good manner, it also has a very nice ambience. Going through the exhibition is like traveling in a time machine to their era. Among the four segments in the Living Galleries, I especially adore the Photography segment maybe it is because I enjoy photography and it has the most display items with many photographs of different culture, events and races. It is more real life and captures the feel of the people from the olden days effectively as well as the customs and the past of Singapore.
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