Diary of an NUS Museum Intern: Metta Yang

Note: Diary of an NUS Museum Intern is a series of blog posts written by our interns about their experiences during the course of their internships. Working alongside their mentors, our interns have waded through tons of historical research, assisted in curatorial work, pitched in during exhibition installations and organised outreach events! If you would like to become our next intern, visit our internship page for more information! 

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Metta Yang is post-graduate student of Museum Studies at the Nanyang Technological University.  As our Exhibitions Intern, Metta has assisted in the curatorial research and execution of exhibitions, which includes Glossaries Of The Straits Chinese Homemaking.

I’d always dreamed about working in a museum and was super excited to have the chance to intern at the National University of Singapore Museum (NUSM) for a period of 12 weeks in May 2019. I’d associated high art, high-brow conversations and glamour with working in a museum, an impression that was cultivated through images of exhibition launches and hobnobbing with the who’s who in the art circle. However, this can’t be further from the truth based on my working experience in NUSM. Through interacting with the NUSM team, I learnt that the dynamics of working in a museum is similar to other jobs but it offers the perk of working with art and like-minded folks who are into art. 

Here’s my job scope: 
1. Assist with the on-going research of the exhibition Glossaries of the Straits Chinese Homemaking at the NUS Baba House, studying themes within the exhibition and proposing new iterations and developments;
2. Research and conceptualise an off-site exhibition based on maquettes from the Ng Eng Teng Collection in the NUS-YALE Library; and
3. Assist in Museum events and operations. 

Since this was my first foray into doing museum-related work right after my studies, I was extremely excited and hoped to apply some of the concepts and theories at work. Through this internship, I hoped to gain the following:
1. A better understanding of curatorial work, what goes into it (thought process, conceptualization of the curatorial approach, setting up of the exhibition, programming and outreach);
2. Have hands-on experience with working in a museum setting, one that I’ve not been exposed to in my career before; and
3. Expanding my interests in the Baba House exhibitions.

Though I’d come across Ng Eng Teng’s works before, I found them thematically ambivalent and visually bizarre. To get over this mental block, I thought to tackle this project before the Baba House (BH) one which I was more interested in. Thankfully, there is a wealth of information written on Ng’s artistic process by established art historians such as T.K. Sabapathy, Constance Sheares to base my research on. Ng also bequeathed about 1,000 of his artworks comprising sculpture, maquettes and sketch books over three trenches to NUSM before he passed away in 2001. Guided by the literature and exhibition on Ng’s art, I started to see the appeal of his visual idiom. I spent a significant amount of time perusing the newspaper archives and looking at Ng’s artworks in the Ng Eng Teng Gallery to have a better sense of his artistic vision. Su Ling, my supervisor, provided guidance on the nuts and bolts of exhibition-making which was extremely useful. By the time the sculptures were installed in the showcase, I was overwhelmed with a sense of achievement and some awareness of putting up an exhibition. Su Ling mentioned that regardless of the size of the exhibition, the amount of work that goes into researching, planning, preparing and setting it up is equally heavy, and I totally agree with her. 

Display of Ng Eng Teng’s maquettes in the YALE-NUS Library

Art handler installing Ng Eng Teng’s Contentment into the showcase at YALE-NUS Library 

While working on the Ng Eng Teng research, Su Ling also involved me in the logistical aspect for an exhibition that NUSM launched on 13 June 2019. Entitled “… you have to lose way to find yourself in the right place,” 

 Ms Foo Su Ling, curator of NUSM giving a tour of Gilles Massot’s “… you have to lose way to find yourself in the right place”

All excitement for the launch of the Gilles Massot exhibition!

I was also tasked to revamp the current exhibit in the BH in the Glossaries of the Straits Chinese Homemaking section which is located in the contemporary section of the museum. This space is unique as it allows curators and artists to respond to Peranakan culture in a contemporary way which goes beyond the common tropes and topics that have already been covered. Because of the wealth of information on the Peranakans, I had some difficulty in focusing on a single topic. The issues of domicile, a growing sense of nationalism for England, China or both, and political struggle were prevalent in the writings by the Straits Chinese. I was also very interested in the representation of Nyonyas in popular culture and eventually delved deeper into this topic for the exhibition proposal. In this exercise, I attempted at giving a balanced reading of the Nyonyas in order to paint a more realistic picture of their role in the private and public spheres. Aside from perusing microfilms, I relied on academic writings, newspaper articles and literary works to gain a broader perspective into the lives of the Nyonyas.

Auction of property of a Peranakan family located near the Baba House. My first time attending an auction!

The other aspect of the job that I found rewarding was the large number of field trips that the NUSM and CFA team arranged for the interns. Among our many visits, the more memorable ones were at the Asian Film Archive (AFA), National Archives of Singapore, Elias Park Primary School and meeting practitioners from the performing arts sector at the Singapore International Festival of Arts. The visits provided us with a better understanding of the current issues that practitioners in the cultural and arts sector are negotiating with. The presenters were more than willing to share their experiences with us, allowing the conversations to flow freely which also encouraged us to pose questions confidently. The lively banter allowed us to understand the thought processes that goes on in pitching the arts to a wide target audience while strengthening their brand and ethos at the same time. For example, the AFA carries out a series of programs and panel discussions (‘State of Motion’, ‘Asian Shorts’, ‘Reframe’) on a regular basis to actively engage the arts community in Singapore to examine critical frameworks about film while encouraging a cross-disciplinary approach towards the study of film and art.

My first project was to arrange shards dating back to the 14th century found during an archaeological dig at the St Andrew’s Cathedral

Backstage tour of the NUS University Culture Centre 

Backstage tour of the Esplanade

In conversation with the Collections and Outreach Managers from the Asian Film Archive

Artwork inspired by Peranakan culture, produced by young heritage enthusiasts from Elias Park Primary School 

In conversation with Hu Yun, an artist commissioned to display an exhibition at the Singapore Biennale 2019 in response to the history of National Museum’s dioramas displayed at Elias Park Primary School

My internship in NUSM is made all the more enriching and rewarding thanks to the guidance that my supervisor, Ms Foo Su Ling provided me with. She shared her knowledge in curating exhibitions openly, and also engaged me in discussions that formed my critical framework for the research process. Most importantly, Ms Foo taught me the value of being able to think on one’s feet, having an eye for detail and working together as a team to ensure the success of a project. Whenever I faced obstacles in my projects Ms Foo was always willing to work out the kinks with me. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this internship with NUSM and highly urge students who are interested in the arts, culture, arts management, programming and curating to be part of the NUSM team. The skills that you learn will put you in better stead for a career in a related field. I’d like to thank everyone in the NUSM team namely Michelle, Mary Ann, Wardah, Lynn, Greg, Sid and Yun Wen for making me feel so comfortable working alongside you fantastic folks! A big thank you to my fellow interns for making this internship one to remember. 

Post-visit lunch at Elias Park Primary School

Awesome team members, Su Ann and Afiqah

Last group photo of CFA’s interns for the win!