Remember that popular graffiti art work that’s turned into a kind of tourist photo op in Penang? Well, you had its Taman Jurong counterpart—at least until the uncle rode away. It currently features the work of TJ residents following a workshop by visual artist Speak Cryptic, but fellow artist Tay Bee Aye pointed out that the wall near the Taman Jurong Community Club has always been a site for mural painting. She should know—Tay has lived in the area since 1971. So it’s more than fitting that she’ll be presenting an interactive installation work over the weekend for an open house event launching Our Museum@Taman Jurong.

A side view of Our Museum@Taman Jurong

This National Heritage Board, TJ community members and People’s Association collaboration is set to be Singapore’s first community art museum—a partly mobile two-storey set-up housing art works from the national collection as well as those done in collaboration with residents of TJ. If you wanted to know just what direction the NHB is going with the whole community art thing, this would be a good indication, said NHB CEO Michael Koh. Why, with apologies to its residents, the choice of this arguably ulu area? “We knew there was already an active art programme here,” said Koh. Not to mention it’s also home to a number of artists as well; aside from Tay, Terence Lin, Ben Puah and Urich Lau also call this part of Singapore their `hood. In other words, it’s a place ripe for art—and Our Museum@Taman Jurong is one big “seed,” said Singapore Art Museum director Tan Boon Hui. It’s not a simple outreach programme in a conventional sense and neither is it an “extension” or “duplication” of SAM, said Tan. The idea is that the residents will eventually put their stamp of ownership on the museum and exhibit their own stuff there. In the meantime, SAM has cobbled together a selection of works from the national collection. Curator Khairuddin Hori said the selection was pretty much a mix of subject matter familiar to a broader (and perhaps not regular museum-going or art-loving) public, but also a mix of modern and contemporary, figurative and abstract, and of various materials and techniques.

Chua Mia Tee and Baet Yeok Kuan's artworks on the second floor. So you’ve got Sarkasi Said’s Pink Evening batik work and Ong Kim Seng’s Smith Street 1 watercolour piece alongside Safaruddin’s pop art Tiffin Carrier and Donna Ong’s Dissolution installation. Upstairs, two paintings by Chua Mia Tee and Baet Yeok Kuan’s steel and copper pod-like sculpture share space with short films by Sanif Olek—including one comprising images shot by TJ residents. It ties in with the central section on the groundfloor featuring photographs of mini-versions of Dawn Ng’s Walter doll in various places as shot by residents as well (Big Walter is set to occupy the basketball court outside).

Hello to you too, Dawn Ng artwork. Our knowledgeable guide, Stacy Low, explains Walter's presence inside a lift. This, of course, is still an NHB initiative—and there are wonderful archival photographs of Jurong back then, reminding visitors of its roots as Singapore’s first industrial estate (a Vespa assembly plant, and Singapore’s only drive-in cinema—set up to give the area a more residential vibe). It’s admittedly a pretty cramped space and is basically just a very small art snapshot. But logistical and curatorial matters aside, it’s far from being a token gesture to “bring art to the masses”. Going by our preview’s tour guide, teacher and volunteer Stacy Low, it won’t be a dumbed down affair. Of course there are comments about how the works “relate” to everyday lives, to Singapore’s heritage and history, and fun trivia. But the guide also doesn’t shy away from bringing up terms like “cybernetics” or “pop art” or even describing the effect of perspectives in paintings. It may be a museum in the heartland, but it makes no apologies about being a museum. (Our Museum@Taman Jurong is located at Taman Jurong Community Club, 1 Yung Sheng Road (pretty easy to get to via train and bus). It’s open from 3pm to 7pm (Mondays to Fridays) and 10am to 6pm (weekends), and closed on public holidays. An Open House (with a whole bunch of activities) will be held this weekend, Jan 12 (4pm to 9.30pm) and Jan 13 (11am to 1pm).)