SINGAPORE — Way before Kampong Glam became the heart of Malay heritage and the hip neighbourhood it is today, it gave Boat Quay a run for its money as a port town. Even its name has undergone a transformation of sorts: Its current moniker is a shortened version of Kampong Gelam, which refers to the cajeput — or gelam — trees that once grew abundantly in the area.

This and other informative nuggets are what visitors will discover in the exhibition titled Kampong Gelam: Beyond The Port Town, which starts tomorrow at the Malay Heritage Centre (MHC) and runs until April 3 next year.

The exhibition traces the transformation of the area, bound by Ophir Road, Victoria Street, Jalan Sultan and Beach Road, which saw a melting pot of cultures and trades since the 1800s, after the British East India Company, Sultan Hussein and Temeggong Abdul Rahman signed a treaty introducing free trade. As a result, the street names also took on alternative vernacular names. For example, Arab Street was known as Jiawa Street by the Hokkien community there, while its Tamil name was Pukadei Sadakku.

Photos, artefacts and video interviews examine the changes in the neighbourhood from 1965 till today, such as the demolition of the popular Clyde Terrace Market in 1983, while past and current residents and business owners share memories of it. There is also a visual showcase of Singaporean artist Noor Iskander’s impressions of modern Kampong Gelam juxtaposed against archival photos.

Kampong Gelam: Beyond The Port Town is part of the larger three-week long Malay CultureFest, now into its fourth edition, that kicks off today. With this year’s theme being Bangsa (Nation), MHC’s programme manager Jamal Mohamad said the core of the programmes will be by Singaporeans. Homegrown percussionist band NADI Singapura will be presenting 9 Kotak 9 Rentak, a performance featuring nine drumming traditions derived from the Malay archipelago. Meanwhile, MHC’s resident group Kaizen M.D. is creating an original dance performance called The Path To Revival, which portrays different ideas throughout Singapore’s history.

In keeping with the focus on Kampong Gelam, this year’s programme will also see activities “related to the cultures and trades of the neighbourhood”, said Jamal. This includes a perfume workshop with Sifr Aromatics (a perfumery located on Arab Steet), which allows participants to create their own signature scent, as well as Neighbourhood Sketches, where street performances such as wayang and gamelan, once commonly staged in the neighbourhood, are revived.

“These have not been performed for at least 10 years as Pondok Java no longer exists (since the building was demolished in 2003),” said Mohamad. “We hope to get back the dynamism of the area,” he added. SERENE LIM