Explore The Colonial District
Bras Basah Road – the main thoroughfare between Orchard Road and Marina Centre – supposedly got its name because rice arriving on cargo boats used to be brought here to be dried (beras basah means “wet rice” in Malay). The zone between it and Rochor Road at the edge of Little India has a transitional sort of feel, sitting as it does between the Colonial District and what were intended to be “ethnic” enclaves to the northeast. In recent times city planners have transformed the area into a nexus for the arts, with many distinguished old properties on and around Waterloo Street being turned over to arts organizations, including the Singapore Art Museum. The country’s leading institutes in the field have also been lured here, among them the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) on Bencoolen Street; and the School of the Arts, in a striking new building next to the Cathay cinema.
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Singapore Art Museum
Singapore Art Museum
The Singapore Art Museum has a peerless location in the venerable St Joseph’s Institution, Singapore’s first Catholic school, whose silvery dome rang to the sounds of school bells until 1987. Though extensions have been necessary, many of the original rooms survive, among them the school chapel. There’s also an annexe, 8Q, housing more art in another former Catholic school round the corner at 8 Queen St. The museum focuses on a diverse and challenging range of contemporary art from Singapore and East Asia, and it’s likely that this emphasis will continue even after the National Art Gallery opens, with the latter showcasing regional art of a slightly older vintage.
