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Sculpture Square

Sculpture Square was located at 155 Middle Road, in the Downtown Core and Rochor planning areas of Singapore, and served as a space for the exhibition of three-dimensional art. It was opened in March 1999 by the non-profit organisation Sculpture Square Limited under the leadership of Edmund Cheng of Wing Tai Holdings, who was educated in architecture. The project was the idea of local sculptor Sun Yu-Li, who felt Singapore lacked such facilities and proposed using the unused 19th century Middle Road Church. The venue was featured many exhibitions throughout the years of existence till 8th August 2014 when it closed, at times even having more than one a month. Its final exhibition was called 'Postcards from the Future' which ran in August of 2014. A commemorative book on Sculpture Square has been published, titled 'Sculpture Square: Re: Defining Space', which cites that there were “over 4,000 days of exhibitions and events” with the highest visitorship reported being 15,200 in 2005.

History of 155 Middle Road

The Methodist years (1872-1930)

The Middle Road Church was initially used as a Christian Institute to promote Christianity in Singapore, founded by a British army officer named Charles Phillips. The small wooden Gothic-style building was built in 1872 and functioned for young men as a Christian social centre.

The building was later used by the Methodist missionaries before being converted during the weekdays into the Tamil Girls' School (later Methodist Girls' School) and rented for their Sunday worship services to the Foochow Chinese Mission. It became the first Methodist Church in Singapore for the Straits Chinese community when it was inaugurated as the Middle Road Church in 1894, where its services were conducted in Baba Malay. The first pastor of the church was British Methodist missionary William Girdlestone Shellabear (1862-1947).

By 1897, the attendants of the church had grown to nearly 1,000, consisting largely of children. A year later, the church bought from the Methodist Girls' School over the building and in 1901 had it dedicated by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Warne. By then, the church was popularly referred to as the Baba Malay Church or Middle Road Church.

The church was moved to Kampong Kapor in 1930, selling the building to local tycoon Eu Tong Sen (1877 - 1941). The church was renamed the Kampong Kapor Methodist Church at its new premises.

The Forgotten years (1930s-late 1960s)

The use of the building during these years remain mostly unknown, left either vacant or used for other purposes. The old chapel was transformed into a Chinese restaurant called "May Blossom Restaurant" during the Japanese occupation (1942-1945).

Sin Sin Motor Co. (late 1960s-late 1980s)

Situated opposite the Registry of Vehicles, the building was converted into a motor shop called Sin Sin Motor Co. possibly even in the 1950s. The buildings in the area were largely former homes of wealthy merchants, with the building next to the motor shop having been converted into the Tai Loke Hotel (previously Tai Loke Lodging House) during these years.

Many of the older generation in Singapore fondly remember the location as such, due to the presence of many schools and residences in the area. Examples of schools would be St. Anne's School (now known as St. Anthony's Canossian Primary School and St. Anthony's Canossian Secondary School) and Stamford Girls' School (building currently used as Stamford Art Centre).

The Changing Communities of Middle Road

This road got its name because it used to be a demarcation line separating the civic area from Singapore's ethnic settlements as part of the city planning of the British colonial government, known as the Jackson Plan. Jackson's plan for the European Town in 1822 consisted of four parallel roads in the north-east-south-west direction and a major intersectional road. This perpendicular road is the Middle Road of today. The Europeans subsequently vacated the area to dwell more inland, away from the urbanizing city quarters, as Chinese immigrants settled near the European Town.

The area around Middle Road was the Hainanese immigrant community's original settlement, a community noted for its active role in Singapore's food and drink history and bring them regional fame. This created many wealthy Chinese, with the Hainanese making up 10% of the local Chinese population by 1881. Some famous creations of the Hainanese in Singapore would be the gin tonic called The Singapore Sling, Hainanese Chicken Rice and the franchise Ya Kun Kaya Toast.

From the late 19th century until World War II, the area around Middle Road, Hylam Street and Malay Street was also a lively Japanese enclave known for its Karayuki-san brothels and traditional shops run by Japanese immigrants.

After the end of the Second World War, the Japanese community was repatriated and no Japanese person was allowed to enter Singapore for the next four years. In the period leading up to Singapore's 1965 independence, the former existence of the Japanese enclave and its links to commercial and everyday life in pre-war Singapore were displaced to remove their memory.

As Middle Road, Wilkie Road, Mount Sophia Road, Bras Basah Road bordered Synagogue Street which was in the first Jewish quarter in Singapore, there was also a sizable Jewish community in the area.

Architecture

The building is one of the few remaining Singapore Gothic-style buildings. The external façade has been preserved, such as circular vents and arc windows.

Close-up of Sculpture Square's Gothic-style windows

Gothic-style architecture has its origins in 12th century France and was commonly used in churches and cathedrals till the 16th century. In England, partly in response to a philosophy advocated by the Oxford Movement and others associated with the emerging revival of 'high church' or Anglo-Catholic ideas in the second quarter of the 19th century, Neo-Gothic began to be promoted as the preferred style of ecclesiastical, civic and institutional architecture by influential establishment figures, allowing the Gothic-style to be revived and transported to other parts of the world through missionaries and settlers.

The style of architecture has many key elements such as the pointed arch and rib vault, flying buttresses, stained glass windows to allow light in, height, Latin cross plan, sculpture and decoration, portals and tympanum, towers and spires.

While the building is rather small in size, these features can be seen in some aspects. For example, the ceiling is nine-metres high while unobstructed by pillars and has a plan similar to a Latin cross, with a long nave and apse opposite the main portal.

Sculpture Square (1999-2014)

Sun discussed the Sculpture Square project with a friend, Wing Tai Holdings' Edmund Cheng, in December 1995. He shared Sun's interest and shortly afterwards the two began to work together on the project. The involvement of Cheng was crucial as he volunteered to use the extensive network of contacts who shared an interest in arts from Wing Tai to raise funds and support the Sculpture Square project, some even as part of the board of directors. Cheng became the first chairman of Sculpture Square while Sun was the first artistic director.

Sculpture Square opened to the public in March 1999 and staged on 5 June that year its first Sculpture Carnival, an event that became an important part of the programming of Sculpture Square in the next decade. Prasanta Mukherjee, a New Delhi, India sculptor, conducted the first edition and featured children's hands-on activities. The Sculpture Carnival, as well as the associated Children's Sculpture Exhibition where children's works were exhibited, grew from an attendance of 1,500 in 1999 to draw a 5,000-strong crowd each year until the June 2012 final carnival. Sculpture Square also participated in the visual arts program "Volume and Form" of the Singapore Art Festival that year. International works of art were exhibited at several venues, including Sculpture Square, between May and September 1999.

Following its official opening on 22 October 1999, the inaugural exhibition held at Sculpture Square entitled Provocative Things: A Three Dimensional Experience in Singapore was held, showing works by 16 local artists. The exhibition was aimed at raising questions not only about existence but also about what constitutes three-dimensional art.

However, by January 2000, Sun had expressed concern over the Square's lack of identity and low on-site reservation demand. The art critic and historian, T. K. Sabapathy was appointed senior curatorial advisor, he had also curated the inaugural exhibition. Until 2002, he remained in the position and directed the Sculpture Square in terms of exhibitions, publications, residences, workshops and symposia.

Sculpture Square

In September 2000, Sabapathy curated the first anniversary show of the Square, Transformations: 6 from Malaysia. The exhibition of works by local and regional artists has become an important component of the exhibition calendar of Sculpture Square until 2011. In particular, the fifth anniversary show, Reformasi: Contemporary Indonesian Artists Post-1998, attracted some international attention with BBC World TV and Asian Wall Street Journal coverage. Reformasi was described as a "highly politized" exhibition that showed some anxiety about the future of Indonesia six years after the end of Suharto's rule.

The Square appointed Tay Swee Lin, a former curator at the Singapore Art Museum, as the new general manager in 2001. During her tenure from 2002 to 2007, she was credited for developing the artistic reputation of Sculpture Square, citing the anniversary shows and her realization of Sabapathy's desire for artist residences. The residency program for artists was launched in 2003 and ran until it was replaced by the Bureau program in 2012. Tay also worked as a curatorial consultant for projects in places such as CityLink Mall, Singapore's National Museum and Changi Airport Terminal 3. The work of curatorial consultancy became part of the activities of the Square and survived both its tenure and the venue itself.

It was during the tenure of Tay that the arts landscape in Singapore changed. The growing number of arts groups and activities made funding more competitive, and in the mid-2000s funding for the Square fell. As a result, a new business plan was presented in September 2006 by then Chairman of the Board, Richard Helfer. The plan reduced the number of exhibition days to increase the rentability of the gallery and further develop its curatorial consultancy business. The Old Parliament House was eventually appointed as the managing agent for Sculpture Square in 2008 and the following year renovations were made to increase the gallery space in the second building. Though the old programming was retained, a new component was added, "Emerging Curators Show." Two shows of this kind took place in 2011 and 2012.

Another major shock was that the National Arts Council (NAC) dropped Sculpture Square from its Major Grant Scheme in 2011. The Council said that Sculpture Square lacked artistic direction, and subsequently Sculpture Square reviewed its plans and positioning to focus on developing artists. Then, in August 2012, the Square employed Alan Oei as its artistic director to "question and challenge the concept of contemporary sculpture."

The programming of the Square was completely changed with Oei at the reins. New programs have been implemented such as the Bureau, Iconoclast and Social Milieu. For example, the Social Milieu program, Ghost: The Body at the Turn of the Century, curated by Oei, examined local human body representations and the relationship between those representations and the state. The highlight of the show was the documentary installation by Loo Zihan about Josef Ng's performance at the Artists ' General Assembly in December 1999. The drastic revision had its desired effect with the Sculpture Square being reinstated into the Major Grant Scheme of NAC in April 2014.

Helfer, however, announced a few months later that the board had decided to vacate the premises in order to concentrate on curatorial consulting. Sculpture Square had two ongoing consultancy projects at the time: one with Farrer Park Company to curate an art collection of over 700 works, and the other with Seagate Technologies. Thus, Sculpture Square closed its doors on 8 August 2014 with a final exhibition in August 2014, Postcards from the Future.

NAC Arts Housing Scheme & Waterloo Arts Belt

The Arts Housing Scheme was established in 1985 to provide arts groups and artists with affordable spaces. Its main purpose is to provide a home for art groups and artists to develop their activities and thus contribute to an active Singapore arts scene. Under the scheme, NAC is heavily subsidizing rental charges by the Singapore Land Authority, while the tenants bear the costs of services and maintenance. Three arts belts of several arts housing properties were established in Waterloo Street, Chinatown and Little India in conjunction with the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Many properties are pre-war or old buildings in these arts belts, such as disused warehouses and old shophouses, and housing arts groups provide an important impetus for artistic creativity. The arts also contributed to revitalizing and rejuvenating these areas. To date, over 60 arts organisations and artists are housed in 34 properties comprising of 29 single-tenanted buildings, 3 multi-tenanted arts centres and 2 co-located facilities in Marine Parade (Marine Parade Community Building) and Ghim Moh (Ulu Pandan Community Building).

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

The Waterloo Street Arts Belt, which the Sculpture Square was part of, was restored and developed over five years to serve as a unique focus for arts activities in the heart of the city. The Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore, Dance Ensemble Singapore, Singapore Lyric Opera and The Theater Practice are some of the arts groups housed in this belt.

In addition to serving the purpose of art housing, the arts belt plays a larger role in showcasing Singapore's vibrant arts scene and providing space for talent to create and test their work. The arts groups ' activities add character and vitality to the area, making a positive contribution to a vibrant and attractive neighborhood.

The arts belt also serves as a complementary link between nearby arts centres and institutions such as the Singapore Art Museum and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

Objectifs (2015-Current)

In June 2015, under the Arts Housing Scheme of the National Arts Council, Objectifs moved into 155 & 161 Middle Road, using the former Sculpture Square as the Chapel Gallery, which is a space for temporary exhibitions. The current facilities include a gallery/screening space, two multipurpose spaces, outdoor courtyards and a retail store.

Objectifs

Objectifs is an independent non-profit gallery and educational space in Singapore committed to advancing film and photography practice and appreciation. Its mission is to build a community of visual storytellers and image makers, create and share artistic works that foster dialogue on local and international issues. Created in 2003, Objectifs has played a key role in the development of contemporary photography, video art and film in Singapore, with many artists at the centre learning, teaching and exhibiting. Over 320 exhibitions, screenings and visual arts projects have been presented by Objectifs, bringing their workshops, school programs and outreach efforts to over 29,000 students.

In 2005, in partnership with Objectifs, Infinite Frameworks and Shooting Gallery Asia, a film distribution arm, Objectifs Films, was created. Objectifs Films is Southeast Asia's largest distributor of short films with award-winning short films and selected independent feature films.

The Future of Sculpture Square

A short survey of nine questions was carried out to gather peoples opinions on the conservation of the Sculpture Square. The questions are listed below in order.

1. How old are you?
2. This building has served several purposes since it was built. Which function do you associate this building with? (Picture of Sculpture Square shown)
3. Do you feel that the way the building has been conserved has been satisfactory? (A short write-up of Sculpture Square's history is included)
4. What improvements/changes do you feel should be made to the way the building is conserved?
5. Given the ties of the building to the origins of the Methodist community in Singapore, should the building be conserved in a way that shows its ties to the community?
6. Are you a member of the Methodist Church Singapore? (MCS)
7. Why do you think the Methodist community in Singapore does not have any role in/ties to the conservation of this building?
8. What should the building be remembered as?
9. Is there a need to conserve this building?

Survey Findings

While the respondents number a few, with 16 aged 18 to 34 and 6 aged 45 to 74, the survey is able to give some insight into the thoughts of the public on the conservation of the Sculpture Square.

Out of the 22 respondents, 12 identified the building most closely with Middle Road Church, 7 not recognising the building, 2 identifying it as Sculpture Square and 1 as Objectifs. Hence, it seems that the majority, do not identify it with its current use and a large number do not even know where or what the building's function is. Nonetheless, 18 respondents were satisfied with how the building has been conserved, only 4 stating that it is unsatisfactory.

17 respondents have suggested that the manner in which the building is conserved should be tied to the Methodist community, some stating a lack of knowledge, an inconvenient location and not having ownership of the building as reasons why the Methodist community have not had any involvement with its conservation as of yet. 16 respondents have also claimed that the building should be remembered as something church-related, 1 respondent recommending that it serve as a small museum for Christianity and its respective branches.

Even so, there is a majority consensus, of 19 respondents, that the building is significant enough in our history to have a place in our present and future, and be properly conserved.

Bibliography

• Sculpture Square: Re : Defining Space. Singapore: Sculpture Square Limited, 2014.

• Lau, Earnest and Jesudason S. E. Lest we Forget 1894-1994. Singapore: Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, 1994.

• Wan, Meng Hao and Jacqueline Lau. Heritage Places of Singapore. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2009.