The Wee Kim Wee Centre (WKWC) presented this year’s Lien Fung’s Colloquium, titled “Museums of Tomorrow”, on 12 November 2017 at the Singapore Management University (SMU).

Established in 2003, Lien Fung’s Colloquium comprises a lecture series featuring well-known and thought-provoking speakers from the region and internationally. Established by Mrs Ho Lien Fung, the wife of former Singapore Ambassador to Thailand, the late Ho Rih Hwa, the lecture series aim to enhance awareness and appreciation of cultural and societal issues, with a particular focus on everyday life, among SMU students and the general public.

This year’s Lien Fung Colloquium convened experts from global cultural icons such as the Tate Modern Museum at SMU’s Mochtar Riady Auditorium. The speakers comprised Frances Morris, Director of the Tate Modern Museum; Bartomeu Mari, Director of the National Museum of Modern Art and Contemporary Art Korea; and June Yap, Director, Curatorial, Programmes and Publications at the Singapore Art Museum. Kwok Kian Chow, Associate Professor of Arts and Culture Management (Practice) and Director, Wee Kim Wee Centre, moderated the discussion. Collectively holding more than 80 years’ of curatorial experience, they each drew upon a rich repertoire of knowledge to exchange their views on the evolving roles of art museums.

The panelists discussed how the advent of the internet and the pervasive adoption of social media technology such as smartphones and tablets have impacted urban social behavior and led to changes in the socio-cultural landscapes of London, Singapore and Seoul. Museums, which serve as social institutions in civil societies, play a role in facilitating discussions on issues ranging from arts and culture to the environment.

In a lively exchange, the panelists also shared their personal, as well as institutions’, visions on the future focus of museums, such as whether the boundaries between art forms are being reconstituted and how the balance between contemplative architecture and the synergistic environment could be struck.

Lien Fung's Colloquium seeks to enhance public understanding and appreciation of culture and society through lectures, talks and other events, with a particular focus on everyday life, while not being dominated by academic or philosophical topics. Previous distinguished speakers included Professor Chou Chih-Ping of Princeton University, Mr Peter Wee from The Peranakan Association, Singapore and Professor Xu Ping Fang, Eminent Archaeologist and Adjunct Professor from the Department of Archaeology, Beijing University.