Launch of Singapore Screening Spaces

About the Event:
What brings a collector, a researcher and a designer to gather at The Capitol? Singapore Screening Spaces is their labour of love: a loving documentation of half a century of Singapore’s film exhibition spaces. Beginning in the year 1896—when the first traveling cinema appeared in Singapore—to 1945, when cinemas resumed operations after the end of World War II, the book is packed with artifacts collected by Wong Han Min and insights penned by Yeo Min Hui, creatively directed in book format by Melvin Tan and his team at Currency Design. This programme features Han Min's presentation of a history of Singapore cinema theatres, with a focus on The Capitol, as well as a collector-researcher-designer conversation moderated by publisher Ng Kah Gay.

After the conversation, participants can also purchase their own copy of the book and get it signed by the authors outside the theatre. Each book will come with free postcards featuring photos of past cinemas from Han Min's collection.

About the Book:
Singapore Screening Spaces is a documentation of archives and affection. It charts approximately half a century of Singapore’s film exhibition spaces from the year 1896—when the first traveling cinema appeared in Singapore—to 1945, when cinemas resumed operations after the end of World War II. This image-packed book, born out of an extensive private collection of printed materials, pays tribute to our film pioneers, presents a visually compelling picture of Singapore’s film exhibition history, and contributes towards place-making in Singapore.

About the Speakers:
Wong Han Min is a philatelist and ephemera collector cum researcher of Singaporean landscape and social history, including the entertainment and film history of Singapore. He has exhibited his film memorabilia collection multiple times, including in collaborations with the Asian Film Archive, and given talks both locally and overseas. In particular, his film memorabilia collection represented Singapore at the 2009 edition of the Venice International Art Biennale, and earned a special mention at the exhibition.

Yeo Min Hui is senior lecturer with the Chinese programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. She works primarily on Asian studies and cultural history, with a focus on Singapore and Malaya (https://www.yeominhui.com/).

Melvin Tan is Design Director of Currency Design and part of collective Hothouse, developing creative work within arts and cultural contexts.
@currencydesign @h0t.house @mlvntan