Entry 2: Be a Manager

Asian Civilisation Museum (ACM)

Neither East nor West: Asians in Monochrome

23 Oct 2008 – 1 Feb 2009

Company: National Heritage Board

 

Objective

This exhibition features portraits of socialites, nobles and those of important Asian dignitaries who played a significant role in bridging the gap between East and West, as well as Europeans who were relevant to the development of Asia.

ACM seeks to promote a better appreciation and understanding of the rich cultures that make up Singapore’s Multi-ethnic society. The Neither East nor West exhibition reinforces the idea that differences in geography, race, religion and culture are of no consequence when individuals of different backgrounds come together peacefully.

Target Audience

The target audience of ACM is the general public. Therefore, the target audience of this exhibition is also the general public. They strive to educate the general public and show that a museum is also an interesting place to learn.

Publicity

The event is publicized by the use of posters that are put up outside ACM, on the walls of the building. These posters are also put up on the lampposts that line Boat Quay and also near the esplanade.

 

Media Coverage

The media does not cover this event.

I think the reason behind the lack of media coverage is due to the fact that it is a museum exhibition.

To attract media coverage, I think the museum could invite guest speakers who are well recognized internationally in the history scene (it is a museum after all). This could attract not only the media but also more visitors.

The museum could also actively reach out to institutions like schools and help the teachers and students in the school to better understand Asian history and also Singapore’s history and how we came to be. That should create a buzz in the media. If the programme is successful, it would create even more of a buzz. Singapore is after all very education oriented.

Evaluation of Success

I think that the success of this event can be evaluated in two ways.

Firstly, the delivery of the content. I feel that the museum has done a good job in educating its visitors about the history of Singapore. The museum has fulfilled its objectives of the Neither East nor West exhibition. Thus, in relation to this, it was a success.

Secondly, the visitors of the museum. The target audience is the general public. However, the majority of visitors of the museum are tourists. There are also a few visitors. This should not be the case. To attract more visitors and more locals, the best thing the museum can do is to incorporate the media. Stated above in Media Coverage, the museum should reach out to schools and help the students learn history from a different perspective. The museum should also invite guest speakers that are well known internationally. This should create some media buzz and help the museum in attracting more visitors. This could not only help the Neither East nor West exhibition get more exposure but also the rest of the exhibitions the museum has.

ACM could also have TV advertisements to promote their exhibitions. They could promote their other exhibitions on top of the Neither East nor West exhibition. They should emphasize that the Neither East nor West exhibition will end by February so as to create a sense of urgency in the viewers of the advertisement to visit the exhibition before it ends.

To help in this area, I feel that media coverage would be most effective.

As the manager of this event, I would get media coverage on this event to help create awareness of such an exhibition and to get exposure. However, as an employee of ACM, I would help the other exhibitions besides the one I’m in charge of to gain exposure. I would also organize a programme that reaches out to schools to aid in the teaching of this (Neither East nor West) part of Singapore’s history.