Event: Marshall of Singapore

Objective: Commemorating David Marshall (1908 - 1995 )

Produced by:

The National Library together with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) have organised an exhibition on the late Mr David Marshall.  The exhibition is held at the Promenade, Level 10, National Library Building.

This event, which started on the 12 of December 2008, and will continue all the way until 20 February 2008 on extention, basically serves the purpose of informing the general public about this important figure in Singapore's history, David Saul Marshall.

The event is organized in displays in chronological order, depicting the entire life of David Marshall, born David Shaoul Mashal, tracing his ancestry to his decendants.

Also on display are various articles used by the man himself in his lifetime, generously contributed by St. Andrew's Village, where David Marshall schooled in his younger years.

The Event is publicized through a number of mediums. To state a few:

http://www.saints.org.sg (St Andrew's Alumi)

"Born in Singapore into a middle-class Jewish family, the brilliant, ebullient and charismatic David Marshall rose to become the most famous criminal lawyer of his time, winning what most people thought were hopeless cases. His brief sojourn into politics established him as a household name in Singapore when, as a member of Singapore’s smallest ethnic minority, he became its first Chief Minister. Marshall was also one of the most important leaders of Singapore’s Jewish community, and late in life won accolades as Singapore’s first ambassador to France. This exhibition celebrates the extraordinary life and achievements of this great man.

Quite a few of the items on display are on loan from St Andrew's Village."

http://yesterday.sg

Marshall of Singapore: The Extraordinary Life & Times of David Saul Marshall (1908-1995) Exhibition

December 18, 2008

12 December 2008 – 12 January 2008 
10 am – 9 pm daily (except Public Holidays) 
Promenade, Level 10, National Library Building 
100 Victoria Street

http://www.nlb.gov.sg

"Marshall of Singapore: The Extraordinary Life & Times of David Saul Marshall (1908-1995)" Exhibition

By National Library Singapore and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore
12 December 2008 to 12 January 2009 (Extended till 20 February 2009)
10 am - 9 pm daily (except Public Holidays)
Promenade, Level 10, National Library Building

The event was also mentioned several times in the newspapers, as part on an article in the 'Home' section, and mentioned several time in the 'Things to do this weekend" section.

At the time of visit, 5th Jan 2009, There was no visible media coverage, as the event had been on since 12 Janurary, and is not considered a 'new' event. However, media coverage was present in its opening week, with photographers and journalists alike attending to cover this special commemorative event.

The event was a success, because although there were not many people at the time of visit, due to it being a Monday afternoon, when school had just re-opned, the librarians in charge mentioned that people came in throngs during the weekend. The majority of these people are parents who want to show their children a piece of History, or class trips. 

Also, the event was extended to 20th Feb, when it was originally scheduled to end on the 12th of Janurary, which shows the popularity of the exhibit.

If I were a manager of the event, however, there would be some things i would improve on.

-Firstly, due to the delicate nature of some of the artifacts on exhibit, visitors are required to place their bags in lockers just outside the exhibit. However, there are only very few lockers available, and if people were to come in 'throngs', there would definitely not be enough space. I imagine there would have been a small pile of bags left beside the lockers on weekends due to insufficient locker space, which is not very safe for personal belongings.

-Second, the lights meant to facilitate easier reading on the exhibits actually have the reverse effect- the glare reflecting off the boards make the words at the top harder to read. Also, while photography is allowed, the lights tend to overexpose some parts of the pictures. This can be rectified by using a DSLR camera, but not everbody has the privilege of owning one.

-The exhibit is arranged in such a way that only the people standing right in front of each board will be able to read the words on it. Those behind will have the lower part of the display obstructed. Perhaps, the display should only cover the top half of each board, although this would mean that more boards would have to be put up.

-The exhibit is not interactive enough. Perhaps some videos of David marshall speaking or at work would make the experience more interesting instead of everything being written in black and white.

These aside, though. the exhibit is relatively successful, and I ended up reading the entire history of David Marshall despite having intended only to spend a little time there. It is definitely an event worth checking out.