50 notable Peranakans from Singapore's history

THERE'S much to behold about the Peranakan culture - its architecture, customised furniture and decorative items, textiles and ceramics, jewellery. But what seems less celebrated is its people, and the community's contribution to Singapore.

For the first time in the Peranakan Museum's history, the museum has chosen - fittingly for SG50 - to highlight and celebrate 50 key individuals in Singapore's Peranakan community, many of whom contributed to the building of Singapore. Maria Khoo Joseph, one of the three co-curators for Great Peranakans: 50 Remarkable Lives, said: "It's the first time we've had a personality-based exhibition, as opposed to exhibitions based on the Peranakan material culture."

The exhibition, unveiled last month and which will run until April 2016, was planned more than a year ago. Help came from academics like Peter Lee, art historian and author; Kwa Chong Guan, Adjunct Associate Professor (Honorary) at the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences in National University of Singapore, and Leo Suryadinata, Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Iseas).