from The Business Times
S'pore, HK in running for US$250m
Guggenheim
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from The New York Times
A Museum Visionary Envisions More
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from The Business Times
IR bidder offers S'pore redux
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from Today
museums, ad nauseum?
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Piecing together a few seemingly unrelated recent news articles and a less than rosy picture emerges regarding the state of museum development here in Singapore. When the likes of the Guggenheim juggernaut is being touted as a key player in the proposed integrated resort concept in presenting a (Asian) cultural face, something must be amissed.

Have our cultural and heritage institutions been totally ineffective or lacking in ambition (and vision) in creating world-class museums - and not only that - but that which Singaporeans would be decidedly proud of? The (possible) coming of Singapore's own version of the "Bilbao effect" - and the tacit admission that home-grown efforts in cultural heritage in Singapore is still pretty much considered a backwater - can only serve as a wake-up call, if nothing else.