Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
Copyright © Timothy Tye.
Singapore Art Museum
Singapore Art Museum is housed in the former St Joseph's Institution building, on Bras Basah Road. At the time I photographed it, the Singapore Art Museum was undergoing renovation, and so it was a challenge trying to get a good shot of the building without shooting piles of sand and cement. I am documenting it for AsiaExplorers, to describe the former St Joseph's Institution building, as it is gazetted one of the National Monuments of Singapore.
The St Joseph's Institution is the first missionary establishment of the La Salle Brothers in the Far East, which also includes the St Xavier's Institution in Penang. It is a boys' school. The person credited for initiating it was Father Jean-Marie Beurel, the same French missionary who was instrumental in helping to set up the girls' school at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (better known today as CHIJMES.
St Joseph's Institution was founded in 1852, the same year Convent Light Street of Penang was founded. Originally, it was known as St John's, but as the cornerstone of the new school building was laid on the Day of the Feast of St Joseph, on 19 March 1855, from then onwards it was known as St Joseph's Institution.
During World War II, the St Joseph's Institution was used as the Red Cross Hospital and also housed a unit of the Civil Defence Force. St Joseph's Institution is considered one of the top secondary schools in Singapore, and is renowned for its academic excellence.
Since 1988, St Joseph's Institution has moved from its original premises to a new campus at Malcom Road. The original campus is now occupied by the Singapore Art Museum, or SAM for short. SAM specialises in Singapore and Southeast Asian artworks. The old St Joseph's Institution building is gazetted by the Singapore National Heritage Board as a National Monument on 14 February and 3 July 1992.
