Last Saturday I met my friend for brunch and we made an impromptu trip to the National Gallery which was just around the corner from our brunch place. It’s my second or third time visiting the museum during this post-covid period and looks like I’m starting to appreciate a few things:
1. The experience of reading the exhibit’s description while simultaneously looking at it to understand its purpose.
I like experiencing more than collecting the memories made in the museum so I don’t usually take many pictures, but this time I wanted to document a little something so snapped a few pictures.
Ignore the low-res image. The exhibit is behind the curtains but my point of snapping this was to document how the wall of text is beautifully juxtaposed against a plain wall, instantly drawing the reader to find out more. And you instantly feel like you’re transported into another world as your eyes dart back and forth from the exhibit to make sense of it all.
I was also wondering about the person who wrote this, and about the possibility of me writing such descriptions for the museum one day :P
Another thing that I’m beginning to appreciate about museums is:
2. The immense effort it takes to curate an exhibition and how we walk away from the museum feeling like we learnt something new.
Granted, we’re all trying to find ways and means to keep ourselves occupied and entertained during this stay-in-country period and museums offer us an opportunity to be transported into another world. When we walk into an exhibition, you can tell how much effort goes into picking the items, weaving a story through them and making sure both story and items connect with each other. Above all, there’s also the connection between us-the museum visitors-and the entire exhibition.That’s another level of connection altogether.
I definitely felt connected to the exhibit and walked out feeling like I’d added something more to my worldview.
We also ought to appreciate museum curators a lot more and how their passion to do what they do keeps these museums alive and consequently, a part of us alive. Here’s a link to an article I was reading this morning, related to a brand campaign we’re running in November. It’s also the article that inspired this post! :D
https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/telling-stories-in-a-museum
Another thing I appreciate about museums is…
3. The silence in it and how it subtly compels us to pull the brake on our thoughts and focus on what’s infront of us.
I’ve difficulty focusing on the present because my mind is always in “Drive” mode. So entering a museum is like a mindfulness practice for me. I also noticed when I was walking around the museum that people automatically spoke in hushed voices, and I realised I never bothered to think if there’s such a thing as museum etiquette. Well this article offers great insight: https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museum-etiquette-errors? and answers the whys and whats of museum etiquette.
I didn’t fully complete my tour on Sat because I’d to leave early. But to date, that’s been the most immersive museum experience I’ve had and I’ll be back for more.
