Rediscover Singapore’s Icons with National Library Board’s Pop-Ups: The Stories of Rediffusion and the Cable Car

As part of the National Library Board’s (NLB) Nodes initiative, two beloved icons from Singapore’s leisure and media scene will be brought back to life through immersive pop-ups, allowing patrons to rediscover their rich histories. These pop-ups, located at Chinatown Point and VivoCity, are part of NLB’s LAB25 (Libraries & Archives Blueprint 2025) efforts to bring more Singapore Stories to the community beyond traditional libraries and archives.

Rediscover Rediffusion

Starting August 5, 2024, at Chinatown Point’s Indoor Atrium, Level 1, visitors can step back into the golden era of Singapore’s first commercial and cable-transmitted radio station with a retro-themed pop-up modeled after a Rediffusion radio studio. This exhibit celebrates Rediffusion’s 75th anniversary, offering a curated selection of Mandarin and Chinese dialect programs and photographs from the National Archives of Singapore (NAS).

From the ‘50s to the ‘70s, Rediffusion’s Chinese dialect programs were immensely popular, with many coffee shops and households fitted with Rediffusion sets. Visitors can relive this era through recordings of renowned Cantonese storyteller Lee Dai Soh’s rendition of the Chinese classic, Journey to the West.

The exhibit also features StoryGen, an AI Generative prototype developed by NLB and Amazon Web Services, allowing visitors to create their own versions of beloved stories like Journey to the West and Hua Mulan. Additionally, there will be eReads related to Chinese fairy tales and folklore, and panels highlighting the history and milestones of Rediffusion.

The Rediscover Rediffusion pop-up will be at Chinatown Point until August 18, 2024, after which part of the showcase will move to library@chinatown, where it will remain until early 2025.

Cable Cars: A Ride Through Time

Marking its 50th anniversary this year, Singapore’s cable car system, launched in 1974, is celebrated in the “Cable Cars: A Ride Through Time” pop-up. Starting August 12, 2024, at VivoCity West Boulevard 1, Level 1, this exhibit features a second-generation decommissioned cable car donated by the Mount Faber Leisure Group, transformed into an Instagram-worthy seating area where visitors can “ride” the original journey from Mount Faber to Sentosa through archival footage from NAS.

The pop-up also includes a cable car-themed photo booth, exhibition panels in 3D pixel block style illustrating the cable car’s evolution, and related eReads for further exploration of the Cable Car story.

The Cable Cars pop-up will be open from August 12 to August 25, 2024, 10 am to 10 pm. After August 25, the exhibit will move to other locations, with more details to be announced.

These NLB pop-ups provide a unique opportunity to rediscover and celebrate Singapore’s rich heritage in leisure and media. Don’t miss the chance to immerse yourself in the stories of Rediffusion and the Cable Car, two icons that have significantly shaped Singapore’s cultural landscape.