Temasek Shophouse (TSH), the social impact hub in the heart of Singapore, turned four in June! To celebrate this special occasion, the TSH team organised an intimate precinct get-together for its key partners and stakeholders.
Mr. Desmond Kuek, Temasek Trust CEO, kicked off the event and thanked everyone for celebrating this milestone with us. He shared that since its June 2019 launch, TSH has reached over 80,000 people through more than 200 events and cultivated a dynamic community of change-makers to drive positive impact in Singapore and beyond. He spoke on how TSH is more than a venue, and a pivotal part of Temasek Trust’s philanthropic strategy enabling the social impact ecosystem in Singapore and beyond to flourish, and to encourage new philanthropic pathways. He thanked TSH’s partners for their strong support over the years and encouraged them to build up on this foundation of trust and collaboration moving forward.
Thereafter, Ms. Yvonne Tay, Head of TSH, updated on TSH’s expansion plans which will involve the takeover and restoration of neighbouring heritage shophouses – No. 38 Orchard Road, No. 22 Orchard Road, and No. 16 Orchard Road . TSH 2.0 will unify four distinct shophouses into one shophouse for social impact. When ready, the expanded shophouse will provide a bigger platform for TSH’s fast-growing community of change-makers to scale their collective impact for the common good.
Mr. Jerome Chew, Deputy Director of National Parks Board (NParks), then unveiled NParks’ vision for the adjacent Istana Park expansion and pedestrianisation of Orchard Road. The sharing by NParks gave all an idea about the exciting plans to rejuvenate the precinct and opportunities for TSH to be better connected with beautiful parks around the shophouses.
A Shared Journey of Doing Good
From 23 June to 2 July, the Temasek Shophouse Bazaar invited members of the public to share TSH’s journey of doing good by supporting socially conscious enterprises such as ART:DIS, Dear Beloved, MUSEUMMARTKET, Old East Indies, Syne, The Art Faculty and the Creatives Market Collective.
With a collective commitment to making a positive community impact, each participating brand brought distinctive offerings contributing to a variety of social causes, ranging from supporting the differently abled to championing eco-friendly practices. The bazaar was not only an opportunity to appreciate community change-makers, but to also support causes that deeply resonated with TSH’s values.
Accompanying the bazaar were three art installations which celebrated our meaningful location in the heart of Orchard Road. A collaborative project titled “Project to Dye For” transformed TSH’s garden into a nostalgic Dhobi (Indian washerman) clothesline for 10 days. The “Walls of Fame”, populated with rare vintage movie flyers belonging to local film collector Wong Han Min, evoked the Golden Era of Singapore’s film history and paid tribute to Midfilm House (original use of No. 22 Orchard Road) as well as our neighbouring Cathay. Breathtaking resin artworks by veteran designer Keng Lye, depicting lifelike bonsai, goldfishes, and ponds, also enlivened TSH during this period of celebration and demonstrated how trash materials can be turned into graceful art.
On 24 June, the LIVE@Temasek Shophouse public performance featured a line-up of talented and diverse local artistes including Sky Shen, Claire Teo, and Joshua German from ART:DIS, as well as Jordin Tan, Clement Chow, Mathilda D'Silva, Benjamin Chow, Ian Soh, Jeremy Yeo, and sand artist Stacey. United by belief in collective social impact, the performance brought out each artiste’s special gift of song in a truly collaborative effort that celebrated the artistes’ unique journeys in life. The crowd was enchanted by their artistry, and it was an afternoon to remember!
Thank you for being part of Temasek Shophouse’s journey to date, and for your continued support. We look forward to strengthening our partnerships with you and exploring possibilities to scale our collective impact. Together, we can make a far greater difference to our communities than we can on our own.
Stay Connected!
Visit the TSH website and follow it on social media (it is on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook) to keep up to date with its latest developments!
