Singlish, rojak and NDP

Dick Lee's SG60-themed exhibition at the ArtScience Museum celebrates the evolution of local pop culture

- Eddino Abdul Hadi

Get into the Singapore spirit with SingaPop! 60 Years Of Singapore Pop Culture, an SG60-themed multimedia exhibition created by home-grown entertainment veteran Dick Lee that opens at the ArtScience Museum on Aug 2.

A celebration of Singapore's unique identity shaped over the last six decades, the colourful and interactive trip through the eras aims to showcase how the country has evolved — from a multicultural society into a vibrant nation with its own culture shaped by language, food, music, film, television and fashion.

Offering a blend of educational and nostalgic experiences through five chapters, the exhibition invites visitors to explore the essence of Singaporean identity and consider how it continues to evolve over time.

Lee, 68, tells The Straits Times: "Culture usually takes generations to evolve, but we've done it in just 60 years. What does it take for culture to grow so quickly and organically? It has to be some sense of unity in the people to make it so.

"I've lived through it, I've seen it evolve, I'm still active and I'm still contributing. It's authentic, it's real."