Civic District Episode 01 - Procession. Possession

An embodied essay. An aural provocation. A sonic procession. "Procession. Possession." is the fourth instalment of "Speaking of which" — The Everyday Museum’s series of self-guided audio trails—guiding listeners through Singapore’s Civic District from colonial times to the present. Beginning at the Fort Canning Flagstaff (Raffles House) and concluding at Queen Elizabeth Walk, this episode conjures the city’s spectres, engaging both the material and symbolic dimensions of its landscape: what endures in the present, and what has borne witness from our past.

Offering I - Begin at Fort Canning Park (Raffles House) Offering II - Begin at Peninsula Plaza Offering III - Begin at walkway along Coleman Street before National Gallery Offering IV - Begin at the Padang Offering V - Begin at Connaught Drive

This episode is a collage of sonic and textual fragments including oral histories from the National Archives of Singapore, field recordings, songs and poetic as well as “critical fabulations” by Sean Cham, in collaboration with Nathaniel Mah and Syafiq Halid. "Procession. Possession." is a site-specific work that confronts the legacies of the British Empire, the abrasions of a nascent independent country, and contemporary civic discourses. It calls upon the listener to become an active participant in a space of collective memorialisation.

This episode is an invitation to attend to the lamentations and jubilations, griefs and disorientations of the city’s spectres and countless unrecorded ancestors.

"Speaking of which" is commissioned by The Everyday Museum in partnership with the National Archives of Singapore. "Procession. Possession." focuses on the Civic District, including locations that are part of Singapore Biennale 2025: pure intention. For more information, visit singaporebiennale.org.

This episode contains some mature themes, listener discretion is advised. Recommended for ages 16 and above.

To request for a transcript of the trail, please email enquiries@singaporeartmuseum.sg