Marshall of Singapore: The Extraordinary Life and Times of David Saul Marshall
a) What is the objective of this event?
Marshall of Singapore: The Extraordinary Life and Times of David Saul Marshall (1908-1995) is an exhibition held at the Promenade in The National Library Building. This exhibition, held from 12 December 2008 - 12 January 2009 (which was later extended till 20 February 2009), is to celebrate the extraordinary life and achievements of David Marshall.
The exhibition is easily spotted as soon as one exits from the lift at the 10th floor. There are various boards surrounding the exhibition displaying David Marshall's biography, pictures, and everything related to him; ancestry, where he used to study and live. In the middle of the exhibition, there are paintings of David Marshall, and some of the things he used to own. For instance, David's war service medals, his favourite pipe, name plate and school tie.
There was also a sample of a letter David had written to his brother, and another letter which he had written to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, thanking him for granting David the position of Singapore's First Ambassador to France.
b) Who is the target audience?
The target audience are people who are interested in David Marshall, patrons of the library and people who are interested in he history of Singapore.
c) How is the event publicized?
This event is not very heavily publicized. The only advertisements are on the National Library Board's website and the advertisement board at the National Library itself, along with advertisements of other upcoming exhibitions.
d) Is the event reported in the media? If yes, how widely is it reported? If no, why isn't it?
No, the event is not reported in the media because the content of this exhibition does not appeal to a wide audience.
e) Assume you are a manager overseeing this project. Evaluate the success/failure of this event. How would you do it for greater success?
To me, this event was successful in terms of the information present as one can learn a lot about David Marshall through this exhibition. However, this event was not very successful in terms of entertainment. The large boards displaying information were too wordy, and the audience present had no form of interaction with any of the exhibits.
If I were a manager, I would have put earphones or television screens by the boards so that the audience could "listen" or "watch" some of the information present rather than having to read all the words on the boards.
I would also ensure that the exhibition gained more publicity through advertisements on public transport services like the MRT, cabs or buses, or even advertisements on popular Internet Websites like hotmail.com or facebook.com.
