Next Stop: Singapore - Renée Staal
- Name: Renée Staal
- Study: Language and Culture Studies
- Age: 36
- Year of graduation: 2010 (Bachelor of Arts)
- Lives: Singapore
- Current job: Senior Manager Artwork Documentation & Rights Management at National Gallery Singapore
What are your dearest memories of your time studying in Utrecht?
Apart from my degree, the most valuable thing that I got out of my studies are some very close friendships. I still have two dear friends who I met during the introduction week. We are still in touch with each other via WhatsApp on a weekly base.
How did you get into your current job?
I moved to Singapore in 2016 and already worked at National Gallery Singapore from 2017 to 2020. I still knew a few people who work here. But when I saw the vacancy a few months ago I just applied. Coincidentally, I had the right skills. The cultural sector in Singapore is even smaller than in the Netherlands and also still developing. For example, this museum of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian art only opened in 2015 and everything was developed completely from scratch. Many people in Europe don't realise this, but if you deviate from the norm here in terms of political beliefs or lifestyle you can have a pretty tough time. Many artists do manage to express themselves and wrap their beliefs, very subtly, in their art. I appreciate that my work gives me first-hand experience of that.
What does your average day look like?
I get to work by bus in about 20 minutes. My start time is fairly flexible. The museum employs around 200 people in total, but there are only three of us in my team. I deal with permission from artists to use images of their artworks on educational and marketing materials. In addition, I am constantly working with my colleagues to make the entire collection available online. For this too, we have to clear the copyrights neatly. I also deal with requests from scholars who want to conduct research on the collection or inquiries about the collection from the public. In between, we also have all kinds of meetings. At lunchtime, I often go out for lunch with colleagues: local food, super tasty and cheap. I usually finish around 6 pm. Then I often go running or do functional training.
What does the Alumni Network Singapore mean to you?
Among other things, I like meeting people who work in a completely different sector than I do. It's not just Dutch people either. We have members from Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, Singapore, you name it. The common denominator is that we all studied at Utrecht University, which creates a bond. During corona in late 2020, none of us could return to the Netherlands for Christmas and New Year's Eve. One of the alumni started baking ‘oliebollen’ [a typical seasonal delicacy, ed.] and shared that in the alumni network's whatsapp group. Since you weren't allowed to meet indoors, we agreed to meet at an outdoor metro station to exchange those ‘oliebollen’. Since then, every year he has been baking them for us. Such fun!
Can you tell us something surprising about yourself?
Together with the artist Heman Chong I initiated The Library of Unread Books. We all have books on our shelves which we have never read and will never read. Such a shame! In order to give those books a new meaning we built a mobile reference library of over 3000 titles, and still growing. Since its start in 2016, we have been invited by various art institutions in places such as Singapore, Utrecht, Dubai, Manila and London to share the library with the public who are free to read and browse the books. Contributors receive a personalised library card and a lifetime membership. Curious? Check our Instagram.