Beyond Age

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For Dr Ma Swan Hoo, age is just a number.

Looking cool and poised in a sky blue embroidered blouse and matching scarf, Dr Ma Swan Hoo muses on a thought that has her eyes dancing and the corners of her lips lifting upwards. 

“I’m 59 years old, turning 60. And suddenly, I’m classified as a senior citizen? It’s a strange feeling. I can’t help thinking, ‘Have I become old overnight?’”

But it is not a thought that she spends much time on. She laughs and quickly moves on to other subjects – art and museums.

 

BEYOND AGE: BECOMING A MUSEUM GUIDE

Once Swan Hoo gets into her favourite hobby – museum guiding – one can see that there is not much room in her mind for concepts like “ageing”, “retiring”, “winding down” and “growing old”. She is still very much the same dynamic lady who balances a career as a doctor by day, a mum of two in the evenings and a museum guide and amateur artist on the weekends. 

In her younger days, she occupied herself in general medicine. For the last one and a half decades, she has been working in the cosmetics research industry, focusing on safety and efficacy clinical studies on cosmetic products. 

Though approaching 60, Swan Hoo is as busy as ever. Almost every weekend, she volunteers as a guide at various museums such as the National Gallery, National Museum, Singapore Art Museum, Asian Civilisations Museum and Peranakan Museum. 

She also guides at Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall and the Indian Heritage Centre. When the National Gallery Singapore opened, she spent a whole year familiarising herself with it and bringing people around its hallowed halls. 

On top of her volunteering hours, she spends much of her time preparing to guide new exhibitions. 

“You can’t just lead a tour spontaneously,” she explained, “You need to do a lot of research and visit the museum multiple times to study the exhibits and decide on what to show in your tour. It takes time to prepare a tour paper. You need to know your way around the exhibition halls.” 

To be a good guide, Swan Hoo attends lectures, walkthroughs, seminars and workshops by museum curators and other experts. “Learning is very active, because the guides have to do a lot of research, join research groups and get together for sharing sessions. We need to know a lot more than what is on the captions or panel texts and be prepared to answer questions. I try to explain in a manner that is easy to understand without using too much museum jargon. Sometimes, I will tell stories about the artefacts or artworks and this helps visitors to learn and remember them better. As I prepare to guide an exhibition, I learn a lot in the process; my mind is stimulated.” 

All of this translates into many weekends spent holed up in a museum and nights spent on research and preparing tour papers. Swan Hoo laughed, “Well, being a museum volunteer requires you to be committed. You need to have the passion and interest to keep going.”

 

A SPARK OF PASSION 

Her interest in museums was sparked in 1999 when her husband was elected president of an international organisation, and she wanted to arm herself with knowledge on Singapore’s history and culture so as to be a good ambassador of Singapore when she hosts the visiting delegates and their spouses. 

Not one to do a half-baked job, Swan Hoo researched on Singapore and chanced upon an advertisement recruiting volunteers (called docents) for the Singapore History Museum. “That’s a good way of learning about Singapore’s history, so I went for the public briefing and gamely signed up on the spot to do docent training.” 

One thing led to another, and even after the congress ended and the delegates left, Swan Hoo’s interest as a docent endured. Besides the Singapore History Museum, she also did docent training at the Asian Civilisations Museum, initially at Armenian Street and later at Empress Place, as well as at the Singapore Art Museum. When the grand old National Museum dating back to 1887 reopened in 2006 after major renovations from its days as the Singapore History Museum, Swan Hoo felt she had to be a part of it. Two years later, the Peranakan Museum opened. It is the world’s only state-owned museum wholly dedicated to showcasing Peranakan artefacts. Next was Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, which opened in 2011. By now, Swan Hoo was well and truly in the museum circuit, so she eagerly signed up for the docent training. 

Next was the anticipated opening of the Indian Heritage Centre in 2014. Swan Hoo was among the first to be trained as a docent here. In 2015, the National Gallery Singapore opened, bringing together the world’s largest public collection of Singapore and Southeast Asian art. Its unique Docent Training Programme, which trains guides who have a passion for art and history, kept her enthralled for a whole year. 

“What does all this mean to me? My passion, or you may say ‘addiction to museum’ gives me meaning and purpose. As I challenge myself to uncover and learn new knowledge related to all the fascinating exhibits on display at the various museums, I’m intellectually challenged. It keeps me going; it also stirs in me a new-found ‘mission’ – to help others learn of the rich history of mankind.” 

Swan Hoo was presented with a Special Recognition Award by the then Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts in 2011. She was also elected President of the Museum Volunteers from 2011 to 2014. 

 

VOLUNTEERISM EQUALS SERVICE 

“Oh yes, I had to pay to do docent training, especially at the first few museums that I did training at.” Swan Hoo confided. “People are surprised when they hear that we pay for our training and that we are not paid for giving tours. But… isn’t that the definition of being a volunteer? Why call myself a volunteer if I expect payment? To me, to serve as a volunteer is my community service to my country.”

Swan Hoo understands that volunteerism goes beyond charity work among the poor. It encompasses a much wider scope that seeks to enrich one's community by contributing one's talent and time. 

A large number of the participants in Swan Hoo’s tours are overseas visitors. “It is an opportunity to interest them in Singapore and increase their enjoyment of the culture and history of our country. Visitors tell me that they look forward to coming back again. When they share their positive experience of their museum visits with families and friends back home, it could bring more visitors to Singapore. So, when visitors come to Singapore, I hope they will stay longer because of our museums. I see this as doing my part for the economy of our country.” 

Volunteering at museums does not stop at leading group after group in the usual public tours around the premises. She laughed ruefully as she recalled the “Halloween Night” organised at the Asian Civilisations Museum. The docents had to dress up and give scary tours, adding to the fun of the evening. 

“My greatest satisfaction as a docent is when participants come up and thank me for a meaningful and fruitful time. From their response, I could tell that they plan to continue visiting museums, and that is extremely satisfying for me.” 

In fact, Swan Hoo has seen so many dull-eyed visitors transformed into avid museum enthusiasts that she has become something of an evangelist. She is fully convinced that museums should feature more in everyday life. Swan Hoo is so fervent in “museum education” that she even wrote a letter to the authorities. “I proposed that museums should be alternative classrooms. There is so much our students can learn at the museums. I recommend every school to engage its own ‘museum educators’ – teachers specially trained to conduct lessons at the museums.”

She is keen for more seniors to be mobilised to volunteer in museums. She feels that senior citizens still have a lot to contribute, and the museums can keep them well engaged. 

She also hopes that more Singaporeans will visit our museums as we have wonderful and great museums, some of which have gained international standing. Now that photography is permissible in museums, although without flash as this may be harmful to some of the exhibits, it should help to enhance their museum experience. 

She added, “Many blockbuster exhibitions, like the travelling international exhibitions, have come all the way to Singapore. It will be a pity if Singaporeans miss out on these outstanding exhibitions that are at our doorstep.”

 

NEVER STOP LEARNING 

Swan Hoo splits her time between the two grand passions of her life – museums and art. Her love affair with art started in the 1990s when she was in her thirties. She had picked up portrait drawing, Chinese brush and watercolour painting. These ad-hoc classes were fun, but she wanted something more structured. 

Thus, she enrolled in a Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) one-year certificate course in abstract art. “Abstract art is very liberating. I had the freedom to paint anything I liked. The teacher, a very good facilitator, allowed us to explore and self-discover.” 

She continued with another one-year certificate course in Western art. From abstract art, she moved into representative art. “Paint a table to look like a table,” she explained representative art simply. Thereafter, she also attended a three-part course on Chinese Brush Painting at LaSalle College of Arts and even learned pottery. 

She brought her knowledge of art into her museum guiding, which she confessed was her motivation for learning art. “For example, in Chinese painting, I learned about composition, the different colours of black and the absorbency of the paper; so I was able to bring this knowledge in when I lead tours in a Chinese painting exhibition. Since I learned about the different types of ceramics and glazes in my pottery classes, I brought these into my tours as well.” 

As she mastered more art techniques and museum knowledge, Swan Hoo learned something else. With rounded eyes, she confided, “The more I learn, the less I realised that I know! There was so much more that I needed and wanted to know!”

However, this realisation does not discourage her. “In fact, it gives me added motivation to keep learning. There is a lot of connection. For example, when I learned about ceramics, I then wanted to know what kind of clay it is made from, what temperature it is fired at. My interest to learn deepened. I was ‘hooked’ on learning! I would like to learn more techniques on oil painting.” 

“It’s different – what and how I learn today. When I was younger, I had to learn things for practical reasons, e.g. to pass examinations. Now, I want to learn things because I’m genuinely curious about them. It gives me a fresh measure of excitement.” 

 

AGELESSNESS AND WELLNESS 

It seemed time to bring the conversation back to ageing. Swan Hoo shrugged. “Age is just a numerical figure. Age is about our life in the world; what we make of it. And since we are given this life, we should live it to the full.” 

“Age is also about time, isn’t it? Well, there is time to do what you want to do; it’s a matter of prioritising.”

“In my case, I see ageing as crossing a series of stations of life. My time spent on volunteering at museums gives me a sense of purpose. I believe third agers who are volunteering in different capacities have their own calling or reasons for doing so. Whatever area we volunteer in, we’ll be doing something useful – contributing to society. It is much better than sitting at home and just watching TV.” 

“Everyone contributes in a different way. Some help out at schools, hospitals or in missions. At the community level, many people help out in the community clubs and residents’ committees.  

Grandparents help by caring for their grandchildren – this is a form of valuable contribution in families.”

“I feel satisfied that I’ve contributed to society. It feels like I’ve done something useful with my life apart from taking care of my family and looking after my patients. To be able to give of myself – so people and society may benefit – it’s a wonderful feeling. I hope to continue as a museum guide until I’m in my 70s! Thereafter, I’d like to focus on my art. Truly, another reason why I took up art is that it is something which I can continue to do even at a ripe old age, when I may not be as physically mobile or even when my eyesight may not be as good! I’ve noticed that many artists continue to paint in their 80s and 90s and that is a great source of inspiration for active ageing!” 

“I think when people are older, they can still do things very well. In some cases, we yield our best results at this age.” 

To continue doing what one loves best, Swan Hoo acknowledged that physical and social health is important. To maintain fitness, she swims and does stretching exercises and jogging on the spot. She also goes for weekly evening brisk walks at Botanic Gardens with her former junior college classmates, thus killing two birds with one stone. 

“As we grow older, we’re more inclined to reconnect with friends. It’s vital to do so. Most of us were so busy building our careers and starting families when we graduated. Now, our children are grown, we have more time at our disposal to socialise. That’s why my friends, from school and university, now organise more frequent get-togethers for us to catch up.” 

She ends her interview with her signature statement, “Come visit the museums. I’ll bring you on a guided tour!”

 

MA SWAN HOO'S TIPS FOR THIRD AGERS 

• Engage in your passion with full focus and commitment. You will derive a deep sense of satisfaction and meaning. 
• Never stop learning. You’ll be surprised how much joy there is in learning, even as we grow old. 
• Age is just a numerical figure. It is about our life in the world and what we make of it. Since we are given this life, live it to the fullest! 
• Volunteer whenever and wherever you can. Not only will you grow as a person, you’ll contribute to the betterment of society. 
• Third agers can still do things very well. In some cases, we yield our best results at this age.

 

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