Hilary White embodies everything that the FOM stands for. Over the past 11 years as a FOM volunteer, she has worn and continues to wear, many hats in quiet service to the organisation. She is an invaluable member of our docent community guiding at NMS, MHC, CCM, and ACM, and can always be counted on to step up and contribute through special projects and programmes. She is a tireless researcher, and her passion for sharing knowledge and weaving together fascinating insights is evident in every tour she leads and in every interaction that she has with her fellow volunteers. Hilary has been a bedrock of support for so many FOM teams, always there with a warm smile and a wealth of expertise. Her tireless efforts have helped countless volunteers to grow and thrive within the FOM community, and her impact will be felt for many years to come.

An FOM docent for more than 15 years, Tan Shook Fong is this year’s recipient of the Salome de Decker award.  A lifelong learner, Shook began her involvement with FOM after a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry. And ever since, she has passed on her love of learning through museum guiding, docent training, giving entertaining Monday Morning lectures and writing PASSAGE articles.

In spite of her own health concerns and those of her husband, she has not given up guiding which is her passion. She still guides whenever she can for ACM, NMS, MHC, SYSNMH, SAM, IHC and TPM. As one of her multiple award nominators wrote, “Visitors find her approachable and there is never a dull moment in her tours.”

Another wrote, “I fear her tremendous contribution to FOM has been forgotten as so many Council members have been in their positions for a relatively short time and might not be aware of Shook's contributions over so many years.” She needn’t have worried though. As the 2022 Salome de Decker award recipient, Shook’s legacy is now part of FOM history.

This year’s Salome De Decker Award goes to Chong Teck Sim. Chong loves history and Singapore heritage and that’s why is a FOM member, but he also volunteered for years at the Welcome Team (Greeting Team) at the MML’s.  He always comes in early for all these events, helps to set up the tables and refreshments. Always has a friendly word for FOM members and visitors and usually is the last one to leave after cleaning up and putting everything away. As mentioned by the many people who nominated him, he is a very pleasant, friendly, totally unassuming volunteer, and he has been doing this with dedication to FOM for years. He is always the first one to put his hand up when FOM needed help. In the words of a fellow FOM member, “he embodies the spirit of service, which we always tout in our organisation”.

On the 10th anniversary as a docent at STPI, Roopa Dewan is our newest recepient of the Salome de Decker award . 

Since joining FOM and STPI in 2010, Roopa has consistently been one of our most active docents.  Her dedication in sharing her passion for education and the arts, and for STPI in particular, is remarkable and infectious.  In her ten years as a docent at STPI, she has become one of our most respected and most knowledgable docents, who to her great credit is cherished as much by the STPI Gallery and Creative Workshop team at STPI as she is by her fellow docents. 
Roopa guides all types of groups with ease and charm, from the youngest student groups (where her pedagogical skills work wonders) to VIPs.  Her tours are consistently inspiring and motivating and her energy and enthusiasm rub off on anyone who works with her or is lucky enough to be guided by her.
In all cases, Roopa’s background in teaching, writing and curriculum development shines through her tours and makes her one of our most assured and creative docents. Roopa never misses an opportunity to help.  A truly generous person with her time, knowledge and skills, she is always one of the first to sign up to guide, has rarely missed an exhibition over the last ten years, is always happy to fill in for a last-minute tour, systematically shares her research notes and is full of creative strategies and insightful ways to guide what can sometimes be the most challenging contemporary art.  She is one of our most senior and seasoned docents whose tours are just as popular with her docent colleagues as they are with visitors.
Roopa has played an active role in our docent training programmes since her own graduation in 2010, as a speaker, an evaluator, a supportive mentor or a group leader.  Her energy seems to grow exponentially every year, so we have no doubt we will be celebrating another ten years with her in 2030! In short, her sunny and warm personality, her experience and wisdom but perhaps most importantly her humility, unanimously make her one of the true gems of our small STPI docent community. 

To quote one of her recent trainee docent graduates: “That was one thing she always inspired me with - I wanted to make sure that I did something that I had that much love for too.”

This year’s winner of the Salome de Decker Award is Sue Sismondo.  Following her move to Singapore from New York in 1982, Sue sought to continue her prior engagement in arts and cultural activities.  She joined FOM soon after, enticed by its lectures and study groups. Since then, there hasn’t been a year where she hasn’t been involved as a member and active volunteer.

The Salome de Decker Award recognizes FOM volunteers who quietly and positively contribute their time and skills.  Sue’s long service to FOM and Singapore’s cultural community capture the award’s essence. Her early participation in FOM’s Architecture Study Group and as a lecturer in the FOM Lecture Series eventually led to leadership roles in those activities.  This, in turn, led to organizing several National Museum exhibitions, including editing and designing the exhibition catalogues and related materials. Sue simultaneously became involved in FOM leadership, serving as President from 1988-1989. She then joined FOM’s Advisory Committee, eventually chairing the Registration Committee that established FOM as a Singapore Registered Society in 2004 and drafting its constitution and bylaws. Sue has served as an STPI docent, served as STPI Coordinator for ten years (until 2016), and has been instrumental in training many FOM docents. She also is a docent at the Heritage Conservation Center (HCC), which preserves and protects Singapore’s National Collection, much of which is housed in the museums FOM supports.

Sue’s continuing involvement has been motivated by her deep belief in FOM’s mission and all it offers its members. She also deeply appreciates the extraordinary learning opportunities, memorable friendships, and opportunities to contribute to her community that FOM has given her in return.  FOM, she adds, has increased her confidence in communicating and managing diverse communities. While Sue loves Singapore’s lush tropical gardens, some of her favorite Singapore places are – not surprisingly – the indoor environs of the HCC, with its behind-the-scenes conservation work, and STPI, for the extraordinary work of its visiting artists.

FOM is grateful to Sue for her many years of service and looks forward to many more!

Sabine has been serving FOM as a docent at the Singapore Art Museum and the Asian Civilisations Museum for the last 20 years.  Between 1998 and 2005, Sabine was actively involved in FOM, taking up leadership roles in council, docent training, and docent on-going training. Since then, she has stepped back and quietly supporting the ACM and SAM docent communities’ various roles that she has been called upon from student guiding, to evaluating and conducting bad tours. As an evaluator, she is strict but encouraging.  Her mentees have glowing reviews of her and how she has helped them fine-tune their tours, instil confidence and a love for guiding.  She epitomizes the Salome Decker spirit of the quiet but tireless contributor. 

Sylvia Khoo has been an active docent with FOM since 2008, guiding at NMS, TPM, MHC and SYSNMH. Besides keeping up with her regular guiding duties, Sylvia often participates in the research and guiding of special exhibitions, gives lectures at docent training and helps out in various FOM initiatives. She is always ready to share her wealth of knowledge with fellow docents. Sylvia embodies the true spirit of volunteerism.

Ann Mehrman has been the FOM Flash Coordinator for the past 2.5 years. Working tirelessly in the background, Ann has ensured that the FOM Flash goes out on a timely basis every fortnight (irrespective of where she is in the world!), and is up-to-date so members do not miss out any key information. Her proactive efforts have led to many improvements in the FOM Flash production and delivery process.

As the managing editor of PASSAGE since 2011, Andra Leo’s ceaseless efforts have ensured that FOM’s bi-monthly magazine appears on time and offers a wide variety of topics from current exhibitions to broad-based scholarly essays, plus all the FOM internal news that members like to read. The beautifully designed magazine with quality content, run entirely by volunteers, is a testament to Andra’s dedication to professionalism in publishing. Thanks to Andra’s keen focus, this exciting and engrossing magazine could hold its own among international publications of the same nature.

Ellen Rosenkranz joined FOM shortly after arriving in Singapore in 2004, volunteered in the FOM office for three years, and trained to guide at SAM in 2007. She has been a regular participant in the blockbuster exhibitions at the National Museum of Singapore, where Ellen made her mark in the often-thankless job of docent scheduler, patiently cajoling docents to sign up for their tours and record their post-tour statistics; and when a tour went unfilled, Ellen could be counted on to guide the tour herself.

During her 12 years in Singapore, Mandy Bailey made a point to explore the many layers of Singapore’s culture and to share this knowledge with FOM’s members, both Singaporean and expatriate. As the leader of the Explore Singapore! team, she has been a reliable and diligent volunteer, enhancing the community’s knowledge of Singapore’s history, culture and art.

Guide, mentor, and teacher, Helen Khoo has spent countless hours supporting the docents in the Asian Civilisations Museum. Ever humble, Helen said she would only accept the award on behalf of all the other hardworking FOM docents.

Maureen Hellspong has been the glue that has held the SAM docents together since the museum’s opening in 1996. From serving on various committees to mentoring, lecturing and always being willing to contribute to a new project, Maureen is the epitome of the high-contributing volunteer.

For 25 years, Vatsala Mohandas has embodied FOM’s mission to enhance the community’s knowledge of Asian history, culture and art through her work to programme the Monday Morning Lectures. In addition to her leadership of the Monday Lectures, Vatsala has led Study Groups, Explore Singapore! visits to Indian temples, Study Tours to Kerala, India, and presented various docent training lectures.

Mae Chong and Constance Ong met each other during their ACM docent training in 2003, when Salome de Decker served on their training team. Since then, they have both been dedicated guides at the ACM, NMS and TPM. They have led numerous study and research groups, worked on children’s' programmes, guided special exhibitions, and chaired countless initiatives.

Liesel Strauss was a constant presence in the Asian Civilisations Museum as well as a guide outside the museum, who introduced members to such sites as Fort Canning Hill and to such people as the Sam Sui women who helped build Singapore. Merrily Chiam, in the challenging role of editor, quietly and diligently produced the FOM newsletter from 2004 to 2008 and published the weekly FOM Flash e-newsletter from 2005 to 2013.

A dedicated and intrepid volunteer in FOM’s library, Teresa ensured that FOM members had access to many out-of-print and hard to find books and was always able to offer insightful assistance to members doing research for upcoming exhibitions or overseas tours

A long-time SAM docent, Birgita Sherman was also a devoted guide in the Children’s Discovery Gallery in the old Singapore History Museum, introducing Singapore’s history and culture to very young children with entertaining and engaging tours.

The original textile enthusiast, Jan Thompson opened countless eyes to the magic and wonder contained in woven art. Whether through her museum tours or her insightful lectures, Jan’s love of Asian fabrics was infectious.