ArCH Square is turning one, and it is marking the occasion with a show about what we eat from. SHIPPED! Vessels of Taste, the centre’s third exhibition, runs from 31 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, and looks at how ceramics, jars and bottles recovered from shipwrecks reveal the way people prepared, preserved and shared food.
What is in SHIPPED! Vessels of Taste
The exhibition is curated in conversation with Museum of Food and brings archaeological objects into dialogue with culinary knowledge that continues in everyday life. At its centre are ceramics, bottles, jars, bowls and fragments that show trade, technology and consumption patterns, but also how these vessels were used to store, ferment, prepare, serve and transport food.
Rather than focusing on maritime cargo, the show follows the living practices these vessels supported. Highlights include the Shah Muncher assemblage, which connects archaeological vessels with the production and circulation of fermented condiments, finds from the Temasek Wreck that link particular ceramic forms to Chinese culinary traditions, and artefacts from the Empress of Asia, which introduce a culinary world shaped by industrial production.
Zinnurain Nasir, Curator at HeritageSG, said the vessels “offer glimpses into how people prepared and preserved food, shared recipes and passed down culinary traditions”, and that working with Museum of Food connects material traces of the past with food practices that still shape our lives.
Museum of Food’s Anyone Can Cook and the Stratigraphy Kiosk
Museum of Food also presents Anyone Can Cook, a specially curated section on how food heritage is learnt and passed down through family kitchens, shared recipes, experimentation and guidance from more experienced cooks. Artefacts on loan include a Hacks sweet tin and a rice cooker.
A Stratigraphy Kiosk complements the show by revealing the layers beneath Singapore’s urban landscape. Drawing on archaeological evidence from the Sultan Gate excavations, the interactive digital installation lets visitors explore how ceramics and everyday objects are understood in the contexts where they were found. It is supported by a donation from Tencent.
Archaeology X ICH programmes and Unarchived
The exhibition comes with Archaeology X ICH, a series of workshops, storytelling experiences and activities. It kicks off on 31 October and 1 November 2026 with The Time Capsule by Museum of Food, By My Old School, Stories in the Shards by storyteller Hafiz Rashid, and Fermenting Plants for Colours with Wild Dot. More programmes run through March 2027.
From November, Unarchived adds a monthly programme of tours, hands-on food experiences and lunchtime lectures, where participants explore kitchen objects and culinary practices as records of how people cooked and ate in the past.
Programme details and tickets are on Peatix, with further updates on the ArCH Square programmes page. Looking for more culture this season? Read about the Peranakan Museum’s new acquisitions show and the Children’s Museum Money Town exhibition.
