Public Asset: Modernise the National Archives

How much would you pay for this image?

Historical image of a street hawker stall in Singapore in 1964

A public agency owns the rights to the photo, which was either donated or taken using public funds. Public funds also covered the costs of scanning, archiving, and maintaining the databases and websites that provide access to it. So, how much should a member of the public pay for a high-resolution version of this historical public asset?

The Cost

If you want a high-resolution archival image from the National Archives of Singapore—like the Street Hawker photo above—for personal enjoyment, research, an art project, or any other heritage or historical work, it’ll cost you S$24.45 and take up to 3 to 5 working days (current cost as of Feb 2025).

Why is this a problem?

• Many citizens and organisations may lack the resources to pay these fees, limiting access to public records.

• Lower-income groups and underfunded institutions may be disproportionately affected.

• Artists, educators, and creators may face challenges using archival materials for educational or cultural projects, stifling innovation.

• Leading institutions like The Met and Getty Museum offer open access, making archive fees seem outdated and less citizen-focused.

Expanding access to the National Archives can unlock social, and cultural opportunities for everyone, maximising its potential to educate, inspire, and empower citizens to connect with their heritage.

Screenshot of the National Archives Online website.

Checkout page for the National Archives Online website.

Challenges

Sharing of archival images comes with a set of challenges in terms of licensing, privacy, permissions and categorisation including…

• Copyright & Licensing Issues – Unclear ownership, multiple rights holders, and varying copyright laws may restrict free use.

• Permissions & Privacy Concerns – Identifiable people, institutional agreements, and third-party rights may require consent before release.

• Tagging & Categorisation Challenges – Ensuring historical accuracy, evolving terminology, and the limitations of automated tagging can impact discoverability.

• Metadata & Contextualisation – Proper documentation, including descriptive, technical, and contextual metadata, is essential for usability.

• Legal & Compliance Risks – Privacy laws (e.g., GDPR), moral rights, and potential misuse require clear guidelines and policies.

Examples of Open Access Programs for Historical Imagery and Art

Across the globe there is already a precedent for such initiatives including the following resources:

• Getty Museum Open Content Program

• The New York Public Library Public Domain Collections

• The British Museum Collection

• Russia's War in Ukraine Image Bank

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access Program

Potential Solution: Public Asset & SG60

Releasing the entire National Archives at once would present significant challenges in development, infrastructure, licensing, metadata, and tagging. Instead, a more practical approach would be to test public interest in high-resolution historical images and explore new uses for them through video generation technologies. A simple web app could be built to celebrate SG60, showcasing some of the incredible historical imagery housed in the National Archives.

The app could highlight a key event from each year dating back to 1965, using available images from the archives. One of the great aspects of the National Archives is that many events have multiple photos, offering a richer, more detailed look at history as it unfolded.

For example, in 1965, after Singapore declared independence from Malaysia, infrastructure development became a top priority. The archives contain numerous photos of these early projects, helping to tell a more vivid and compelling story of this pivotal moment.

Workers from the Public Works Department lay water pipes at Bukit Timah.

To make history more accessible, we experimented with generative AI technologies like Runway ML to stitch together photographic series into videos that aim to represent historical events. While not perfect, the results feel almost like magic—and with higher-resolution images, they could be even more compelling.

Here’s another example from the street hawker image shown at the start of this case study.

By stitching multiple images together, you can quite literally bring historical events to life. For example, Runway ML seamlessly transitions between the two photos below, making it feel like you’re right there on the factory floor. That said, things can get a bit weird—keep an eye out for the random nurse who appears at the end of the clip. With a bit more time and tweaking, though, these quirks could be smoothed out.

Women working in the Starlite Ceramic Factory in 1969.

Beyond serving as inspiration for what’s possible with high-resolution historical imagery, a smaller-scale web app would also provide a way to:

• Define licenses for public domain images (e.g., CC0 or Creative Commons Non-Commercial)

• Prototype free downloads of high-resolution historical images

• Build an API framework for image metadata and tagging as a foundation for a future searchable database

• Experiment with AI for automated tagging and creative inspiration for citizens

Below is a screen recording and a few images from the prototype we built during our hackathon.

Screenshots from the Public Asset SG60 prototype.

Next Steps

Unfortunately, due to bandwidth issues and challenges getting access to free high-resolution images the project stalled out mid-hackathon. It was a fun experiment and much was learned about Singapore history, the existing National Archives catalogue, and the challenges in opening up a free repository of historical images.

For now there are no plans to continue this project.

Interested in High-Res Historical Imagery in Singapore?

For those interested in historical imagery, NAS provided the following information when approached about supporting this initiative:

1. The public can access low-resolution copies of images through the National Archives of Singapore's Archives Online and the National Library Online, managed by the National Library Board. Certain images on National Library Online are freely available for download, indicated by a download button. However, the National Archives of Singapore advises users to verify usage rights before using any images (including low-resolution copies), as some may still be subject to copyright by their original owners.

2. For social media use, high-resolution images are generally unnecessary, as most platforms automatically compress images to optimise bandwidth, improve loading speeds, and reduce storage requirements.

3. Those requiring high-resolution copies can request reproductions from the National Library Board or the National Archives of Singapore, subject to an administrative fee based on cost recovery. Individuals with special needs may contact these institutions for further assistance.