Synopsis

In 1963, two artists won a competition to design murals for the new terminal building for the Paya Lebar Airport. The two artists are Shamsuddin H Akib, a Singaporean, and William P Mundy, a Briton.

While visitors and travellers to the airport may have seen these murals in the 1960s and 1970s, not much is known about them and the two men behind their design.

The murals virtually disappeared from the public domain when Paya Lebar Airport became a military air base in 1981 and public access to the murals and the airport terminal building was limited. Dahlia Shamsuddin will talk about the competition, the mural designs and the men who designed these in her presentation on ‘The Story of the Paya Lebar Airport Murals’.

About the Speaker

Dahlia Shamsuddin is the daughter of Shamsuddin H Akib, the artist who designed one of the Paya Lebar Airport murals. She is also a friend of William P. Mundy, who designed the other two murals.

This talk is co-presented by URA and Singapura Stories.

*Photograph of interior of former Paya Lebar Airport, courtesy of Darren Soh