Gallery children’s biennale continues to empower children to learn through play with launch of physical exhibition
Following the successful launch of the digital format of Gallery Children’s Biennale in May 2021, National Gallery Singapore invites children to embark on an inspiring multi-sensory experience as they explore the on-site installations, from 6 November 2021.
Visitors can look forward to nine on-site art installations that complement the digital artworks first presented on the Biennale’s microsite, sharing similar themes and imagery. Guided by the inquiry, “Why Art Matters”, the artists seek to convey the importance of art during the unsettling times of the pandemic, through their artworks. The artworks all explore themes of Home, Diversity, Environment and Time, bringing to the fore relevant issues of today in an easy-to-understand manner for children.
For a complete hybrid festival experience and to double the fun, visitors are encouraged to participate in both realms – online and on-site. Both experiences of the artwork invite children to participate and co-create with international artists, with the on-site installations presenting immersive tactile experiences that are distinct from one’s experience with the online artworks. Children are encouraged to touch, move, and interact with the installations, fostering skills such as curiosity and critical thinking as they learn through play.
Anyone and everyone will be able to enjoy the Biennale in an exploratory manner while embarking on their unique Biennale art journey. The nine installations will be located at various public spaces around the Gallery, and access is free, without the need for a ticket.
The commissioned installations come from nine renowned artists and art groups from around the region: Dinh Q Lê (Vietnam), husband-and-wife duo Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan + Fruitjuice Factori (Philippines/Australia), Jeremy Sharma (Singapore), Joyce Ho (Taiwan), Khvay Samnang (Cambodia), Nandita Mukand (Singapore/India), Nona Garcia (Philippines), Sandra Lee (Singapore/Spain), and Speak Cryptic X ADDADDADD (Singapore).
Ms Suenne Megan Tan, Senior Director of Museum Planning & Audience Engagement at National Gallery Singapore says, “While digital platforms allow us to open up new possibilities, we acknowledge that physical experiences, are integral in engaging with our audiences. These in-person immersive encounters create an impactful and valuable experience that amplifies the positive role that art can play in nurturing critical thinking and building character in children. Together with the digital microsite, the complete experience of the “phygital” Biennale seeks to leverage the benefits of both digital and physical touchpoints to connect children with international artists and each other, as well as provide an enriching experience through art, in and beyond Singapore.”
An immersive on-site experience that inspires children through four timely topics
Home
As part of their ongoing work, ‘Project Another Country’, art duo Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, and The Fruitjuice Factori Studio present the Singapore iteration at Gallery Children’s Biennale 2021, titled Head/Home. Visitors are invited to walk through the impressive larger-than-life on-site installation, as if walking through a city. The installation was created using ready-made collection of houses and cardboard sculptures. Encouraging co-creation with the artists, the installation also features a makerspace for children to build their very own cardboard homes. Synonymous with the relocation of belongings and homes, the cardboard used to create this installation was collected by the artists from different migrant communities around the world as well as community groups in Singapore – tying together the movement of these migrant communities and the different notions of home and community with the symbolism of the material.
Diversity
An extension of the online work, Baguio-based artist, Nona Garcia’s Illuminated features four life-sized landscape backgrounds which transport children into an other-worldly space. With an array of intriguing x-rayed bones, shells and fossils as magnets, children will be empowered to creatively express themselves and place these magnets anywhere on the backgrounds, creating their own sceneries of imagination and reflecting their unique perspectives. They may also view and add on to the creations by other children, co-creating artworks with them in real time, thus reflecting a diverse collection of stories as told by the artworks on the walls.
Environment
Khvay Samnang’s on-site installation of Calling for Rain welcomes visitors to enter an immersive viewing experience of the short film inspired by Reamker, the Cambodian version of the epic poem of Ramayana. The film takes us on a journey through the landscapes of Cambodia as it follows Kiri the Monkey on his quest to save the dying forest and its surrounding environment from the irresponsible behaviour of Aki the Fire Dragon. The story starts after he meets and falls in love with KongKea the Fish, and depicts the struggles he must overcome after the loss of his home in the forest. Housed in a space that resembles a Cambodian performance room, the installation features actual masks and headdresses used to create the film. The picturesque shots of Cambodia’s landscape and compelling story of a forest in need of saving are meant to move children to care for and protect our environment. Calling for Rain touches on timely and pertinent issues of environmental damage, such as deforestation, pollution and climate change.
Time
Children will be introduced to the concept of time through fun and engaging artworks such as Joyce Ho’s A Day’s Book. With stories submitted from children all over the world via the microsite, the online repository of daily 24-hour diaries transforms into a physical library with a selection of secret doors, some opened and some locked. The opened doors reveal shelves of books containing the stories of each completed 24-hour diary, symbolising a look into the past, while the locked doors hold empty shelves which await future contributions from the online microsite. Workstations with iPads will be available for children to contribute their stories to the online repository and as the online archives grow, the locked doors will be opened monthly, filling the physical library with more stories of the past and allowing more stories to be shared.
Enriching on-site programmes and performances for children
To further enrich visitors’ on-site experience at Gallery Children’s Biennale, there will also be an array of complementary on-site children’s programmes by artists and partners, such as sessions by master storyteller Kamini Ramachandran, sonic exploration workshops by LittleCr3aturesTM and somatic movement workshops by movement artist and somatic therapist Vincent Yong. Art packs are also available for purchase for $5 each and are designed to enhance the appreciation and understanding of the art on display in a fun manner.
Gallery Children’s Biennale is proudly supported by Development Partner Tote Board, Strategic Partner Cultural Matching Fund, Major Partner Keppel Corporation, Supporter Deutsche Bank and Programme Patron Vivian P J Chandran.
Mr Fong Yong Kian, Chief Executive of Tote Board says, “Gallery Children’s Biennale serves to inspire our next generation through art. Tote Board supports Gallery Children’s Biennale and its continued efforts to empower children as they encounter art and learn through play – building a community that is creative, vibrant and resilient.”
The on-site installations for Gallery Children’s Biennale will be available from 6 November 2021 to December 2022 at National Gallery Singapore. Visitors who are unable to join for the physical experience may still participate in this edition of Gallery Children’s Biennale through the microsite. The online experience continues to be accessible at http://childrensbiennale.com/ until December 2022. Please refer to the Annex (available in the downloadable PDF version of this release) for the list of participating artists and their on-site artwork installations, and visit http://childrensbiennale.com/ for more information about the Biennale and the programmes. Media assets can be accessed via this link.