Youth Engagement

In 2024, we hosted a send-off party for one of the Gallery’s inaugural exhibitions, Siapa Nama Kamu?: Art in Singapore since the 19th Century.

As the exhibition takes a break for a major revamp (and glow up!), we came together to reflect on and celebrate our collective growing pains. We conducted activities such as a youth-led gallery tour and stations that drew focus on the self through portraits, while embracing the quirky and imperfect.

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Taking inspiration from the artworks in part 2 of the special exhibition See Me See You: Early Video Installation of Southeast Asia, the Kolektif Takeover presented “The ____ Project."

Anchored by a self-guided experience for youths created by our Kolektif Programme members, participants were invited on a journey of reflection, self-discovery and creative expression of their online/offline identities and the notion of authenticity. 

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Held during the Light to Night Festival 2023, the Kolektif Takeover featured a sold-out youth trivia night. It tested knowledge on topics spanning pop culture fun facts and scientific references, to primary school textbooks, art and local culture.

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Kolektif Chills was the Gallery’s first Halloween-themed Youth Social, focusing on the themes of the dead and the haunted. We began with a curator-led tour of mythologies and socio-political tragedies, and extended into the night with tarot readings, jagua ink tattoos, and fireside conversations about our deepest fears.

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We took over the Singapore Courtyard at the Light to Night Festival 2022 and featured a line-up of youth programmes developed and executed by 20 Kolektif Programme members. Activities featured guided pantun-writing sessions, a reflective journey of imagining a community-centric future, a curated audio tour on the art of letting go and a facilitated exercises to rediscover life’s balance.

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Four dream museum experiences were showcased across two festival weekends. Youth participants got to engage in a special crossover tour between art and the environment, a creative zine-making experience, a space safe for intimate conversations about what was lost during the pandemic, and the opportunity to meet new friends on a “blind frenship date”.

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In the midst of prepping for the festival, we got a chance to catch up with four members. From the initial nerves of submitting an application, the joy of meeting 19 other like-minded people, to the challenges of planning the Kolektif takeover in the midst of a pandemic, four members discuss their proudest and most surprising moments during their Kolektif journey.

Four of our Kolektif 2020 members came down to the Gallery for a quick chat and to answer some burning questions about the Kolektif Takeover at Light to Night, and what it's like being a part of Kolektif and the arts.

We got our Kolektif alumni to reflect on their Kolektif experience got the inside scoop on tip and advice for those seeking to apply. If you are looking to be a part of the Kolektif experience, be ready to take notes.

Find out more about the Kolektif Programme with 2021 members Cheryl, Farheen, Huzi, and Syafiq as they reflect on their journey as Kolektif members, their experiences as youth programmers at the Gallery, and the role of art in their lives.

Any idea how Kolektif works? Catch the first batch of Kolektif members sharing about what it's like to be part of the youth collective in a local art museum during the pandemic.

From meeting like-minded people to creating a programme for the Light to Night Festival, Kolektif connects youths on both a professional and personal level, forging unforgettable bonds among the members.

Kolektif alumni Indu presents a contemporary reading of Teo Eng Seng’s installation, The Net (Most Definitely Singapore River).

In the UOB Southeast Asian galleries, J. Elizalde Navarro’s Untitled is a peculiar presence, composed of random shapes, pieced together in an almost haphazard manner. However, Kolektif alumni Jin Ming sees hope and inspiration within this sculpture, which reflects the fiery passion within his generation to challenge the status quo.

The 1955 Hock Lee Bus riots are a dark part of our history that is etched in the memories of older generations of Singaporeans. Shevon sees a parallel between the workers’ fierce determination presented in Tan Tee Chie’s On Strike and her unabating passion for social justice.

Gen Zs and millennials are (infamously) known for their dependence on social media. But what if there is a deeper meaning and significance behind this dependence? In this episode, Naazym embarks on a candid and painfully honest analysis of Manit Sriwanichpoom’s Shocking Pink Collection. How does this artwork speak to his personal relationship with social media?

What makes a place a home? Is it our physical belongings? Or is it some sort of intangible spiritual essence? Inspired by Diah Yulianti’s beautiful Hunian, Kolektif alumni Natalie talks to Eu Gene about what home looks like to her.

When you hold many diverse identities, what does it mean to belong? As someone who is of mixed ethnicities, Kolektif alumni Trish sees herself represented in Jose Tence Ruiz’s Ang Patuloy na Pangkabihag in Kikong Baterya. She talks to Moe Yin about the many questions she had about her identity while growing up in Singapore, and the beauty of being able to identify with many different cultures.