Art Garden 2012: Be engaged, be delighted.

Ryf's 5QU1D is a squid-like artwork that responds when more people approaches him!

It is June, and the time for our young ones to enjoy their school holidays. Experience the joy of contemporary art this school holiday season by heading to the Singapore Art Museum at 8 Queen Street (SAM@8Q) to be engaged by the many interactive artworks at Art Garden 2012. 

Emilie Fouilloux's Let's Dance inspires visitors to discover new ways to express ourselves.

At Art Garden 2012, nine of the twelve works were contributed by our own Singapore artists. Children are very likely to find the artworks appealing to their senses and intellectually stimulating. I was visiting the Art Garden 2012 with one of my friends and her family, and my friend's children were engaged and delighted by many of the art works.

A closed-up of Tay Bee Aye's Grow a Garden in the Dark.
It was intriguing to see how the origami flowers glow in the dark!

I read that the activities at Art Garden 2012 are also designed to enable adults to be active guides and facilitators for their young charges. This is very true as I witnessed parents guiding their children to create origami butterflies and morning-glories to help grow Tay Bee Aye's creation of a community garden titled Grow a Garden in the Dark and encouraging their children to have fun making sounds that generate images on the Reactive Wall by Mojoko and Shang Liang.

Mojoko and Shang Liang's Reactive Wall can be quite a therapeutic piece of artwork.
It seemed to urge its young visitors to let go of unnecessary inhibitions.

Loh Sau Kuen's Everyday Wonders reminds everyone that art can be created using simple everyday objects. Art is more accessible than we think.

A closed-up of a section of Loh Sau Kuen's Everyday Wonders.

The clay flower that I had redeemed and added my own designs.

Each admission ticket to Art Garden 2012 allows the visitor to redeem a clay flower from the second level of the SAM@8Q building. Each visitor can create patterns and designs on the redeemed clay flower using very ordinary objects. The clay flower will dry in 24 hours time and be transformed into a fridge magnet with interesting and unique designs.

For visitors who love to experience the joy of using crayons to create their own artworks, there is an activity room to provide the space to do so.

Age-appropriate write-ups for children printed in green colour.

Parents and guardians will be pleased that there are age-appropriate write-ups describing each of the exhibits at the Art Garden. Children could read these write-ups with relative ease, and perhaps learn a few new vocabulary. For the advanced readers, they can go for the more lengthy and sophisticated descriptions printed in black.

Justin Lee's Dress Me Up is especially fascinating for any child who is delighted by the idea of dressing up live-sized dolls.

To add to the delight, visitors can expect to be treated to film screenings of inspiring short films and animations at the Art Garden. Simply head to the Moving Image Gallery at Level Two to chill and relax to the film screenings. One of my favourite animations is Philip Hunt's Lost and Found which tells of a magical tale of friendship and loneliness.

Lee Wen's Ping Pong Go-Round.

For the athletic visitors, do not miss Lee Wen's Ping Pong Go-Round. This game of Ping Pong with a twist seeks to bring about alternative models for interaction and dialogue. The possibilities seem endless. Visitors were observed to be having great fun playing an alternative ping pong game!

If you are looking for an exhibition dedicated to showcasing art suitable for children, why not make a date to visit Art Garden 2012 at SAM@8Q? This much-loved programme is likely to engage and delight.


Art Garden 2012 at SAM@8Q
8 Queen Street, Singapore 188535
From 18 May - 12 Aug 2012
http://www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/exhibitions/details.php?id=95

Opening Hours:
Monday to Sunday: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. (Last admission to the museum is at 6.15 p.m.)
Friday: 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Free admission on Friday night, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Admission: $10 per adult, $5 per student
Admission is free for visitors aged 6 years and below, Singaporean and PR senior citizens, all full-time National Service men (NSFs), students and teachers from local schools.