Prison inmates and elderly come together via art in an art exhibition that aims towards bringing to the fore narratives of forgotten communities.
Called A Message from Outside, this exhibition, which will be held at the new cultural centre Temenggong 18/20, will feature paintings with augmented reality by inmates from Visual Arts Hub at Changi Prison Complex and residents from United Medicare Centre (Queensway). This exhibition is part of an ongoing initiative by cultural organisation Global Cultural Alliance (GCA) which uses the transformative power of the arts to heal and to bring together communities which are either neglected, forgotten or who may never have an opportunity to interact with one another.
Says Ms Janice Zhang, Senior Manager, GCA, of the initiative: “Beyond being an artistic platform that exposed participants to new techniques in art making, the intent of the Culture Plus initiative was to build a sense of self-belief among the beneficiaries that they, too, can make a difference in someone’s life, in spite of their circumstances. Through Culture Plus: A Message From Outside, we hope to draw attention to the personal narratives of the inmates and elderly. At the end of the day, these individuals who exists on the fringes of society have similar stories of motivations and yearnings, just like you and I. We invite the public, through this exhibition, to take time to reconnect with these two communities that society often forgets.”
Facilitated by sculptor and artist Sun Yu-Li over four three-hour art sessions, the inmates and the elderly, two communities who are likely never to meet, shared with one another their thoughts and reflections on the things or people that they hold dear in a visual art exchange. Each inmate was paired with two residents as they conversed with their ‘paint-pals’ through the exchange of visual journals, which culminated in each of them creating an artwork in response to the message they received from their ‘paint-pal’.
Venues:
16 August – 1 September 2018, Temenggong 18/20, 18 Temenggong Road, Singapore 098771
3 – 9 September 2018, Star Vista, 1 Vista Exchange Green, Singapur 138617
When: 16 Aug - 9 Sep 2018,
By: Hillside1820 (Temenggong 18/20)
