National Gallery Singapore’s exhibits for the young

Journey through a world of shadow and light in imaginary cities or breathe new life into Singapore artist Liu Kang’s iconic masterpiece at the Keppel Centre for Art Education at National Gallery Singapore. From 10 March 2018, it will introduce two new interactive exhibits – Wandering in Black and White at Art Playscape, and Who’s by the River – after the successful runs of Sandra Lee’s The Enchanted Forest at Art Playscape, and Who’s in the Woods.

A collaboration with Singapore artist Tang Ling Nah, the refreshed Art Playscape will encourage imaginative play with object, shadow and space. Known for her large-scale charcoal drawings depicting the Singapore cityscape, Tang has injected her artistic style to transform the space into an urban cityscape made up of familiar Singapore architecture and everyday sights such as HDB void decks, staircases and MRT transits and linkways.

As young visitors move around the cityscape, they will experience optical illusionary perspectives designed to challenge their sense of depth and space. They can play ‘hide and seek’ in mini-houses, ‘climb’ up and down staircases and discover hidden miniature city-scapes. To further encourage creativity in children, 3D printed charcoal blocks are also provided by the artist to encourage them to build their own imaginary cities. They can also go on a treasure hunt with pops of colours as clues around the space to locate hidden torches and coloured discs, and create dramatic silhouettes and skylines against the cityscapes. Talk tubes, which are often used in outdoor play, are also incorporated in the indoor play area for children to experiment with sounds and echoes in their imaginary cities.