Singapore has enjoyed a recent boost in its arts scene, partly due to the country’s 50th birthday celebrations last year and the correlating openings of several important new art facilities. The most notable of these openings is National Gallery Singapore, a massive project uniting the historic former buildings for the country’s supreme court and city hall into a thoroughly modern take on an art museum, but that wasn’t the only initiative completed to bolster the arts scene. Along with National Gallery Singapore, several other remodels of existing museums, openings of heritage centers, and gallery unveilings helped cement the new approach to art in the country, embracing numerous cultures in both Singapore and the broader Southeastern Asian region, as well as international art across the world.
Another change to the arts scene meant making admission to all of these new attractions completely free for Singaporean citizens and permanent residents, emphasizing just how important experiencing the arts is to a successful society.
However, visual art isn’t the only creative approach these facilities are taking. National Gallery Singapore recently worked with visionary filmmakers to create short art films based on Southeastern Asian art on display inside the museum. These films, a story of art inspiring more art, were just one attempt by one art museum to use a variety of artistic mediums and genres to engage with the public. If a visitor isn’t necessarily inspired by paintings hanging flat on the walls, then perhaps they might instead be inspired by a film stuffed with moving images and storylines based on those same paintings.
Community engagement has been a very visible theme for a majority of art museums in Singapore. From revamped exhibits to special events geared toward drawing in a new fan base for art, museums and their leaderships have been working hard to inspire a new generation of Singaporeans to embrace art. Special programs in a wide range of facilities have used dance performances, plays, music, and much more to lure in more people to interact with the arts. Other shows have featured community components in which people can learn and contribute through participating in a number of projects. Other museums seek to combine art with other subjects, such as science, in order to make connections between ideas that might never have been understood before.
The best way to understand with art is to engage with it, and SGArtClass.com is one of the best websites to do so. Think about enrolling in an art class via SGArtClass.com, exploring the many offerings compiled in an easy-to-navigate list on the website. Whether you’re interested in jewelry making, installation art, mural painting, or other artistic genres, teachers will be on hand to help you complete the projects you’re most intrigued with. Meet with your teachers in the comfort of your own home, or gather a group of like-minded friends together to take classes and grow as a whole.
To read more about the importance of a wide range of artistic opportunities to enrich Singapore’s culture, go to http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/art-of-cultural-education.