Children’s Biennale 2019 is here!
Open to the public from 25 May to 29 Dec, this year’s biennale boasts 11 artworks to the theme of “Embracing Wonder”. We attended a media preview and saw a sneak peak of most of the interactive installations. Some were not ready yet, so we’ll just have to go back again to explore those!
The free brochure helpfully recommends two routes, depending on how much time you have to spend. Personally, I’d recommend setting aside a good amount of time for this, and let your kids set the pace.
Let them linger as long as they like if they enjoy a certain activity without rushing them along, and don’t force them to “experience everything” if they decide that they don’t like a particular exhibit.
If you are going to spend a good amount of time at the Biennale, do pop by the Art Pack Vending Machine (the map details the locations of the three Vending Machines scattered across the Gallery) and get a set full of activity cards to do at various installations for $5. The pack will also include a stackable rainbow crayon, stickers, a DIY set of spinning tops as well as a very professional-looking festival name tag lanyard.
On to the exhibits!
Chance Operations by Song-Ming Ang
Opposite the ticketing counter is Exhibit 1. Enter into a cacophony of sound, as padded balls ping on rows upon rows of artfully arranged chimes. Experiment with the physics of air vibrations for as long as your ears can take it; with a bunch of excited kids it can get real noisy in there!
Big Hug by Delia and Milenko Prvacki
Exhibit 2 occupies the largest room and comprises a series of imaginative rooms and interactive installations for children to explore at will.
This room has a space for everyone – tots will love to “Build and Construct” at this magnetic wall.
Those who are slightly older would enjoy the “Be An Artist” and “Be A Weaver” stations. My kids loved the simple glass wall and opaque markers to the most, whilst I enjoyed trying my hand at four-strand braiding for the first time.
The ‘Milky Way Telescope’ was one of my personal favourites. Simple yet mesmerising.
The space titled “Family Room” had a beautiful mosaic dining table, for what spells Family more than a good meal?
Art for children at its best – simple, attractive (kids love rainbows!) and interactive (you can touch and spin everything)!
Kenangan Kunang-Kunang (Memories of Fireflies) by Eko Ugroho
Enter a dark world illuminated with larger than life lanterns in Exhibit 4, and kids can have fun “changing the lights” as they stomp on spots indicated on the ground.
Follow the squeals and you’ll be led into the eye of a revolving lantern. Spin the rudder or sit down next to a soft ‘pebble’ and just watch the whirring patterns overhead.
The Other Wall by Aung Ko and Nge Lay
Enter a Burmese-inspired house at Exhibit 6, where everything is gilded.
There, you can read Burmese parables before making some crayon etchings atop wooden slab carvings, or do some stamping with alphabet stamps in both English and the Burmese script.
The Oort Cloud and The Blue Mountain by Andreas Schlegel and Hazel Lim-Schlegel
Resembling a life-sized busy board, kids can interact with lights and admire the array of textures. The little ones seemed to enjoy this wall the most, some just content to sprawl across the colourful carpet.
The Story of Karung Guni Boy by Lorraine Tan and Eric Wong
Exhibit 9 was one of my favourite exhibition spaces because it is premised on a SingLit book, and has so many cosy reading nooks!
“The Story of the Karung Guni Boy” is a charming book that has beautiful illustrations wholly comprising collages made of recycled materials.
The heart-warming story’s protagonist is a little boy with big dreams but no money. With resilience and ingenuity, he makes his dreams come true.
Illustrator Eric Wong made 16 sets of three-dimensional paper dioramas that were then photographed for the book. You can see one scene on display (bottom left of photo below).
I loved the fact that there were a number of picture books on display, so parents and kids can sit down and read to their hearts’ content.
Dayung Sampan – Be Your Own Captain on Deck by Zainudin Samsuri
Exhibit 10 is has a very arty sampan that kids can explore – take pictures with a boat captain’s hat, or look through the yellow periscopes on the wall and sight the unexpected!
I really liked this bulbous onion-like deck, which is meant as a viewing platform. Once it’s complete (from 25 May), kids will be able to clamber up, and see whether the sculptures look different from a higher vantage point!
Play by the River
The open area of the City Hall Foyer has been transformed into a river, where kids can sit on little black or yellow ducks, as well as a sampan.
This ties in with Liu Kang’s “Life by the River” (1975) which is exhibited in the room next door, where children can also digitally customise people and houses that “pop up” on screen.
Obsession by Xavier Yong
As we strolled along the corridors, this painting caught our eye.
As they gazed at it, I asked if the photo resonated. The answer was an emphatic “yes”, especially by K who had just finished her mid-year exams. “Why is he wearing so many watches?” asked the younger B.
A thought-provoking piece by Xavier Yong of Bukit Panjang Government High indeed. Are the watches meant to show how closely he needs to monitor time? Is it a play of irony, that no matter how many watches a Singaporean child wears, there is always insufficient time to revise adequately? Are the watches like shackles, weighing him down physically and mentally?
K liked it especially due to the realism and detail of the stationery depicted, especially the pen in the foreground, which is apparently of a popular make.
This is art at its best, a mish-mash of realism and surrealism that is interactive simply because it makes the person viewing it think, and because there are no right or wrong answers.
So there we have it, the Children’s Biennale 2019 and more! Certainly worth a visit or two before it closes at the end of the year.
And how the years pass by quickly indeed…… we had a nice time reminiscing about our time at the last Children’s Biennale too, after wrapping up our visit to this one. Hop on down, and hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
National Gallery Singapore
Address: 1 St. Andrew’s Rd
Singapore 178957
(There is a covered walkway all the way from City Hall MRT station right up to the front door of the National Gallery.)
Tel: 6271 7000
Opening Hours:
- Sun–Thu, Public Holidays: 10am–7pm
- Fri–Sat, Eve of Public Holidays: 10am–10pm
Free entry for Singaporeans and PRs. More information available at the Children’s Biennale’s official website.
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