Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 12:32AM 
While the International Symposium of Electronic Arts might seem like a mouthful for young kids, some of their exhibitions promises to be fun for young 'uns. My pick would be Experimenta Play ++ at Sculpture Square; any place that encourages touching - normally forbidden at most art exhibitions - is a must-visit.
Art, Exhibition Monday, July 7, 2008 at 11:55PM 
The Singapore Heritage Fest has set aside a kids zone with activities including games, story-telling, art-making and role-playing activities designed to explore the theme this year - heroes. Entry is free. Call Act3 on 67359986 for details.
Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 12:13AM 
Isadora's Workshop brought to our attention the blockbuster exhibition of Matisse prints at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute. We're going to have to try and catch that...just love the sheer space the STPI affords its art. Then LO can go for a little run along the Singapore river and Pacita Abad's painted Alkaff Bridge.
Pic © Succession H. Matisse
Art, Exhibition Sunday, June 15, 2008 at 10:51PM 
The Singapore Biennale has a raft of things lined up for kids in September including workshops, family tours and a kid's day out.
Why am I talking about this event, light years away in parenting time, now?
There's an art competition and a community art project that the public can participate in for which registration closes 18 July, that's why.
Art, Exhibition, Workshop Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 01:57PM 
Love the graphic even though it took some searching to find on the Science Centre website. More details here.
Speaking of the Science Centre, most of their holiday programmes are full but there are some that still have spaces
Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 10:39PM 
We went along with some friends and their kids to the Mozart exhibition at the National Museum last Friday. After giggling past the David in lace - any one else think it's a really wierd installation? - and playing with Twardzik Ching's magnetic wall and Imprint, we passed the turnstiles into the exhibition, which at $16 for an adult ($8.50 for kids above 6)was probably one of the most expensive exhibitions I've been to here.
I have to say that all the kids had a great time despite the exhibition being targeted to kids aged 6-12. The older one went around almost all the exhibits, wrote the script with an inkwell, got her face painted, learnt about Classical toothpaste (cloves, fennel and baking soda) and made sachets of peppermint tea. The younger ones romped around the canopy bed and the carriage playing dress-up with the clothes, though refusing to wear the wigs for some reason.
We spent over an hour in there, then went out to let the young uns into the Murmurs playground outside which was policed by highly enthusiastic staff making sure no over 4s went in. Somehow the playground with its primary colours seemed so bland after the colours and rich velvets and brocades inside. But the ballpit and a small maze were as expected, a draw.
I just wish there was some more structure to the exhibition. It felt like it was all laid out a bit haphazard so you'd miss out the bits like the kitchen (laid in a corner near the entrance) if you jumped into the middle and wandered off. Tellingly, the multimedia section which had video screens hardly seemed a draw. Also I can't remember hearing his music in the background.
The friends I went with echoed my sentiments. They coincidentally were visiting from Indianapolis, which is apparently home to the largest children's museum in the world. Their kids couldn't stop talking about their experiences there and judging by the website, citations and pics, it is impressive.
I found one degree of separation to Singapore. The piece de resistance at the Indianapolis Children's Museum is a stupendous 5 storey tall, 4800 piece glass sculpture by Dave Chihuly - the artist's largest permanent installation. Chihuly's works Sunrise and Sunset can be seen at the Ritz Carlton Millenia's Chihuly Lounge and Greenhouse restaurant (check them out if you're a guest, or go on a self-guided podcast tour of the hotel's 4200 art pieces). But I digress.
A children's museum in Singapore would be such a great starting point to introduce children to the arts and also to natural history, history and world cultures. Sure we have bits and pieces in each of the museums here for children but a whole structure full of it all year round? Wouldn't that be fantastic? The Indianapolis museum draws a million visitors with a populaton of 1.9 million. Any arts-policy makers listening?
Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 03:33PM If you and your kids aren't out at the myriad workshops at the annual Sculpture Carnival going on this weekend, you could still go to the resulting exhibition over the next couple of weeks. The theme this year: "Mission: Mother Earth."
Art, Exhibition Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 12:28AM For those of you who missed the grand opening, there still a children's workshop session available."Sarong Stories is a three-day workshop that explores Peranakan themes and collections in the galleries using folktales and nursery rhymes. The final day of the workshop culminates in a mini-presentation for family and friends of the participants." Is not cheap at $180 per child. Suitable for children aged 7 - 9 years. More details on the website.
Art, Exhibition, Museum Friday, April 11, 2008 at 04:29PM Probably a bit late in the day, this one, but exciting things are happening at Wessex Estate tomorrow. Hopefully all this buzz doesn't drive up rents and drive out the very artists that they're promoting. Has happened before. Incidentally lots of fringe artists are congregating in Little India and other unconvential places due to lower rents - check out PKW, Rojak and La Libreria.
Art, Event, Exhibition Friday, April 4, 2008 at 09:47AM This one is for older kids given the time - Fridays at 7:30pm. But it's free and a great way to get some insight into Chinese painters and their art.
