Learning Gallery

Learning Gallery

Spark Curiosity. Rekindle Wonder. Explore contemporary art with the uninhibited spirit of a child and rediscover the joy of learning.

 

Established as part of Singapore Art Museum’s continued support of art education, the Learning Gallery is dedicated to the engagement and understanding of broader issues through contemporary artworks. These artworks have been specially selected from the National Collection or commissioned to extend the learning of contemporary art to all ages.

 

Inspired by the theme of childhood, this edition of the Learning Gallery encourages child-like curiosity in encounters with art. You are invited to embrace the spirit of exploration to have an uninhibited relationship with the world: to look, feel and live fearlessly.

 

Exhibiting artworks of various media and across diverse forms of presentation, the artworks address multiple themes such as home, nature and the environment, people, places, memory and time. They also raise important and timely questions on what it means to live in contemporary times, evoking the emotions and experiences of each individual in the process .

 

about the artists

 

Nguan
Nguan’s photographs contemplate big city yearning, ordinary fantasies and emotional globalisation. He has published three monographs: Shibuya (2010), How Loneliness Goes (2013) and Singapore (2017). Singapore was named as one of the ten best photo books of the year by The New York Times Magazine. Nguan’s work has been widely seen on social media and cited as being a significant visual reference for acclaimed films such as Lulu Wang’s The Farewell (2019) and Domee Shi’s Turning Red (2022). He is a graduate of Northwestern University.

 

Han Sai Por
Renowned sculptor Han Sai Por is celebrated for her mastery in transforming hefty granite blocks into vibrant, life-like figurative forms and organic shapes. After graduating from the Singapore Teachers' Training College in 1968, she pursued studies in Fine Art at Wolverhampton University, United Kingdom, and furthered her education in Landscape Architecture at Lincoln University, New Zealand, from 2004 to 2008. She has held exhibitions in Southeast Asia, China, South Korea, North America and Europe. Han's creations grace permanent collections in prominent venues such as Singapore's hotels, libraries, Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations as well as parks in Malaysia, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom. Recognised for her outstanding contributions to the arts, she was honoured with Singapore’s Cultural Medallion in 1995

 

Migrant Ecologies Project (Lucy Davis and collaborators, Zai Tang, Kee Ya Ting and Zachary Chan, with editing by Daniel Hui)
Migrant Ecologies Project comprises an eclectic mix of individuals, from cinematographers to writers, who come together to co-create artworks. Amidst an ever-changing list of collaborators for each artwork are some mainstay collaborators, such as artist, composer and sound designer Zai Tang. The collective’s works have featured in the Diriyah Biennale (2024), Istanbul Biennale (2022), Singapore Biennale (2022), SeedCultures Svalbard 2019, Taipei Biennale (2018), Rockbund Shanghai/Fondazione Sandretto re Rebaudengo (2018), NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (2017), among other festivals and institutions.

Lucy Davis is a visual artist, art writer and founder of Migrant Ecologies Project. Her transdisciplinary and often collaborative endeavours encircle ecologies, animal and plant studies, materiality, memory and storytelling, primarily but not exclusively in Southeast Asia. Davis was a founding faculty member of the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2005–2016). Davis is currently an Associate Professor (Contemporary Art) in Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art (ViCCA) Department of Art & Media, Aalto University, Finland.

 

Tang Da Wu
Tang Da Wu is widely regarded as a central figure in the alternative art scene in Singapore. In 1988, he led a group of young artists to establish The Artists Village, an art collective that spearheaded performance, installation and painting projects as well as exhibitions in public spaces. Since the 1990s, Tang’s artworks have dealt with the subjects of memory, history and the environment. He was featured in the Singapore Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007 and has since brought critical attention to the development of art in Singapore with works such as First Arts Council (2011) and Our Children (2012), which were collected by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and presented in an exhibition and performance at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2017. More recently, he led a two-part performance titled《为什么要走出黑暗》 (When Darkness Walk) by La Tristesse Opera, in memory of artists Chng Seok Tin, Lee Wen and Tan Kian Por and to commemorate the group’s tenth anniversary.

 

Julian Abraham “Togar”
Julian Abraham “Togar” (Muhammad Hidayat) is an Indonesian multidisciplinary artist, programmer and pseudo-scientist who often uses music and soundscapes in his work. Combining his different skills and interests, he explores the intersections of art, environment, science and technology. Togar engages in extensive research to create analytical artworks. His transdisciplinary practice derives from rhythms and systems, which, depending on the context of engagement, may consist of preserving, initiating, intervening, supporting, negotiating, hacking or questioning. He often considers how to function within surrounding realities and is fascinated by the fact that even small interventions can bring forth changes geared towards the formation of new, sustainable support structures.

 

artwork highlights

related events

check out the line-up of free and ticketed event below!

 

DROP IN ACTIVITY

In collaboration with SingPost, write a heartfelt letter inspired by the Learning Gallery artworks and drop it in our special posting box by 3 November. We’ll mail it back to you for free!

 

Don’t forget to snap a photo of your letter for a chance to take part in a special giveaway from SAM and SingPost. Stay tuned!

 

GUIDED TOUR

Join us on a guided tour and gain insights on artworks in this tour of the Learning Gallery.

Docent-Led Tour:
 - Japanese Tour: Every Thu–Sat |10:30am–11:30am
 - English Tour: Every Thu–Sun |2pm–3pm

 

resources

For press materials, visit here

Untitled

Nguan

2012

Archival pigment print; Dimensions variable; Collection of Singapore Art Museum

Black Forest

Han Sai Por

2024

Wood and charcoal; Dimensions variable; Collection of the artist

深疤凰 Sembawang

Tang Da Wu

2013

Mixed media; Dimensions variable; Collection of Singapore Art Museum

{if your bait can sing the wild ones will come} Like Shadows Through Leaves

Migrant Ecologies Project

2021

Video, single channel, 16:9 aspect ratio, colour and sound (surround); 28 min; Collection of the artists

A Gesture

Julian Abraham “Togar”

2016

Sound installation; 5 min 52 sec (loop); Collection of Singapore Art Museum