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
ChildISH 11 Sep to 27 Oct 2024
Jurong Regional Library Learn more
As part of its commitment to bring art closer to the local community, SAM extends the experience of the Learning Gallery beyond the museum through the presentation of ChildISH at the libraries. ChildISH features poems by five local poets Amanda Chong, Hamid Roslan, Pooja Nansi, Charlene Shepherdson and Daryl Qilin Yam that were crafted in response to the works
featured in the Learning Gallery at SAM. The poems are complemented by an artwork from local illustrator Tan Zi Xi, featuring drawings by pupils from Ang Mo Kio Primary School, creating a rich, multisensorial showcase. The presentation is currently on view at Woodlands Regional Library till 8 Sep 2024 and will travel to various regional libraries across Singapore until 16 December 2024.
Explore the nostalgic world of Singapore in this engaging educational video! Discover how Nguan captures his homeland through a unique lens, turning everyday moments into poignant reflections on city life. Learn about his signature style, which reveals the subtle beauty and themes of loneliness found in familiar places and faces. Watch full video here.
Archival pigment print; Dimensions variable; Collection of Singapore Art Museum
In the series Singapore, Nguan expressively captures quiet, everyday scenes on the streets of Singapore as well as the sense of alienation and solitude that pervades the city. By taking spontaneous portraits of strangers while exploring Singapore on foot, he presents overlooked aspects of the mundane. The artist once stated that loneliness is “just a symptom of modern life everywhere—we’re living in closer proximity to each other than ever before but feeling further apart.” The themes explored in this series are sombre and soft, conveying a sense of nostalgia and warmth. In these photographs, a dozen untold stories and personal histories are waiting to unfold.
Han Sai PorBlack Forest
2024
Wood and charcoal; Dimensions variable; Collection of the artist
Black Forest is an ongoing project that was initiated by Han Sai Por in 2011 and revisited in 2013 and 2016. This 2024 version is a testament to Han’s commitment to exploring the profound impact of human activities on the natural world. The installation presents a striking visual of an obliterated forest, the haunting aftermath of relentless deforestation. Upon closer observation, some branches appear unburnt. These branches suggest the inherent resilience of nature despite the destructiveness of humankind. Beyond aesthetics, Han’s work offers powerful commentary on the human management of forests and the enduring spirit of the environment.
Tang Da Wu深疤凰 Sembawang
2013
Mixed media; Dimensions variable; Collection of Singapore Art Museum
深疤凰 (shēn bā huáng) is Tang Da Wu’s Chinese homonym for an area in Singapore called Sembawang, whose actual Chinese name is 三巴旺 (sān bā wàng). The Artists Village (TAV), an artistic community of like-minded practitioners that Tang founded in 1988, was located in Sembawang, in the north of Singapore. It was a dynamic space for exhibitions, performances and discussions, which challenged traditional artmaking and pioneered new art forms in Singapore. 深疤凰 translates to “phoenix of deep scars.” The avian creature in this work bears a resemblance to the "tok-tok bird" (Large-tailed Nightjar or Caprimulgus macrurus) which appeared nightly near TAV. TAV left its premises in Sembawang in 1990 and this work conveys Tang's feelings about the event. The creature in his artwork is perched on a cluster of diamond-shaped mirrors, which represents its tears as it emerges from the ashes of its rebirth.
Migrant Ecologies Project{if your bait can sing the wild ones will come} Like Shadows Through Leaves
2021
Video, single channel, 16:9 aspect ratio, colour and sound (surround); 28 min; Collection of the artists
This film by art collective Migrant Ecologies Project is about Tanglin Halt, one of Singapore’s oldest public housing estates in Queenstown, and the process of its urban renewal, from the demolition of its buildings to the relocation of its residents. The collective made repeated visits to Tanglin Halt to trace the echoes and memories that still animate the area, like shadows through leaves.
The birds are presented as silhouettes or puppets in the habitats where they were once observed, exemplifying a mode of storytelling that evokes a restorative process known as “rewilding.” Transformative encounters in Tanglin Halt are interwoven with calls of different species of birds, narration and poetry to form a layered tale in which both humans and birds search for a place that once existed, while conjuring possible future returns.
Julian Abraham “Togar” A Gesture
2016
Sound installation; 5 min 52 sec (loop); Collection of Singapore Art Museum
Through this work, Julian Abraham “Togar” explores the act of listening and highlights the visitors’ relationship with sound within a space. Vocalisations like “sssttt” and “ehm” may be associated with sounds heard during a typical gallery experience, such as whispering or throat clearing. Through this sound-based artwork, the artist tests how sensitive we are to unseen aspects of the exhibition space. Each visitor’s interpretations of the sounds are dependent on their background or state of mind at the time, suggesting that a gesture is partly defined by the party who receives it. However, ultimately, the sounds are simply varied intonations and articulations.
