A few months back, Adrian and I visited National Gallery Singapore for their Naked Museum Tour and I’ve been longing to go back since. Last Friday, Anya and I attended the media preview of Keppel Centre for Art Education, a new immersive learning facility that will encourage young visitors to cultivate their interest in art with programmes designed to make learning art enjoyable and accessible.

The Keppel Centre for Art Education will be the first of its kind in the region to provide children the opportunity to access original artwork, handle art tools, select artworks, write labels and conduct exhibition tours for their peers through experiential learning and role-play. Through this and other programmes, the Gallery hopes to enrich art education in Singapore and enable more visitors from all walks of life to appreciate art.

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At the Art Corridor, young children will be invited to touch, explore and change the look of artworks through interacting with moveable elements. The Art Corridor provides a highly tactile and visually impactful interactive art experience that may be enjoyed by visitors of all ages.

Inspired by the topographical maps of waterways in Singapore, Voyage by Twardzik Ching Chor Leng is a large-scale puzzle artwork found along the Art Corridor. It was interesting to see how children of different ages interacted differently with the artwork. The older children were trying hard to move a chip through the maze without the chip falling into one of the holes but the younger ones were doing their best to push as many chips into the holes as possible!

Anya’s favourite space is the Art Playscape featuring The Enchanted Tree House by Sandra Lee. Children can enter the space through a special tunnel, look through periscopes, communicate using talk tubes and hide in the split-level Tree House. It feels like you have walked into a beautifully illustrated pop-up book!

Inspired by the idea of ‘entering a painting’, Art Playscape develops curiosity and imagination through active play, movement and discovery for young visitors. Through 5 different self-guided adventure trails, visitors uncover hidden stories. Mysteries, unexpected surprises and fantastical creatures await.

At the Project Gallery, kids can design and create their own fantastical mobile homes in Home-a-Sapiens by Tan Wee Lit. Designed as an immersive and contemplative environment, the Project Gallery invites visitors to use art to imagine creative solutions to real world issues. Visitors can also display their art pieces in the Project Gallery as part of the collaborative learning process that connects their creative ideas with the artist’s artworks.

Visitors to the Children’s Museum will gain insight into the creative process of different artists in an environment inspired by their respective studios. In Home, Language and Letters by Milenko Prvacki, children can use a variety of photographs and collage materials to create a visual letter to be sent to the artist.

The kids were fascinated and inspired by the detail of the Woodlands cityscape made out of clay, plasticine and sticky foam by 13-year-old artist Xandyr Quek, which is part of the Centre’s special display programme based on the 2015-2016 theme of ‘Homes’.

The Keppel Centre for Art Education will present an annual change of installations and feature a series of adult- and family-friendly programmes, such as daily tours, workshops, lectures, forums, family weekends and community days. It is slated to open together with the Gallery on 24 November this year. Located on the ground floor of the City Hall Wing, the Centre is easily accessible to schools and families with young children. Admission to the Centre is free.

N.B. This article on Keppel Centre for Art Education by The Straits Times features a familiar face!