For the first time, the National Museum of Singapore has organized an exhibition specializing in children's art works called Gallery Children's Biennale with the theme “Why Art Matters”. Vietnamese artist Dinh Q Le will take part in this display.

By going “phygital”, the Biennale also offers twice as much  fun for audiences  from all over the world as they get to participate in more diverse and new ways by visit www.staging.childrensbiennale.com. Photo: nationalgallery.sg

The exhibition went online, starting from May 22, 2021 until December 2022 at the website: www.staging.childrensbiennale.com.

Gallery Children’s Biennale seeks to empower children to navigate the changing times with empathy and confidence through playful and interactive art experiences that explore topics relevant to the times such as Home, Diversity, Time and Environment.

By going “phygital”, combined with the words physical and digital, the Biennale also offers twice as much fun for local audiences as they get to participate in more diverse and new ways, from creating digital art through a finger swipe to exploring immersive installations at the gallery.

Taking place every two years, the Gallery Children's Biennale this time will include works of art (online and “phygital”) by nine artists and groups of artists.

Famous artists include: Dinh Q Le (Vietnam), artists Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan (Philippines/Australia), Jeremy Sharma (Singapore), Joyce Ho (Taiwan - China), Khvay Samnang (Cambodia), Nandita Mukand (Singapore/India), Nona Garcia (Philippines), Sandra Lee (Singapore) and Speak Cryptic X ADDADDADD (Singapore).

Children from all over the worlds are empowered to creatively express themselves and tell their personal stories through artworks. Photo: nationalgallery.sg

In a time of physical restrictions, the hybrid format also fosters connection between children and artists, with the majority of the online works allowing children to co-create with established international artists and connect with peers around the world through the artworks.

The gallery's audience development and engagement director Suenne Megan Tan said at a virtual media preview that going online would give kids around the world access to the art program. She added that the new format is a timely coincidence for families here, given that the world has recently tightened measures to reduce the community spread of Covid-19.

Children are empowered to creatively express themselves and tell their personal stories through artworks that touch on the theme of Diversity. In Dinh Q Lê’s ‘Voices From The Centers’, children will learn to create a 60-second video in response to an artwork from the National Collection, using digital weaving techniques inspired by Lê’s signature photographic weavings.

In addition, young audiences will also gain a greater understanding of the concept of time or have a clearer view of environmental destructive issues, such as climate change and plastic waste. 

The on-site installations for Gallery Children’s Biennale will be available from September 4, 2021 to December 2022 at National Gallery Singapore.