The Keppel Centre for Art Education offers seven new interactive and stimulating learning zones for families centred around the theme of Art & Wonder!
Venue: Level 1, National Gallery Singapore
Opening Hours: 10 am - 6.45 pm (entry based on time slots)
Admission: Free with paid activities
National Gallery Singapore reopens Keppel Centre for Art Education with an entirely refreshed space offering a world of wonder for children to learn about art through play. This popular space for families reopens from 16 Dec 2023 featuring new child-centric learning zones and activities that revolve around the theme of Art & Wonder: Nurturing Wonder through Play and Creativity.
The Centre was the first dedicated art education facility of its kind in Singapore and the region when it first opened in 2015, and was one of our favourite spots to visit as it offered engaging opportunities to introduce art and creativity to young children.
Photo Credits: BYKidO
Admission to the Centre is free and it offers a fun learning experience for the entire family to enjoy a day at the Gallery! The Centre also continues to cater to the different physical and learning needs of visitors, with wheelchair-friendly furniture and learning stations of various heights.
7 Learning Zones
The reopened Centre features an immersive learning space comprising seven zones, with stimulating and interactive experiences suitable for children aged 4 – 12. Each zone offers a welcoming and nurturing environment, providing a gateway through which children can be fully immersed in the wonderment of the world of art through play and creativity.
- Expansion
The first zone, themed Expansion, brings Raden Saleh’s iconic artwork Boschbrand (Forest Fire) to life in an activity named A Brush with Forest Fire.The space is an interactive tropical forest where children will be exposed to the basic elements of art while learning about environmental issues and different animals in Southeast Asia.
Using a special paintbrush as a tool, children can learn about colour theory as they are invited to mix primary colours together and create secondary colours at a digital colour well. Children are also invited to learn about composing an artwork by playing with the scale and sizes of the animals.
- Illuminate!
Children will be encouraged to draw out their artistic curiosity with the theme of Exploration in the next zone, Illuminate! Drawing inspiration from the Gallery’s artworks, Illuminate! invites visitors to explore abstract art and experiment with the interplay of colours, shapes, light and shadow.
Photo Credits: BYKidO
Through the engaging visual presentation of these works, children will develop an understanding of how symbols, colours and shapes come together to create an artwork.
- Experimentation
Revolving around the theme of Experimentation, children will be invited to use 3D doodling pens and wooden shapes to create their own unique 3D sculptures inspired by artworks from the Gallery’s collection. Through hands-on use of materials and textures, the Makers Studio aims to spark multi-disciplinary learning of art with other subjects such as science and technology.
- Expression
Building upon the free-ranging creativity established in the Maker’s Studio, the Workshop Studio offers daily drop-in activities and facilitated workshops, building upon the theme of Expression and inviting families to explore, create, imagine and play. Whether it be picking up a paintbrush, moulding clay, or gathering materials to build a collage, anything is possible at the Centre.
- Portrait Gallery
The Portrait Gallery provides opportunities for children and families to engage in role-playing activities and create stories and memories together. For an Instagram-worthy experience, mirrors and props are available for parents and kids to dress up and strike poses together. Visitors are also invited to create their own portraits using magnetic props representing various facial features.
- Book Nook
The Centre also features the Book Nook, stocked with a selection of books appropriate for all ages. The selection of books available offers further learning opportunities centred around art, such as Awesome Art Singapore: 10 Works from the Lion City Everyone Should Know, which encourages children to appreciate art by making art concepts and ideas easy to enjoy and understand, and Low Lai Chow’s Eat with Your Eyes, which offers a visual treat by spotlighting 14 modern Southeast Asian artworks in the Gallery’s collection.
- Calm Pod
The Centre also offers the Calm Pod, where visitors can rest if they feel over-stimulated or overwhelmed by their environment. In this soothing and safe space, visitors can take the time to calm down, regulate their feelings and renew their focus.
Activities and Workshops
With the revamped Centre’s series of drop-in activities and facilitated workshops, children will develop imagination, critical thinking and visual literacy skills as they are exposed to the seven core elements of art: space, form, colour, texture, line, shape and value.
While the Centre is free for all, there are select ticketed facilitator-led programmes that offer guided learning experiences. Tickets to these programmes can be purchased online.
Opening Hours
Photo Credits: BYKidO
To ensure that families and children have an enjoyable experience in the revamped Keppel Centre for Art Education and manage visitor flow especially during the school holiday period, families are encouraged to pre-book a 1 hour 15 min time slot. You may also register on-site as walk-ins are welcome, subject to availability.
- 10 am - 11.15 am
- 11.30 am - 12.45 pm
- 1 pm - 2.15 pm
- 2.30 pm - 3.45 pm
- 4 pm - 5.15 pm
- 5.30 pm - 6.45 pm
Admission
The Centre is free for everyone with paid facilitated programmes happening regularly.
*Photo Credits: National Gallery Singapore, unless otherwise noted
