SINGAPORE, Aug 27 — If you’re one of those who think Gillman Barracks is too far and too intimidating with its fancy schmancy contemporary art galleries in whitewashed colonial buildings, you might be interested to know change is afoot.
Under the auspice of the Gillman Barracks Programme Office set up this year by the National Arts Council (NAC), the space is now geared towards broadening its offerings with more public engagement options with new players such as Art Outreach and Playeum. For one, there is even a retail store with homegrown design brand Supermama setting up a shop and studio space at Gillman Barracks.
“Gillman has a different atmosphere compared to other spaces like Dempsey or Chip Bee. There is just this very nice feeling of home — you don’t really expect it to be a shopping centre or a hip ‘go-to’ place,” said
Edwin Low, founder and director of Supermama Store. “Most of our shops are around the city area (Singapore Art Museum, Esplanade and Kampong Glam). We wanted another that allows us to test out new collections, odd items, products that are either one-off production pieces, deadstock or prototype. Being here allows us to bring both a gallery shop and studio together. This helps us to design better.”
Low is also organising an upcoming Supermama Porcelain festival running from September 16 to October 31, inspired and influenced by the porcelain culture in Arita, Japan, and showcasing Japanese and Singapore makers, creatives and designers.
For Playeum, opening its first permanent space at the contemporary arts cluster after six years of pop-up activities throughout Singapore seemed inevitable. “Playeum’s Children’s Centre for Creativity fits in with the cultural offerings of Gillman perfectly, as our hands-on, content-rich exhibitions are specially designed for children visiting in family and school groups,” explained Anna Salaman, Playeum’s executive director.
“We’re delighted that our presence is attracting so many children to Gillman Barracks. Families frequently go on to visit the art galleries after their time at the Children’s Centre for Creativity, making a day of it, and now there are family-friendly F&B options in the area, too,” Salaman added.
For young ones interested in playing with nature, Playeum’s current exhibition Hideaways — Creating with Nature invites children to observe animals and plants in their natural habitats and learn more about the fascinating lives of ants, worms and other creatures.
Low Eng Teong, director, sector development (Visual Arts), National Arts Council, indicated that this move to “broaden Gillman Barracks’ tenant mix to include art organisations, creative businesses and F&B establishments” complements its core of art galleries while reaching out to different audience groups.
New arts tenant Art Outreach will be running two workshops during Gillman Barracks’ fourth anniversary celebrations on September 23 and 24, to explore works by multi-disciplinary artist Zai Kuning. (Zai was recently appointed by the National Arts Council to represent Singapore at the 57th Venice Biennale.)
A non-profit art education organisation that promotes art appreciation and visual literacy in Singapore, Art Outreach is using its Gillman space to host signature public engagement programmes such as art appreciation talks, in-depth guided tours of exhibitions and artist-led workshops for adults and children. “We focus on a different gallery each month, featuring the diverse and ever-changing exhibitions from internationally acclaimed artists of the region and around the world,” elaborated Lindsay Courtney, executive director of Art Outreach.
The art galleries are stepping up their game as well, inspired by these new programmes. They are changing from merely selling and displaying art to engaging the public on different levels. Long-time tenant Sundaram Tagore Gallery invited Apsaras Arts, an established performance art company in Singapore, to choreograph and perform Indian classical dance based on the colours and dynamic movements of the paintings on show for the exhibition Transformation and Colour: Anthony Poon, Pioneer of Singapore Abstraction, to elevate the exhibition opening. It is also currently seeking submissions from Singapore-based artists to do up a wall mural on its premises in front of a live audience during the anniversary weekend.
Even walking around Gillman Barracks has become more interesting and interactive. Local artist Speak Cryptic is in the midst of putting up more murals in a tribute to the barrack’s original purpose of housing the 1st Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment in 1936 while multidisciplinary artist Sai Hua Kuan has created a 4.5m-high sculpture of two French Horns facing each other in front of Block 9, Lock Road, which passers-by can speak into to hear themselves.
This is just a start. The NAC plans to roll out more of such initiatives to better engage the public. Gillman Barracks is definitely beckoning in the west. — TODAY
