The ultimate guide to Gallery Children's Biennale 2019: Embracing Wonder

By Milenko and Delia Prvački (Singapore)

This multi-room experiential installation welcomes all families with open arms. There are 30 interactive and educational activities filling four main spaces – Discover the World, Friendship Room, Family Room and Self Room.

Explore the universe through a telescope at Discover the World, toy around with various shapes and colours at Friendship Room, share the warmth of family meals with the displays at Family Room, and let the kids take the world for size as they play pretend at Self Room.

By Mark Justiniani (Philippines)

Travel through time and space as you walk down this 16-metre bridge – looking down is highly encouraged. Peer below for an endless rock composition that sparkles, shines and stretches indefinitely into the ground, making you feel like you're floating in space. The magic-realism artist achieves this illusion with the help of mirrors, hand-drawn images, and other reflective, sculpted and kinetic objects.

By Hazel Lim-Schlegel and Andreas Schlegel (Singapore)

Instead of pushing your buttons, let the kids push the giant button-like objects mounted on this 3D motion-activated wall-relief artwork. Engage your senses and activate different coloured lights and sounds through touch and movements. With the help of their seven-year-old daughter, the dynamic husband-wife duo create an installation inspired by landscapes and cosmic matters.

By Donna Ong (Singapore)

Peep through the scaled-down openings of five frosted domes and be transported to a sundry of magical places like an English garden, a tropical paradise or the worlds of cactus, mushroom, underground and underwater. The spellbinding landscapes are formed using hundreds of intricate paper cut-outs.

By Eko Nugroho (Indonesia)

Explore six life-sized lanterns by engaging in various interactive actions that alter the room with light, shadows, colours and shapes. These vibrant, colossal lanterns are decked with images from myths, legends and everyday life, and are made to resemble the Damar Kurung, a traditional paper lantern from Eastern Java in Indonesia. Look carefully – each lantern tells a tale.

By Eko Nugroho (Indonesia)

Marvel at the impressive wall mural that features corals, leaves, and vines as you step into National Gallery Singapore via the Padang. Worth a snap, this visual landscape is filled with images of hopes and wishes, acting as a reminder for all to live in harmony and be kind to each other.

By Nge Lay and Aung Ko (Myanmar)

Step into two traditional Burmese houses bathed in gold for a rare glimpse into a typical childhood in Myanmar. Listen to a selection of the country’s folktales narrated in both English and Burmese through an old-school radio which evokes a sense of nostalgia. Take home these stories by using childhood methods like frottage – rubbing a crayon on a blank piece of paper on the uneven surfaces of the woodcuts and stamping.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that the gold cushions here are shaped like the letters in the Burmese alphabet. Plus, the colour gold represents qualities like knowledge in Burmese culture so we reckon you'll leave enlightened.

By Song-Ming Ang (Singapore)

Partake a sonic experience that allows you to experiment with sounds using something far from your usual set of musical instruments – steel pipes. Strike the colourful makeshift musical instrument with balls to create a string of melodies. The vibrant formation of wind chimes might just make you the Mozart of steel pipes.

By Lorraine Tan and Eric Wong (Singapore)

Witness the story of Karung Guni Boy by local author Lorraine Tan come to life with life-sized installations like retro post boxes and a giant robot that the protagonist builds with the help of his imagination and creativity. Put on your ‘tinkering caps’ and have a go at constructing inventions out of recycled materials.

By Zainudin Samsuri (Singapore)

Come on board the sampan, fly away on a giant propeller to your dream destination or settle in a birdcage with a view of unlimited imagination. The installation is inspired by Malay proverbs, riddles and folklore, and the title translates to ‘row your boat’.

The installation is also topped off with the revamped Children's Museum which accommodates a Sculpture Studio and an interactive digital game where you can build and showcase a virtual sculpture.

Based on the late artist Liu Kang’s semi-abstract oil painting of the same name, the installation shines a spotlight on the joys of kampong life. Re-enact the painting by sitting under colourful trees, playing with a family of ducks, and enjoying traditional games like five stones and capteh by the river. Here's your chance to expose the kids of life during their grandparent's era.

From composing a new tune with steel pipes immersing yourself in Burmese culture, there's plenty of things to see, hear, touch and do for you and the little ones at Gallery's Children Biennale: Embracing Wonder.

Elevate your holistic experience by purchasing an Art Pack ($5) at dedicated vending machines on Basement 1 and Level 1 of the Gallery. Each set comprises illustrated activity cards and stickers, a stackable crayon and a name tag lanyard. Get your creative juice flowing and make a paper lantern, fold an origami boat, learn basic Burmese words and more with the children.

Gallery Children's Biennale 2019: Embracing Wonder is free for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents, General Admission is priced from $15