Arts Picks: Meet author Tash Aw, Singapore Children’s Book Festival, ‘art zoo’ for kids

Book Talk with Tash Aw

Get a chance to hear from celebrated Man Booker Prize-longlisted Malaysian author Tash Aw, who will discuss his latest book The South – the first of four novels that follow a Malaysian family through the decades.

The semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novel is set on a farm in the south of Johor, where a powerful bond is forged between two boys during the Asian financial crisis. In an interview with The Straits Times, Aw

talked about reinventing the epic

, saying: “I want to question what the epic form involves, whether it could be made to feel more fragmented and intimate.”

Aw is the author of The Harmony Silk Factory (2005), Map Of The Invisible World (2009), Five Star Billionaire (2013) and We, The Survivors (2019). The event is hosted by Singaporean author Jemimah Wei, whose

debut novel The Original Daughter

has spent five weeks on The Straits Times’ bestseller list.

Registration is free, but tickets are limited. Audience members will get a chance to ask questions and have their books signed by Aw.

Where: 72-13, Home of T:>Works, 72 Mohamed Sultan Road
MRT: Fort Canning
When: June 24, 7.30 to 9pm
Admission: Free
Info:

tashaw-thesouth.peatix.com

Singapore Children’s Book Festival 2025

Families can look forward to 12 workshops for children at the second edition of the Singapore Children’s Book Festival, which runs from June 20 to 22. Singaporean authors and illustrators are the focus of this edition.

Create a colourful sushi roll bento with coloured clay or invent your own interactive spinning toy with a variety of materials. Two new children’s picture books – Sly The Fly And The Flurry Of Flu and Nasi Lemak Emak – will also be launched by recipients of the Student Illustrator Book Prize in 2024.

Parents, as well as children’s book writers and illustrators, can look forward to a line-up of panels on some of the most-talked-about topics in the industry, from bilingualism to diversity in children’s book publishing.

Works by two of Singapore’s pioneer illustrators will also be on display. They are by Idris Mohamed Ali – a senior watercolourist of local street scenes – and the late Kwan Shan Mei, who received Singapore Book Council’s inaugural Book Award in 1976 for children’s books.

The festival is organised by the Singapore Book Publishers Association and Nafa, University of the Arts Singapore.

Where: Fashion Gallery, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Campus 2, 38 Bencoolen Street
MRT: Rochor
When: June 20 to 22, various timings
Admission: Various prices for panels and workshops
Info:

scbf.sg

Wonders Of Nature at New Art Museum Singapore

If you are looking for an unconventional art experience for children this June holidays, try New Art Museum Singapore’s latest exhibition on the marvels of the natural world, as seen through the eyes of Japanese and Singaporean artists.

Young art lovers will be charmed by artist Osamu Watanabe’s saccharine animal creations – think a gorilla or goldfish made of fake cream, sweets and confections. Brought up by a mother who was a confectionery teacher, the artist creates works that are actually made of resin but look good enough to eat.

Artist Yuji Kanamaru’s larger-than-life visions of fauna made on burlap and newspaper fragments will give your child a sense of wonder. Polka-dot princess Yayoi Kusama’s work is also on display in a room that includes a digital game created by artist Jesse Franklin, which invites visitors into a surreal botanic world.

After trying to keep your children’s hands off the art throughout the exhibition, it is time for them to dive into the Canyon Of Cuddles by Singaporean artist Jackson Tan. These towering inflatable cacti hide a fun ball pit and there are prizes to be won if you follow the instructions around the playground.

The exhibition is curated by Warren Wee, who splits his time between Tokyo and Singapore. Wee, who has a two-year-old daughter, wants young audiences’ experience of the exhibition to be like entering the zoo for the first time.

If you have time, pop next door to the exhibition Happy Together: Visions Of Gladness From South-east Asia at Whitestone Gallery. There is unexpected synchrony with the red room of Singaporean artist Kumari Nahappan’s large-scale and humorous chilli pepper sculptures, whose stalks turn into unexpected items like fans and a gramophone horn.

Where: New Art Museum Singapore, 05-03/06 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road
MRT: Tanjong Pagar
When: Till Oct 5, 11am to 7pm; closed on Mondays and public holidays
Admission: $18; free for children below seven and seniors above 60
Info:

str.sg/9Gyj