Arts Picks: Substation’s Gathering Ground, Book? exhibition by Atelier Hoko, Swan Lake for kids
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The National Gallery Singapore’s Rotunda Library & Archive explores The Substation’s archives, which have been donated to the museum.
ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
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The Substation’s Gathering Ground 2024
Arts fans will be familiar with the adorable mural, with cartoon animals and dinosaurs, created by Singaporean illustrator Toh Bee Suan, also known as Almost Asthma, on The Substation’s wall in Armenian Street.
The mural, with the quotable slogan, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable”, is likely to disappear when the National Arts Council finally gets around to renovating the building. So The Substation is organising a crowdfunding drive to recreate it digitally. Donate any amount starting at $50 to unlock a creature online.
The drive is part of the organisation’s Gathering Ground series of pop-ups, which kicked off at Basheer Graphic Books on Oct 3 with a site-specific sound performance and installation by Sub+ Incubator Collabs artist Lynette Quek. Her installation will be on show at Basheer till Oct 31.
Despite losing its physical home, The Substation is striving to maintain its mission of artistic incubation and community building. Gathering Ground’s programme reflects this purpose, showcasing works by artists supported by the arts organisation.
Among the activations is a multisensory exhibition at the National Gallery Singapore’s Rotunda Library & Archive. It explores The Substation’s archives, which have been donated to the museum. Open End includes works by Singaporean composer Chong Li-Chuan, Singaporean visual artist Urich Lau and curator Adrian Tan, which respond to, and encourage interaction with, the archive.
Look out for Tan’s curator tours on Oct 4 and Nov 1 at 5pm. These are free with registration
Those who like hands-on experiences can check out the Sub 45 workshops, which range from cartooning classes to film-making workshops.
There is also a work-in-progress presentation by new theatre collective Static Metamorphosis at the National Library Building on Oct 29.
Where: Various locations www.substation.org/gathering-ground
MRT: Various
When: Till Nov 16
Admission: Free and ticketed
Info:
Book? exhibition by Atelier Hoko
Atelier Hoko’s Book? at the National Library building.
ST PHOTO: ONG SOR FERN
Independent research laboratory Atelier Hoko has put together this mostly charming, occasionally exasperating and unfortunately short-lived exhibition spread across five levels of the National Library Building.
The displays investigate the book as a physical artefact. It begins at the airy public atrium with Where The Wind Blows, which turns 250 used books into kinetic objects as their open pages are riffled by breezes. Visitors are then directed to the 10th floor, where the exhibition continues at the skybridges over four floors.
Bibliophiles will love the tactile nature of the show, which queries everything from the weight of a book to the texture of paper edges to the smell of books. Visitors are encouraged to pick up exemplars and there are quirky detours, such as a display dedicated to unusual things used as bookmarks and book weights.
Book devotees have long been aware of the intangible pleasures of holding the physical book in one’s hands. But Atelier Hoko’s systematic deconstruction of the elements of a book provokes thoughts about an object most take for granted.
By placing its materiality centre stage, Book? is an intriguing argument for the item’s enduring pleasures even in this digital age which threatens the paper book with extinction.
While the exhibition certainly has substance, the displays are designed with annoyingly unfriendly tics – ironic for an exhibition that is part of Singapore Design Week. White font on reflective panels and corrugated clear plastic make captions ridiculously hard to read. Designers really need to think about user experience when designing exhibition captions.
Despite the grouse, Book? is worth a trip down to catch it before it ends.
Where: National Library Building, 100 Victoria Street str.sg/Ji4Xu
MRT: Bugis
When: Till Oct 6, 10am to 9pm daily
Admission: Free
Info:
Introduction To Swan Lake
The Singapore Ballet’s Dance Appreciation series will present excerpts from Swan Lake.
PHOTO: BERNIE NG
Parents looking to introduce their children to ballet can check out this show at the Esplanade Theatre.
The Singapore Ballet is presenting excerpts from the classic Swan Lake ballet, which tells the tragic love story of Prince Siegfried and Princess Odette, who is cursed to turn into a swan.
After the performance, audiences can meet the cast for autographs and photo-taking.
This is part of the company’s Dance Appreciation series, created in collaboration with the Esplanade, which is aimed at young children – hence the compact hour-long runtime without intermission. The series runs twice a year and is themed after the company’s main season offerings.
Where: Esplanade Theatre, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, 1 Esplanade Drive str.sg/aSKp
MRT: Esplanade
When: Oct 5, 2 and 5pm
Admission: $22
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