EXHIBITIONS
TANJONG PAGAR DISTRIPARK
39 Keppel Road is now the go-to for visual arts fans. You can spend a nice afternoon puttering between different shows at the gallery spaces clustered in this one industrial building.
Artspace @ Helutrans is now hosting Terra Incognita: The Alt-Show, organised by recent graduates of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. The show features works by 15 alumni members and their youth is evident in the patchy feel.
A standout, however, is Balada Wanita Melayu Terakhir (Ballad Of The Last Malay Woman) by Alya Rahmat, a beautifully detailed hanging that employs the traditional - with its use of batik waxing and the gunungan motif from Javanese wayang kulit puppetry - to express contemporary themes. There is also a nice touch of snarky humour in it.
The Singapore Art Museum's new space is hosting two shows - Superfluous Things and Lonely Vectors - in the galleries. Families will enjoy the kids' activity room inspired by Superfluous Things, which gives children a chance to build and draw little paper towers and constructions.
Dioramas For Tanjong Rimau includes four structures, each equipped with a hand crank that visitors can turn to produce the sounds of the demung (a gamelan instrument) as mallets hit bamboo slabs. This detailed installation also has a lonely extension on level five, another bamboo music house driven by wind power.
Beware that this can be better reached by the stairs, which means climbing the equivalent of 10 storeys as the floors in the building are of double height. You can attempt using the lifts, but the display is in a corridor behind various other spaces, which might be hard to access.
If your stamina has not flagged after three shows, pop over to Gajah Gallery on the third floor. The general display offers some beautiful pieces by Singaporean artists. Suzann Victor's Rising Moon and Han Sai Por's Sprouting are instantly commanding.
Those who missed the solo show by photographer Siew Kee Liong in May can see a few pieces here. Objects (I): Plate is especially eye-catching, a boldly oversized triptych print mounted unusually on wood.
By the time you make it through all that, you can reward yourself with a cuppa at the new Epigram Coffee Bookshop on the ground floor.
WHERE: 39 Keppel Road, Artspace @ Helutrans, 01-05; SAM @ Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 01-02; Gajah Gallery, 03-04 WHEN: Terra Incognita is on till Wednesday, 11am to 6pm daily; Lonely Vectors till Sept 4, Superfluous Things till Aug 14, 10am to 7pm daily; Gajah Gallery till July 11, weekdays, 11am to 7pm, weekends and public holidays, noon to 6pm MRT: Tanjong Pagar ADMISSION: Free INFO: str.sg/wuVB (Gajah Gallery) and str.sg/wuV2 (Singapore Art Museum)
POETRY
GIBRAN: AN EVENING OF SOUL-STIRRING WISDOM
This promises to be an evening of quiet beauty, showcasing the work of poet Kahlil Gibran.
Veteran performer Remesh Panicker, whose warm baritone is instantly recognisable to many, will read the words. He also conceptualised this show.
Musician Azrin Abdullah, president of Oudists Association of Singapore, will accompany him on the Arabian oud.
Get ready for an aural tour of the Middle East.
WHERE: Avai @ Apsaras Arts, 01-24 Block D Goodman Arts Centre, 90 Goodman Road WHEN: Till tomorrow, 7.30pm MRT: Mountbatten ADMISSION: $25 to $40 INFO: gibran.peatix.com
