Singapore Art Museum.

When one thinks of art in Singapore, the most likely place thought of would be the Singapore Art Museum
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Forget all your previous preconceptions on the lack of Singapore's art. The Singapore Art Museum will surely blow your mind!

Firstly, directions. For those of you itching to know how to get there, this is for you.

By bus :

SBS 7, 14, 16, 36, 111, 131, 162, 175, 502, 518

SMRT 77, 167, 171, 700

By MRT :

2-minute walk from Bras Basah MRT station. (Circle line)

10-minute walk from Dhoby Ghaut, Bugis or City Hall MRT stations. (Red & Green line)

Address :

71 Bras Basah Rd
Singapore 189555

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Now, for those of you whom still require more reasons to use those directions, please read on.

A few days ago, we made a trip down to SAM to enable us to give you a proper review on the place. Please take a look. :)

Resting in what use to be St. Joseph's Institution, SAM has about 108,000 sq feet of space devoted to Asian art. Did you know that this is the LARGEST public collection of modern and contemporary Asian Art in the world? There are approximately 16 galleries showcasing them. Also, in addition to the exhibits of pieces from the permanent collection, the museum also offers special exhibits.

During our trip there, they were featuring an artist, innovator and pioneer by the name of Cheong Soo Pieng. His work is fantastic and unique. Of course, this exhibit is of a limited time and is a special feature, so as a result we were unable to take pictures. However, if you will be in Singapore from 15Sept - 26Dec 2010, you will be able to catch it. Please do.

For the more permanent pieces, they included artists such as Natee Utarit(our personal favourite), Vincent Leow, Manit Sriwanichpoom, and many others. All of which are extremely wonderful and worth the visit. Each of the artists have their own gallery.

Not only are there marvelous works of art for you to see at the Singapore Art Museum, the structure and design of the building is also a great sight. If you appreciate architecture, you will be sure to love SAM. Don't forget about the gift shop available. There are also eateries such as Dome Cafe, Food For Thought, and some others.

Not forgetting the Glass Hall. If you are a keen fan of art and would like to hold your wedding at a museum, SAM is the place! The Glass Hall is the place to hold events such as as wedding party or birthday party. With beautiful decorations, it will sure be the wedding of your dreams! 

Please take a look at this slideshow of photos that we have compiled.

As for admission prices, $10 for adults and $5 for students.

Last admission is at 6:15pm, and there is free admission on Fridays, 6pm-9pm.

There are also guided tours. Visit the SAM website for more details.

I shall stop here and not spoil the surprise for you.

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for our next post! :)

Esplanade.

With a beautiful facade shaped like a durian, you may start to wonder, will the interior be just as appealing? Well, you will find out about it in this post. :)

Before we begin this post, the important thing is, how to get to Esplanade?

By bus :

SBS 36, 56, 70M, 97,111, 133, 162M, 195, 502, 531, 1N, 2N, 3N, 4N, 5N, 6N, 75, 77, 106, 700A, 857, 960, 961, NR1, NR2, NR5, NR6, NR7, NR8.

By MRT  (link) :

A few minutes walk from City Hall (red and green line) MRT station.
A few minutes walk from Esplanade MRT station (circle line).

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A trip was made to Esplanade few days ago so that we're able to give a first-hand account on it.

There are many facilities and events in Esplanade, and the main ones are stated below.

Open Stage.

Performances will be held once in awhile (usually piano and singing) and are free for all to view. You will be able to sit on the sofas provided in front of the platform and enjoy the performances, without any time limit! And the best part is that, it's free to watch the performances.

Library.

There is a huge array of books on Arts; from the history of arts, to modern art. There are 4 categories of books in the library, music, dance, theatre and film, and the books are organised neatly on the shelves based on the different genres. The computers in the library also serve as a useful platform to locate the book that you're searching for.

There are a few LCD screens in the library, that plays inspirational videos on real life experiences, regarding music and art. And not to forget, there is also a cafe in the library. Hence, when you're hungry, you do not have to go all the way downstairs just to grab some food. You can eat at the cafe while you're reading. The light ambience in the library will put you in a calm mood. :)

Roof Terrace.

It is situated at the highest level of Esplanade. It offers a breathtaking view of the city, and is landscaped with manicured lawns and small shade trees. There are ample seating areas to relax or have a light picnic and it is a nice place to take photos at.

You can unwind yourself from a tiring day from all the travelling and admire what nature has for you at the roof terrace. The view is exceptionally nice when the sun is about to set. The skyscrapers around the vicinity further beautifies the area. You will be able to see two of the newest attractions in Singapore (Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands) from the roof terrace.

Other facilities.

There is an outdoor theatre, a 1600-seat concert hall, a 2000-seat theatre, a recital studio and a theatre studio with excellent lighting, staging and sound systems. Orchestral and choral concerts, dance and musical performances, operas and dramas, film screenings and jazz concerts are hosted in these venues.

It costs about SGD $100 to $300 to watch these performances, depending on the seatings and the type of performances that you would like to watch.

You can find out more about these facilities or take a look at the images of them in this website (link).

Events.

Apart from having a wide variety or Art, the activities and events organised are multi-racial too. The highlights of every week will be different sometimes. For example, the last week of October will be a celebration of malay music, theatre and dance, while the last week of November will be a celebration of Indian festival or arts (Kalaa Utsavam).

There is also an event called "A date with friends" to pay tribute to senior citizens with good times and sentimental favourites. This brings out the unique characteristic of Singapore as a country with rich ethnic and cultural heritage.
            
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Esplanade is about 10 minutes walk from Singapore River. Singapore is usually associated with its fitting symbol, the Merlion (a half-fish, half-lion beast) which was created in 1964. At Singapore River, there is a huge statue of the Merlion, which is one of the popular attractions in Singapore.

Please take a look at the video below, which displays the photos taken at Esplanade.



Esplanade is indeed a place worth visiting! Stay tuned for our next post! :)


Reference Links:

http://www.esplanade.com/index.jsp