National Gallery Singapore’s Keppel Centre for Art Education will reopen in December 2023, with seven new child-friendly learning zones, family-oriented programmes and compelling workshops that will revolve around the theme of Art and wonder. In 2015 the center was opened and is located on the first floor of the museum and is the foremost dedicated art education facility of its kind in Singapore and the province. It has also won the Children in Museums Award in 2018, an initiative of the European Museum Academy and is involved in the International Association of Children in Museums.
From December 16, the revitalised centre will feature seven special learning zones appropriate for children aged 4 to 12. These immersive spaces will host workshops catered to igniting the imagination of children expecting to nurture their critical thinking and visual literacy skills. Through these exercises, the children will be exposed to seven different aspects of art: space, form, colour, texture, line, shape and value.
The space also includes wheelchair-friendly furniture and learning stations of diverse sizes to ensure inclusivity and accessibility within the space. "The Keppel Centre for Art Education has always aimed to engage children in learning through play and cultivating a museum-going audience from a young age. Along with our other child-centric programmes such as the Gallery Children’s Biennale, the refreshed Centre demonstrates the Gallery’s efforts in preparing our young for a future where critical and creative thinking are necessary Competencies", says Ms Chong Siak Ching, the Gallery’s Chief Executive Officer.
