Singapore 2013 Series: Singapore Art Museum

I was quite lucky because the week when I was in the Lion City also happened to be the Singapore Art Week. It was a week filled with visual art events from left and right, Singapore was practically buzzing with excitement. Although I wasn't able to catch everything, especially the paid ones (haha), I am pretty satisfied with the ones I saw. One of the places I was able to visit is the Singapore Art Museum or SAM in Bras Basah Road. 

A little flashback before I continue. When the Cheese and I were on Singapore last February 2012, a melting Superman met us in front of SAM.

Fast-forward to January of 2013. A new installation artwork, designed by Gerald Leow, inspired by the famous Greek statue Laocoön and His Sons will welcome you.

Snakes by Gerald Leow

Entrance fee was waived that day as SAM participated in the week-long art week events. Yay!

My mobile snapshot of lower right painting does not give justice at all to its beauty because it absolutely is. It was so simple yet mesmerizing. My friend Ten and I both fell in love with it!

Photography inside the museum shop is not permitted which, obviously, I found out too late because I was able to catch a quick snap of these notebooks with witty statements.

After taking in the sights inside the main building, we walked a bit and crossed the road to get to SAM at 8Q, an extension of the Singapore Art Museum. There's a bit of trivia on how Sam at 8Q got its name. The more obvious one is its location. It is located at No. 8 Queen Street near Bras Basah Road. As for the not so obvious one, it is said that SAM at 8Q is roughly 88 steps away from from its mothership SAM. I don't know about you but I find that really cool!

A close-up of above's art. Akala ko nung una spaghetti with lots of cheese art hahaha!

Wall doodles as seen on the stairs leading to more arts.

I'm gonna have a bit of bias here when I say that I liked this installation mainly because it was by a Filipino artist named Leslie de Chavez. Reprezent!

Governators by Leslie de Chavez

Thank you Singapore Art Museum for a lovely and stimulating afternoon. I had so much fun! I can't stress it enough, Manila need more museums, museums with nominal fees easily accessible to the public.

Spent My 29th Name Day at The Mind Museum

Since I wasn't near anywhere fun on my birthday, I bought one for myself (ano raw? labo!). Hindi na ko nagpatumpik-tumpik pa after seeing/reading about The Mind Museum sale in my email, I immediately bought two tickets for JC and I. Thank you Deal Grocer for that great deal! 

My birthday fell on a Saturday, which was really fitting for a trip to the museum. God knows I love museums. We took the train to Ayala station then walked towards the The Fort bus terminal that would take us to BGC. We bought 2 tickets (12 pesos each) and hopped inside the West-route bus then alighted at the second bus stop, Net One as the driver bellowed. From there we walked a block until we got to the Mind Museum's entrance. I love commuting in The Fort area, it reminds me a lot of Singapore. Parang wala ka sa Pilipinas kasi in order ang lahat hehe.

I totally squealed when we got inside. Ang saya-saya lang! :))

These are some of the first few things that you will see when you get inside.

Then we crossed the bridge of light...

and wowed to what we saw on the other end. I just turned 29 that day but it felt like I was 6. Umm...

The star of the museum though is hands down, none other than, Stan the T-Rex. AMAZING lang talaga. This was the second T-Rex I saw this year but the first one I saw was made of Lego bricks. This one looks really legit.

Of course we had to make these faces. Closest Jurassic Park experience we'll ever get :))

Okay this static ball we kept coming back to was turned off when we got inside. Bubuksan daw muna ng guard pero ang tagal! Nakapanood na kami ng show at nakarating kay Stan the T-Rex tsaka lang sya nagbukas. But in fairness to Ate who took our photos, galing umanggulo at magpa-pose.

Meanwhile on the second floor are more cool things to tinker and ogle.

This is such a classic, JC's competitive side came out in a game of basketball. The kid he was playing against looked like 12-13 years old to me but it didn't stop him to smash the kid and be super proud of it. Unfortunately, the kid won on their second game at hindi nya matanggap ng slight hahahaha.

When we got to the butanding installation, I forgot that Stan the T-Rex was the star of this museum because personally, this one should be the star of the museum! Siguro dahil I came from Sorsogon and have already encountered them in Oslob so may hugot factor sa heart. Tsaka maganda talaga sya guys!!

We just can't get enough.

Here's an installation reminding us of main parts of our brains. Ano ang madalas na pinapagana mo?

Ooooh cells!

There's a museum shop outside and much as I want to buy a souvenir I can't. I really like the kids' shirt we saw! Di bale, dito naman ako nakatira sa Pilipinas and I can always come back kapag may budget na ko for souvenir[s]. (pampalubag-loob).

The park outside can automatically make a kid out of any adults. Kasi ganun ang naramdaman ko! Lahat pinakialaman namin lalo na yung human bubbles (I don't know what it's called though medyo fail sya samin kasi ayaw mabuo-buo!).

And these. I had fun kahit medyo kadiri yung tutubi up close.

In conclusion, isn't it obvious enough how I loved every minute I've spent inside The Mind Museum? Maybe because it was still fairly new or maybe because it's something different from the other museums we have in the metro. It's interactive and we all know what interactions can do to one's brain - it makes it even sharper! 

I can proudly say that The Mind Museum is at par with other international museums I've been to. Kudos to Ayala Property Management Corporation for bringing and maintaining this museum for all Filipinos to enjoy. I hope a few years from now they too will participate in the International Museum Day festivities. That's free entrance to anyone and everyone who wants to get inside para naman those people who can't afford the entrance fee can experience the joy and fun this museum has to offer.

Thanks pardner for spending the day with me, as if you have any other choice. Simpleng birthday lang pero rock :D Thank you Lord for another year, I can't wait to be 30!