Museum operations may be affected by a testing of the fire protection system at Tanjong Pagar Distripark on Saturday, 17 May 2025, from 8.30am–1pm. Click here to learn more.
Museum operations may be affected by a testing of the fire protection system at Tanjong Pagar Distripark on Saturday, 17 May 2025, from 8.30am–1pm. Click here to learn more.
The SAM Touch Collection is an initiative to extend the contemporary art experience to audiences of all backgrounds and abilities. A portable and interactive collection of artwork adaptations, the SAM Touch Collection is specifically developed to travel and engage with the visually-impaired community.
The works in the SAM Touch Collection are based on artworks by Singaporean artists in the museum’s collection, especially those which relate to historical, cultural and social aspects of Singapore. To cater to the needs of the visually-impaired community, the artwork adaptations are accompanied by supplementary resources and materials, such as audio guides and reproductions of finer artwork details to enhance interaction and understanding.
Ever wondered what it would feel like to get up close and personal with an artwork? Prepare to have your engage all your senses at the Singapore Art Museum as we invite you to discover contemporary art with our tactile collection.
In this 90-minute workshop, participants will get to know more about SAM and contemporary art, play games and be introduced to one work from the SAM Touch Collection. Not only will participants get to observe and handle the artwork, but they will also be encouraged to share their thoughts and discuss the themes expressed in the artwork adaptation. All participants will also have a chance to get creative and make their own masterpiece!
The programme is specially designed for the following audience groups for ages 6 years and up:
Children/students with mild intellectual, developmental or learning disabilities
Persons with visual impairment
Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community
Participants will have the opportunity to experience one artwork in the workshop:
Based on the profile of your group, the SAM Access team will recommend the workshop and artwork.
Workshop Details When: Mondays, Wednesdays or Thursdays, 10.30am–12pm Duration: 1.5 hours Price: Workshops are complimentary. Groups will have to make their own transport arrangements to SAM @ TPD. Capacity: Estimated 10–15 participants per session depending on the support needs. Caregivers, therapists, parents, teachers or siblings are welcome to join in the session as an opportunity for bonding. Based on the group’s profile, the ideal group size will be discussed with the facilitators.
This workshop is designed for participants who are able to:
Engage in simple discussion where they may share their observations about the artwork or express their own preferences (eg. colour).
Follow simple instructions to use materials (eg. paper, paint, recycled materials, clay) to create their own artwork individually or in a group with some assistance from the facilitator and caregiver.
Share ideas about their own artwork creation to the wider group
Adapted from: Utama’s Cat
2015
Wood and mild steel
224 x 195 x 100 cm (internal); 350 x 215 x 169 cm (external)
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
For this adaptation of Utama’s Cat, artist David Chan recreated the sculpture in plastic and added a prop made of different types of hardwood samples to simulate the feel of the original material used for the lion. The original artwork, Utama’s Cat, was commissioned by the Singapore Art Museum with a grant from National Arts Council, Singapore, and originally displayed at the front lawn of the museum during Art Week 2015.
Watch to learn more about this SAM Touch Collection adaptation here:
David Chan (b. 1979, Singapore) creates realistic works that often feature subjects such as animals, humans and animal/human hybrids. Though they might seem comical and bewildering at first glance, Chan’s paintings and sculptures present social commentary on key issues, such as popular culture, genetic engineering, and human behaviour.
East & West
East & West consists of various 3D printed symbols that were featured on figurines in the original artwork of the same name, commissioned as part of the Singapore Art Show 2009. It comprises a small army of terracotta warriors adorned with headphones, inviting reflection on how the rules of social order are drummed into us from young.
Watch to learn more about this SAM Touch Collection work here:
Justin Lee (b. 1963, Singapore) creates works which are witty yet thoughtful, combining traditional Eastern imagery with Western iconography. He uses pop art as a medium to playfully contrast Asian values against 21st century consumerism in an era dominated by capitalism.
Adaptation of 'An Other Space Within the House II Scenes I & II'
Adapted from: An Other Space Within the House II Scenes I & II 2010
Digital print on archival rag paper, edition 1/5
70 x 105 cm
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
For this adaptation of An Other Space Within the House II Scenes I & II, artist Tang Ling Nah reimagined a drawing installation as a physical architectural model that can be detached and re-assembled. It comprises six rooms—each in the form of a cube. The various placements of these cubes echoes Tang’s creation process: deconstructing original transitional spaces in a building and reconstructing them to form a new space.
The original artwork, An Other Space Within the House is a drawing installation that was made during Tang’s two-month residency at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2010.
Watch to learn more about this SAM Touch Collection adaptation here:
Tang Ling Nah’s (b. 1971, Singapore) works are inspired by urban spaces in Singapore, such as the public housing’s void decks, alleys, shopping malls and Mass Rapid Transit stations. Tang has found it important to use a very basic implement (particularly charcoal) and support (paper and/or the wall) to explore buildings and spaces as communicators of stories about human life.
just a tiny part of you is all I need
Adapted from: Here’s Who I Am, I Am What You See 2015
Artist’s dead skin
Various dimensions
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
This Touch adaptation, just a tiny part of you is all I need, comprises of a set of six flowers made of leather and faux leather in acrylic jars. The original artwork, Here’s Who I Am, I Am What You See, is a set of soft flowers made from the artist’s dead skin. Ezzam Rahman used this material to explore ideas about the meaning of life and what it means for something to have value. This material also conveys the idea of pain and beauty, and how things must come into being, leave and then finally end.
Watch to learn more about this SAM Touch Collection adaptation here:
Ezzam Rahman (b. 1981, Singapore) is well known for his use of common yet unique materials such as human skin in his art. As a performance artist, Ezzam has performed both regionally and internationally, and received numerous awards, including Singapore Art Museum’s People’s Choice Award in 2015 and National Art Council Singapore’s Young Artist Award in 2016.
Adaptation of 'Raising Spirits and Restoring Souls'
Adapted from: Raising Spirits and Restoring Souls 2015
Installation manual, copper pipes (modular), set of solenoids, set of e-bows, amplifiers, and sound files (midi format)
Configured for two walls measuring 6m (L), and 3m (H)
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
This Touch adaptation is an easily portable version of Raising Spirits and Restoring Souls, which was commissioned by the Singapore Art Museum for its SG50 exhibition, 5 Stars: Art Reflects on Peace, Justice, Equality, Democracy and Progress. The sound installation is a commentary on progress, one of the key values represented by the stars in the Singapore flag, and is made with the same materials as the original artwork.
Watch to learn more about this SAM Touch Collection adaptation here:
Zulkifle Mahmod (b. 1975, Singapore) is at the forefront of sound-media art in Singapore. He adopts a multi-disciplinary and multi-genre approach in his art that includes drawings, prints, sculptures and ready-made objects.
3 in ONE
Adapted from: Trinity 2004
Acrylic on canvas
145 x 158 cm
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
For this adaptation of Trinity, artist Kumari Nahappan explores the concepts of numbers and states of being as they relate to geometry through a series of triangles. She created a set of three equilateral triangles and three broken triangles made up of different angles. Here, the symbol of the broken triangle is abstract depending on its position in the work. The original artwork, Trinity, is a painting inspired by sacred geometry, a concept that is present in many religions.
Watch to learn more about this SAM Touch Collection adaptation here:
Kumari Nahappan’s (b. 1953, Malaysia) practice encompasses a wide range of genres, from painting to sculpture and installations. Her works have a distinctive visual identity shaped by her cultural roots and beliefs. Her public art sculptures can be seen around Singapore, at the National Museum of Singapore, Changi Airport and ION Orchard.
Looper Trouper
Adapted from: Conducting Memories
2013
Interactive sound installation
Various Dimensions
Collection of Singapore Art Museum
The Touch adaptation Looper Trouper is a portable, battery-operated interactive sound player with 16 braille buttons. When pressed, the buttons trigger sounds of everyday life in Singapore and samples of drumbeats. The player was created with the visually impaired community in mind as sound plays a vital role in their daily lives, replacing visual cues as a communication tool. Participants can take the opportunity to reinvent the mundane and compose their own unique soundtracks.
The original artwork, Conducting Memories, is an interactive sound installation featuring a selection of 64 sounds that characterise everyday life in Singapore from the past and present.
Watch to learn more about this SAM Touch Collection adaptation here:
anGie seah (b. 1979, Singapore) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans an eclectic range of genres, including drawing, performance art and her signature use of sound. Seah’s work, renowned for its interactive and quixotic qualities, explores the intertwining of human nature with the social environment.
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