National Museum of Singapore opens ‘digital gallery’

Visitors look at a digital animation installation of virtual landscape exhibited at Singapore's National Museum during a preview on December 6, 2016. The 'Story of the Forest' installation by Japanese digital art collective teamLab brings to life 69 drawings from the National Museum's William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings and will be open to public viewing on December 10. / AFP PHOTO / Roslan RAHMAN / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION

A new space exploring the relationship between art and digital technology opened this week at the National Gallery of Singapore with a first installation that presents Singapore's traditional performing arts via new technology. 

Gallery10 is equipped with projection technology that allows artists to present immersive, multidisciplinary works.  

The first art installation to be shown in the new space is "Art of the Rehearsal," a permanent showcase by artist Sarah Choo Jing in collaboration with cinematographer Jeffrey Ang. 

The three-channel immersive video installation allows visitors to view dancers of different ethnicities rehearse along the back lanes of the city's cultural districts, emphasising the determination of the performers and their rigorous and intense training. 

The project aims to bring Singapore's traditional arts to younger audiences and to preserve them using modern technology. Visitors have the chance to engage in the arts in ways meant to inspire creativity and belonging. 

"The role of the museum has changed over the years, expanding its focus beyond presenting things of the past to include creating a connection with the present. Gallery10 is a space that provides us with the opportunity to do just that and more," said Angelita Teo, Director of the National Museum of Singapore. 

A visitor taking a photograph of the 'Story of the Forest' installation, a digitally animated projection installation, in Singapore's National Museum. — AFP

Gallery10 – which is now open to the public – is to host several upcoming projects and collaborations, details of which have yet to be announced. 

News of the new gallery follows on from the museum's launch late last year of an interactive digital installation showcasing the sights and sounds of the tropical rainforests of South-East Asia. 

After re-opening its permanent galleries a year earlier, the museum revealed its revamped Glass Rotunda with "Story of the Forest," which transforms nearly 70 natural history drawings into animated illustrations that fill the ceilings and walls of the massive rotunda. — AFP Relaxnews