5 Art Galleries @ Tanjong Pagar Distripark

 

It unbelieveable that there are art galleries in there, right? Due to the media blast on the art galleries in The Straits Times, I decided to check out the place.

Erm... not much of a gallery look.... The Tanjong Pagar Distripark is afterall a warehouse. When i first arrived, i couldn't make head or tail where the entrance to the building was and where i could find the passengers lifts. all i could see was the loading and unloading bay for trucks and huge cargo lifts. when i got up to the 2nd level where the galleries are located, i saw these weird small doors that were opaque and looked like entrances to offices, not art galleries.

But........... ta-dah!

It's kinda magical when you open the doors and see the vast white spaces behind the door that is filled with all those colours and images. i like it. amazing contrast! the art pieces that are showcased are also quite different from the usual galleries and the art museum. They showcase emerging artists instead of established ones. One of the galleries displays Australian indigenous art and they're quite intriguing... the aboriginal Dreaming sort of thing... overall, the galleries feel friendly to visitors.

Yup, so go check out the 5 galleries in the Tanjong Pagar Distripark. I think they change their exhibits quite often so it's a place you can revisit. Here are their details:

• Fortune Cookie Projects
  #02-04, ARTSPACE@Helutrans Block 39 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road Singapore. Exhibitions are stages on an ad-hoc basis, check their website for schedules. http://www.fortunecookieprojects.com/
  
• ReDot Fine Art Gallery
  #02-06, ARTSPACE@Helutrans Block 39 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road Singapore. Tel: +65 6222 1039. Opens Tuesday to Saturday, from noon to 7pm. www.redotgallery.com
  
• L2 Space
  02-02, Block 39 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road Singapore. Tel: +65 6226 3367 / +65 8223 7667. Open on Wednesday to Saturday from noon to 7pm, and Sunday from noon to 5pm. l2space.com.sg
  
• Valentine Willie Fine Art
  #02-04, ARTSPACE@Helutrans Block 39 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road Singapore. Tel: +65 8133 1760.Opens Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm, and Sunday from 11am to 3pm. Closed on Monday and public holiday. http://www.vwfa.net/
• Galerie Waterton
  #02-01, Block 39 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road Singapore. Tel: +65 9783 2144. Opens Thu-Fri 1pm - 7pm, Sat-Sun 10am - 7pm or by appointment. www.galeriewaterton.com

And here's an article with more background on the galleries.

All the galleries are on the second level.

If you're working Mon to Fri, Sat should be a good day to visit. I advise against Sun as the pedestrian gate between Block 1 and 2 of the distripark is not opened. You probably have to access the distripark through the Keppel workshop entrance which is at the far end of the compound nearer to block 2. you will have to cut through its motorcycle carpark gate which... i'm not sure if it's gonna be opened or not. Call the galleries for more info if you really need to go on Sun.


How to get there?

Refer to this map.

Public Transport

The Tanjong Pagar Distripark is not next to any MRT station and you can only access by bus 10, 30, 57, 80, 97, 100, 131, 145.

If you don't have a direct bus to the place, you can take the MRT to either Tanjong Pagar (East-west line) or Harbourfront (North-east line) and transfer to a bus.

If arriving via Tanjong Pagar MRT, find the bus stop in front of Amara Hotel. There's bus 80 or 145 which will bring you right in front of the distripark.

If you're arriving via Harbourfront MRT, all buses stated above are available. Alight at the railway station and cross the road. Practise road safety as the traffic can be quite heavy since this is downtown.

Motorists

Motorists can consider parking at the railway station.



Cheers!

Through my 66-year-old father's eyes

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

My father retired briefly for 3mths after 50 years of working. During the time he stopped work, I gave him a camera to play with. He would take photos of where he went to and we would talk about it.

I wonder what he was thinking when he took the pictures. He would just say "don't know. just want to shoot that. don't ask so much. nice?"

Stunning Sunset

Work can be tiring but life is a miracle and I want to focus on that. Sometimes our souls can be rewarded if we just take note of what is around us. This image is not digitally enhanced. The view was exactly what the picture shows. It was 7++ in the evening. I just got back from work and it was turning dark. But at the horizon, a stunning streak of light cut across the sky. The contrast between the light and the dark was captivating. I haven't seen such a scenery since I lived here!

Robinson Road

I haven't passed by Robinson Road in years perhaps. Was surprised to find constructions going on in the area. It seems that the government is building a overpass for that area.

Note the horizontal concrete structure stretching left to right in mid-air, in the centre of the picture.

One of the entrance to the overpass.

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique

If you are sick of the hustle and bustle of city and working life, you can check out the TWG Tea Salon & Boutique located at Republic Plaza.

(apologies for the lack of photos)

To get there, just follow the directions in the MRT station towards Republic Plaza. Once you're there, take the escalator up to level 1 and walk out of the building. At a most unexpected place, you will find a transparent sensor door that is not much wider than a typical home entrance. A TWG Company logo is placed in the middle of it and through the glass, a flight of wooden stairs, warmed by the glowing lights, invites you to enter.

The entrance hinted that I was about to enter a very different place. It seem like a portal. I took a deep breath and stepped in.

I ascended the narrow and enclosed stairways and emerged at what seemed to be a mezzanine in the building. Cylindrical tea containers, whose shape reminded me of the old tin milk containers Dutch ladies carried, formed the "walls" of the mezzanine. All I could see, besides the containers, was the tall ceiling decorated with crystal chandeliers and elegant drapery. The huge contrast with the enclosed and humble stairway created an amazing experience. It much reminded me of the experience of entering the grand sistine chapel (but with a touch of warmth and homeliness;)

At the top of the stairs, I was greeted by the store owner who peep over the counter a metre or so away.

"Hi" he said, "how can I help you?"

'Er... I'm just here out of curiosity?"

"That's good." he smiled.

"Maybe I can have some tea?"

"Of course!"

He showed me to the waiter at the platform half a mezzanine up. I stepped up and... I thought I was in a restaurant in France:

The place was filled with perhaps less than twenty tables, all European styled wooden pieces; the chairs were upholstered with a luxurious layer of cushion and velvet-like textile; the tables were covered with pristine table cloths, delicate plates and utensils. Some French music was playing in the background. The tall windows were covered with translucent silver curtains and the place was warmed with glowing light from the chandeliers.

I was shown to a seat in the furthest corner of the place and given the menus - a tea menu and a meal menu.

Being my first time in such a tea place, the menus thoroughly confused me: the tea menu listed all the teas with codes at the side (which later I found out they represent the grade of the teas) whilst the meal menu described, in too much detail and too much French, the food and pastries they have.

I decided to have a tea set comprising of a choice of tea and pastry. Other than that, I was lost. Thus I asked the waiter for recommendations for choice of tea and pastry.

I was served Bain de Rose Tea (an exclusive blend based on first flush Deejarling) and the Singapore Delight tart (a wild berry cream tart which uses some vanilla tea base or something. FYI, the desserts and pastries all had something 'tea' in them). As the waiter poured the tea into the teacup, a gentle rose fragrance filled the place. It was pleasant.

I sat in the shop sipping tea, enjoying pastry and occassionally glancing out of the translucent curtains into the cityscape outside. That was the only reminder that I was actually still in Singapore and in reality.

All in all, the experience and quality of food there was great.

The waiters and waitresses were friendly and knowledgeable in tea; they did not hesitate to answer my endless questions about tea and oblige my weird request to open the tea pot. And, they taught me more than I asked.

I spent some half hour there and left smiling and relaxed.

I will definitely go back again some day.




For your information:

My tea set costed me $22.35:
$16 (original price) + $3 (surcharge) + 7% (GST) + 10% (service charge)
The surcharge was because the choice of tea is capped at $9.50 and Bain de Rose Tea costed $12.50. Therefore I had to pay the difference.


Here's the address if you want to go:

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique
9 Raffles Place, #01 - 22
Republic Plaza
Singapore 048619

Tel: +65 6538 1837
Fax: +65 6534 1837

Opening hours:
Monday-Friday, 10:00 am - 8:00 pm

Singapore Philatelic Museum or Stamps Museum

Singapore Philatelic Museum

Presenting... *drum roll... *chang chang

The Singapore Philatelic Museum!!

(click to enter official website)

*clap clap!

The free admission on Hari Raya provided incentive for me to finally explore this museum. (I was intrigued by the word 'philatelic' when I first heard of the museum. I had to check the dictionary before I knew what was inside!)

The museum is surprisingly eventful with 6 ongoing changing exhibitions -

1. “Beijing Olympic Games” stamp display (Olympics)
   
   
2. Dragons, Treasures and Masterpieces (China)
   
   
3. Grand Prix Stamps (F1)
   
   
4. Ode to Our Heroes (Singapore)
   
   
5. Journey through the Land of Lotus (Vietnam)
   
   
6. A Rat's Tale (Rats)

and...

5 permanent collection which serves to introduce you to various aspects of Philately and also some of Singapore's culture -

1. Orange Room - Introduction to Philately
   
   
2. Purple Room - Stamp Design and Printing Techniques
   
   
3. Green Room - Famous Stamp Collectors
   
   
4. Room of Rarities
   
   
5. Heritage Room

Looking through the various exhibits, I came to appreciate the value of stamps. This seemingly insignificant and small item can in fact tell us so much about culture and history all over the world. The visuals that appear on them is actually also a form of art that I had never thought about before!

okok, hurry.
I want to share with you some of the things I saw!

A Rat's Tale

A Rat's Tale

Exhibition that is a tribute to the year of rats.

Exhibition wall

One could tell that the organisers had put in great effort to bring each exhibition to life. For this one, they made use of rats running along the walls in the museum to generate interest. Some of them even gave directions to lead visitors like me to the exbition. Others like the ones shown above simply showed playing rats.

Favourite Children's Book Animals stamp from USA

There were so many stamps from around the world that depicted rats! Many used famous cartoon characters from children books or cartoon like the ones above. Others also include Mickey, Minnie and Jerry (from Tom&Jerry). Go see!

Cartoon stamps from The Netherlands

Loved all the cute cartoon stamps on exhibit. My goodness, super cute. Imagine them on your letters. Definitely would brighten up your day if you receive one of these. I want that powerpuff *BAM stamp!!

Boy playing Zodiac Wheel of Fortune

For parents, it is definitely alright to bring your children to the museum. There are many games station in the museum to ensure that your child is never bored.

Mysterious chops

Actually, I also saw a couple of kids will some special booklets. Can't seem to find any information on the SPM website. But apparently, stamp-chops like this one is hidden all over the museum. The kids can follows clues on the booklet to find and collect all the stamps from the chops!

Dragons, Treasures and Masterpieces

Dragons, Treasures and Masterpieces


Long vertical Chinese stamps


Socialist stamps

Interesting to see the same kind of art for posters and stamps during that period. Just smaller that's all.

More socialist stamps

The main point is not the Mao.

I thought it was cool that in Chinese stamps, it is already for words to occupy the entire stamp. There are no pictures. This is is not that stark. At least we can say its calligraphy. Look at the next one:

3 cents postage stamp stamped with 1 cent value

Purely words! Interesting...

Wall paintings on stamps

Some religious influences here.

Child playing 'match the stamp with its location'

Another one of those games station! He was so engrossed he didn't care if I was taking a photo of him.

Journey through the Land of the Lotus

Vietnamese lanterns

This Vietnamese exhibit can be found both on the ground floor and the first floor. The hanging lanterns reminded me of my Hoi An trip 3 years ago! Just couldn't resist taking a photograph of them.

Exhibits on the second level

This particular exhibit had a lot of cultural items on display besides postage stamp. If you want to know Vietnamese culture, you can come and take a look.

Vietnamese mask

Look at the colours and its expression. I particularly like the moustache man in the middle, haha.

Heritage Room

Mama shop decal at the entrance of the Heritage Room


Inside Heritage Room

I like the room because I am allowed to touch anything I want! The room seems to draw you into the setting with realistic life size background pictures and real objects like the chinese drum that the children can't resist playing with. So once in a while you might think that the lion dance troupe is in the room until you realised the tune is a bit off -_-

Trying on clogs

Clogs are spreaded across the floor. I was quite surprise when this parent immediately tried them on when he entered. I think he wanted to really get into the atmosphere and feel what's it like in the past. Its really nice that he could! Once again, I appreciate what the museum has done.

Boy exploring cabinets

Rather than placing facts after facts on flat panels, this cupboard placed either text on the outside door and pictures on the inside or visa versa. It evokes curiosity in people and made the facts interesting to find out.

Room of Rarities

All the old stuff are kept here. It is quite nostalgic to be inside.

Stamp booklet vending machine


Royal Mail Chute

Click on the picture to read the history. I found it interesting.

Singapore 1st Anniversary of Independence stamps


Mailbox

I wouldn't have known I could open the door had it not been for a playful boy. So I decided to post this.

Other interesting things

Record stamps (from Bhutan, I think)

There is an area that shows all the unique stamps that were made, for e.g. felt fabric ones, scented ones or ones with gold foil.

For this one, you can put it in a player to play folk music!! SO SO SO COOL!

F1 stamps

Harry Potter stamps!

Yeah! so if you want to go to the museum, take note that it will be closed on 5th and 6th Oct 2008 for upgrading purposes. Other than that, it opens

Monday : 1 pm - 7 pm
Tuesday to Sunday : 9 am - 7 pm

Admission is free if...

you are a Friends of Stamps member.
(remember to show your card!)

or

If it's New Year's Day, 2nd day of Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali, Christmas Day, National Day, and International Museum Day

And if not, admission charges are as follows:

$5.00 for Adult
$4.00 for Child (3-12 years)

And finally,

How to get there??

click here for map.

The museum is located on 23B Coleman Street. If you know where the Central Fire Station is, its easy to find your way there. It's just around the corner.

Car: I didn't see any carparks so it is advisable to park at Excelsior Hotel's or Penisular Shopping Centre's carpark.

Bus services: The nearest bus stop is just outside, in front of the Armenian Church. For that bus stop, you can take

(SBS Transit) 2, 12, 32, 33, 51, 62, 63, 80, 197
(SMRT) 61

Along the road, buses stop at alternate stops. So if you don't mind walking a little more, you could also stop outside the MICA building.

(SBS Transit) 124, 145, 147, 166, 174, 521
(SMRT) 190, 851

MRT: 10 minutes from City Hall or Clarke Quay station




If you have been to the museum, feel free to share your thoughts with us or send your photos to singaporeseeing @ gmail.com.

Morning Bus View

(Front view: morning pedestrians through perforated decal on glass)

It was 7 a.m. on friday. I was seated in the right front seat on the upper deck of the bus. As I looked out, I realised that my view of my surrounding was filtered by the effects on the windows. Outside, it was grey and cloudy in general but the warm rays of the sun were breaking that up from behind our trees and tall buildings.

(Front view: morning traffic through perforated decal on glass)

(Right view: traffic on the opposite side of the road through condensation on glass)

Effect created by freezing cold air-conditioning.

(Right view a while later: Traffic light beside bus)

Unique views only from the upper deck of a bus.

(Right view a while later: Student in car. Car on the school district area)

Singapore school zone characteristic scene in the morning.


Besides being unable to wake up, I like mornings:) The sun is rising, people are travelling to work and perhaps something exciting is about to happen. There's a feeling of hope in the mornings.


What interesting things do you see in the mornings? Send in your photos with your name and description to singaporeseeing @ gmail.com