Promoting Education
Celebrating arts for all
December 2015
As part of the National Gallery Singapore’s opening celebrations, the Keppel Centre for Art Education (the Centre) welcomed visits by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (PM Lee) and President Tony Tan Keng Yam. The Gallery is Singapore’s newest visual arts museum housed in the refurbished former Supreme Court and City Hall buildings.
The Centre was established with a $12 million contribution from Keppel Corporation and aims to nurture generations of creative and critical thinkers through art education. Located on the ground floor of the City Hall wing, it is the region’s first art education facility specially designed to expose young visitors to the arts.
PM Lee toured the Centre on 23 November 2015, a day before the Gallery opened its doors to the public. In his opening speech, PM Lee thanked Dr Lee Boon Yang, Chairman of Keppel Corporation and former Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, for advocating the creation of the Gallery.
“He convinced us that we did have the collections, we did have the heritage, we could build it up and we needed this. I’m glad he succeeded in persuading us, and we are now here. I am very glad that even now in a different capacity, as Chairman of Keppel, Dr Lee continues to support the arts, with Keppel’s generous donation to the Gallery.
“The Gallery will not just be for art aficionados, but will be for everyone, including families and children. The Keppel Centre for Art Education is designed to engage our young visitors and their families. I had a quick walkthrough just now and I highly recommend it. You will enjoy it twice as much with your grandchildren but you will also enjoy it a lot, even by yourself,” said PM Lee.
President Tan visited the Centre on 27 November 2015 as part of the launch of the Gallery’s Art Carnival. In addition to trying out art activities at the Centre, President Tan met Keppel Volunteers trained under the ‘Best Friends of the Gallery’ programme, who have been helping to facilitate activities at the Centre since October 2015.