The ArtScience Museum

Such an interesting name for a museum, you don't usually see Art and Science combined under the same roof. In their own words they are  "a museum that celebrates creativity  - the process at the heart of art and science" and well, you can't really argue with that.

First of all I have to talk about the building. One of the iconic sights in the Marina Bay area, it reminds me of a big hand opened up skyward. According to Wikipedia it is supposed to be reminiscent of a lotus flower and perhaps the pond below it full of floating flowers supports this. However, it also says it is referred to as the 'welcoming hand of Singapore' so I guess I'm not the only one who see's a hand. When in the upper gallery inside one of the 'fingers' the curved walls lead up to the skylight windows allowing natural light to flood in. Not just pleasing to the eye the bowl shaped roof collects rainwater which is recycled inside the building.

The museum does have a permanent ArtScience gallery but we chose to visit the two touring exhibits. Dinosaurs Dawn To Extinction was a journey through 600 million years. Informative, fun and lots of hands on items for kids, this was a really great, well laid out exhibition.  With plenty of real fossils and original art work alongside I could see that the Art Science could work.

The touring Art exhibition was Annie Leibovitz - A Photographers Life 1990-2005. I can't say I had heard of her but I was familiar with some of the celebrity pictures that she has taken over the years when I saw them. This was a big exhibition, with many pictures and she had chosen to freely mix her own personal family photos with those she had taken as part of her work. An unusual photographer, often her subjects weren't smiling, perhaps she felt this wasn't a true reflection.

A great museum and with the touring exhibitions one that can be enjoyed again and again!