About Urban Sketchers Singapore
Urban Sketchers Singapore is part of the global non-profit group dedicated to raising the artistic, storytelling and educational value of on-location drawing, promoting its practice and connecting with Singaporeans and people around the world who draw on location where they live and travel.
The Singapore group was formed in 2008 by Tia Boon Sim, currently the course manager of Diploma in Interior Architecture & Design at the School of Design, Temasek Polytechnic. What started as a solitary sketching activity in Club Street became a full-blown torrid love affair when Tia started sharing her sketches online and connecting with others who had the passion for on-location sketching like freelance designer Don Low, freelance illustrator Andrew Tan and co-founder of Scrawl Studios, James Tan. The group quickly grew, with Straits Times cartoonist Dengcoy Miel and art and design educator Paul Wang joining, attracting many other artists, illustrators, educators and architects, inspiring emerging artists to get involved in the local art community and to grow with their peers. The group now has 40 active members, with over 400 members in the Facebook group to date, and actively organises monthly sketch walks and other regular activities. Sketches on Tiong Bahru were exhibited at the White Canvas Gallery in 2010, by Don Low, Dengcoy Miel, Tia Boon Sim and Paul Wang and again in 2011, adding the work of Marvin Chew, Madhu Kumar and Ignatius Yeo. Several sketchers attended the International Urban Sketches Symposium in 2010 and 2011, where Tia Boon Sim was an instructor. Its Facebook group has become a popular online platform for people to share their sketches or be inspired. For more information on the group, visit www.urbansketchers-singapore.blogspot.com.
About URA's Architecture & Urban Design Excellence (A•UDE) Programme
URA's Architecture & Urban Design Excellence (A•UDE) programme was set up to promote good design in Singapore's built environment. The programme seeks to raise public awareness of good architecture and urban design and encourage a more vibrant and design-conscious community. A variety of initiatives and outreach programmes are organised for both the general public and industry professionals. These include exhibitions, talks, seminars, workshops and design competitions. For more information, please visit us at www.ura.gov.sg/aude.
The Singapore Urban Sketchers group presents more than 360 beautiful sketches of Singapore life and places in an exclusive book and exhibition, in collaboration with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), entitled Urban Sketchers Singapore: Volume 01.
Urban Sketchers Singapore: Volume 01 features a wide range of intimately drawn sketches that capture wonderful places, moments and memories of life in Singapore. Whether it is the spice streets of Little India, or the historic Sultan Mosque, the last kampung at Lorong Buangkok, the landmark Tanjong Pagar railway station or the dragon kilns at Lorong Tawas, the charm and grit of every nook and cranny have been lovingly illustrated by 33 artists. The exhibition and book let one explore and fall in love with these places all over again.
The book and exhibition are unveiled by URA CEO Mr Ng Lang today. The exhibition will be on display at The URA Centre ground floor atrium from 21 October to 24 December 2011. This is part of URA's continuing efforts to promote a greater appreciation of Singapore's architecture and urban landscape.
Tia Boon Sim, the co-founder of Urban Sketches Singapore and publisher of the book, says: "In sketching, an unspoken aim is to capture moments and memories of places and events, in some cases preserving a record of them before they disappear forever; what better way to do so than in a collection of sketches immortalised on paper, bringing out the beauty of the physical spaces we inhabit. We encourage everyone to take on sketching as a way to enjoy and understand our physical environments."
Urban Sketchers Singapore: Volume 01 offers new opportunities for Singaporeans to appreciate the beauty and importance of Singapore's architecture and urban landscape. URA CEO Mr Ng Lang notes that the sketches are a way of inspiring Singaporeans to further appreciate our distinctive buildings and unique neighbourhoods. He adds: "URA is proud to support the extensive collection of wonderfully drawn sketches of Singapore's buildings, places and life. These sketches serve as a powerful illuminating guide that challenges us to re-examine our surroundings, encouraging us to reflect upon and appreciate the smaller and sometimes overlooked details of our beautiful urban landscape and charming architecture."
The exhibition and book are supported by URA as part of the Architecture and Urban Design Excellence (A.UDE) Promotion Programme funding. Started in 2005, the funding programme has supported 44 projects that have creatively promoted architecture and urban design excellence in Singapore. Some notable projects supported are Archifest (an annual month-long celebration of architecture and urban design excellence; 2007-2011), STAMP (Singapore's first nationwide postbox art competition; 2007), OH! Open House (Unique arts exhibition in six Marina Parade HDB flats; 2010) and Guerrilla Lighting Student Workshop (Student workshop to transform the night experience of Esplanade Park with creative lighting installations; 2010).
From popular neighbourhoods like Tiong Bahru and Holland Village, historic districts of Joo Chiat and Chinatown, to industrial estates of Kranji and Eunos, vibrant Orchard Road and Marina Bay and tranquil Pulau Ubin, the rich and varied sketches featured in the exhibition offer a fascinating and intriguing journey into Singapore's hidden corners, narrow alleys and some forgotten gems. Not only are buildings and landscapes captured, even communities, individuals and special moments are also documented in the drawings, revealing a unique insight into the communities and life that revolve around our urban landscape. The exhibition showcases a larger collection, covering other areas like Geylang Serai and overseas locations like New York and Vietnam.
The sketches show a personal view of how artists experience and understand familiar places and distinctive buildings around us. A sketch, according to the Urban Sketches Singapore group, is generally defined as a rough or unfinished drawing or painting, often done quickly to capture an image of a subject. Urban sketching, which the group does, is carried out on-location. Unlike photography, which is mediated by the camera lens, on-location sketching requires one to be fully immersed in the scene, and actively records details, textures, tones and colours selectively.
Some of the key exhibition highlights are:
The exhibition is designed by Zaihan Kariyani, Paul Wang, Harith Fadhirlah and Eve Tan, with support from Cityneon Holdings Ltd. Production of both the exhibition and book took close to a year to complete and involved more than 50 people. Urban Sketchers Singapore: Volume 01 will be exhibited at the atrium on the first storey of The URA Centre (45 Maxwell Road) from 21 October to 24 December 2011. Opening hours are: Monday to Friday, 8.30 am – 7.00 pm; Saturday, 8.30am – 4.30 pm. Closed on Sundays and public holidays. Admission is free.
There will be weekend sketch walks and talks during the exhibition period. Go to www.usksgvolumes.com for updates. Refer to Annex A for a brief profile of the key artists for the book.
Urban Sketchers Singapore: Volume 01 is published in a 250-page hard cover book and is now on sale at select bookstores, at $49.00.