If you knew your craft could touch the life of someone in need, what would you create? Founded on a belief in the healing power of the arts to enrich the lives of forgotten communities, Culture Plus: A Message from Outside explores the creative journey of 5 inmate-artists from Visual Arts Hub at Changi Prison Complex and 9 elderly residents from United Medicare Centre (Queensway) as they draw paintings for one another.

Over the course of four art sessions across the space of two months, each inmate was paired with two residents as they embarked on the art-making process together. The paint-pals conversed with each other virtually through the exchange of visual journals, each sharing their thoughts and reflections on the things and people they hold dear. This exchange of ideas then served as inspiration for the artwork they created for each other. Culture Plus also introduced the novel art-making technique of Augmented Reality (AR) technology to another 5 inmate-artists, which enabled them to bring out the stories of the paint-pals to life through animation.

As the paint-pals uncovered their artistic talents, their art-making journey undertook a transformative quality as they re-discovered a sense of self-worth and renewed belief in their ability to create beauty and meaning in their art. For the elderly residents, some of whom are experiencing the onset of dementia, psychiatric conditions and chronic medical conditions - their knowledge of a community that cared for them restored hope, with some tearing upon receipt of the paintings done for them by the inmates. For the inmates, the art-making process presented them with an opportunity to exercise empathy and care for the more mentally and physically vulnerable members of our community.

It is a powerful thing when two disparate communities of people who were once strangers to each other are united under the flag of creating art. Delving into the heart of what makes us human, Culture Plus: A Message from Outside cultivated in the residents and inmates a shared empathy and the compassion to see beyond the confines of our immediate realities.

An exhibition featuring the artwork of the inmates and residents will be officially launched on the evening of 16th August 2018, and will be on display until 1st September 2018. For more information, do visit the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/events/1803454889697937/) and website (http://www.globalculturalalliance.sg/).

Exhibition Details:

Date: August 17 – Sept 1, 2018
Time: 10am – 6pm
Venue: Temenggong 18/20
18 Temenggong Road Singapore 098771

Opening Night:
Date: August 16, 2018
Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Venue: Temenggong 18/20
18 Temenggong Road Singapore 098771

Free admission by appointment (please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1803454889697937/ for more details).