Located just after Calypso, our visual arts studio, Gallery Pluto is one of the few, if not only, visual arts gallery dedicated to showcasing the artworks of young talents in Singapore. The space officially opened on 1 September 2009. Guest of Honour Mr Lim Chwee Seng, Director, Visual Arts, National Arts Council expressed his enthusiasm for the gallery as a platform for aspiring young artists.
This gallery not only aims to provide talents below the age of 19 with an accessible avenue to display their artistic potential, it also hopes that it will inspire other young artists to create new work and also develop a sense of confidence. Above all that, this space allows these talents to help their less fortunate counterparts in that in the event of any sale of works, part of or all proceeds would be encouraged to be donated to the beneficiaries under The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF).
Assistant Head, Secretariat, The Business Times Budding Artists Fund, Miss Pauline Wong, was fascinated with the technically outstanding works that were found among these youths – “Besides providing the children and youth with an accessible platform to display their aesthetic capacity, we hope that the gallery will become a place where our young artists can engage the public in the fragile, yet thoughtful expressions about the world that they live in.” She adds, “I am confident that these artists will be an inspiration to the visual arts students of The Little Arts Academy”
Gallery Pluto’s inaugural exhibition, ‘In-between’, showcases works by students, aged between 14 and 18 years of age from Bishan Park Secondary School, Raffles Girl’s School (Secondary) , School of the Arts and Studio Haroobee.
Curator Mr Alan Oei explains, “In-between suggests the state between childhood and adulthood, and that the boundaries of things – whether self-identity, rules or creative mediums – are not predetermined. The exhibition features both paintings and installations using various mediums.
“It is fitting, therefore, that our first exhibition should be titled, “In-between”, capturing that luminal period between childhood and adulthood. This transition is sacred, alluring, and full of potential. So our hope for young artists is that they will always feel at home in this space, Gallery Pluto, where they can express themselves freely and be as they are, neither child nor adult but perhaps, the best of both.” Centre Manager of The Little Arts Academy, Ms Adelina Ong elaborates.
The inaugural exhibition attracted close to 50 guests, young and old. While enjoying food that was enjoyable to create, like rojak and fun to eat, such as chocolate fondue, the guests admired the exhibits and listened to the stories that the young artists told with regard to their works.
‘In-between’ is a 2 month long exhibition, ending on 31 October 2009.
