Single, coupled or with kids? Explore new worlds at ArtScience Museum this Nov & Dec 2023

As a chronically single woman of culture, I like to spend much of my alone time visiting museums.

Whether you’re single or coupled, spending a weekend afternoon at a museum can be a meaningful way to make fond memories by yourself or with a special someone.

As we draw closer to the end of the year, ArtScience Museum has an exhilarating line-up of programmes for all you single pringles and lovebirds.

If you’re parents to young kids, you may also want to make a trip down with them during the school holidays.

From exhibitions and events to workshops, screenings, talks and guided tours, here’s what you can look forward to at the ArtScience Museum this November and December.

1) Mars: The Red Mirror

• Exhibition Dates: Nov. 25, 2023 to Apr. 7, 2024

Those who want to ‘explore new worlds’ with their significant other can visit Mars: The Red Mirror.

This exhibition explores humanity’s fascination and connection with the planet Mars through art, history and science.

It is also the first exhibition to synthesise 12,000 years of cultural history surrounding Mars from ancient times to present day.

You and your partner can expect to see rare scientific manuscripts that have shaped modern astronomy, striking contemporary artworks that explore the hopes and challenges of humanity’s planetary pursuits, an authentic Martian meteorite and much more.

Journeying from ancient myth to what may become a very real future, this exhibition confronts the current crises facing planet Earth while envisioning humanity’s possible future relationship with Mars - a hotbed topic to ponder over.

2) Humanity Reimagined – Mars Opening Symposium

• Date and Time: Nov. 25, 2pm to 6pm
• Ticketed Admission: S$10

On the other hand, the Opening Symposium of Mars: The Red Mirror contemplates our relationship with the Red Planet by unfolding stories that have centred on it from antiquity to present day.

If you’re interested in environmental issues, you may be interested in the programme’s discussion of the multiplanetary future of humanity and how designing for Mars might offer new tools in tackling the climate emergency we face on Earth.

Speakers who will be present include:

• Juan Insua (Curator of Mars: The Red Mirror and Former Director of CCCB Lab)
• Masaki Fujimoto (Deputy Director General of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science at JAXA)
• Lynette Tan (CEO and Chairwoman of Space Faculty)
• Roy Ang (Scientist at Genome Institute of Singapore’s Laboratory of Biodiversity Genomics)
• Michael Najjar (German artist, adventurer and future astronaut)
• Venzha Christ (Indonesian media artist and Founder of HONF Foundation and ISSS – Indonesia Space Science Society)
• Geneviève Galliano (Chief Curator of Department of Antiquities at Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon)

3) New Eden

• Exhibition Dates: Oct. 21, 2023 to Mar. 3, 2024

For a first date with that cute guy or girl you met on a dating app, consider checking out New Eden: Science Fiction Mythologies Transformed.

New Eden offers fresh insights on science fiction, a genre built on envisioning alternative futures and imaginary realms - like you and your date.

In this exhibition, contemporary artworks, historical artefacts and films from both Asia and the West are organised into eight chapters.

Through the work of 24 Asian women artists and collectives, the lines connecting science fiction with Asian philosophy and mythologies are brought to light.

Adopting Western science fiction paradigms such as parallel worlds and interdimensional travel as a starting point, New Eden explores science fiction’s possible roots in Asian philosophy and spirituality.

Themes such as hybridity, mysticism, transcendence and other-worldly utopias, which are found in both fields, seem to point to cultural traditions in Asia.

Although the traditionally male-dominated genre of science fiction is slowly evolving, very rarely is it approached from the perspective of Asia and through the work of women.

Moving seamlessly between ancient mythology, contemporary art and postmodern cinema, this exhibition celebrates the dream worlds, futuristic visions and fantastical realities envisaged by Asian artists, showcasing women and alternative voices who are calling for a more inclusive future.

While rather geeky and unconventional, this is the perfect opportunity to suss out just how cultured and imaginative your date is.

4) In Search of Tomorrow Film Programme at ArtScience Cinema

• Date: Oct. 16 onwards

Into spaceships, aliens, floating cities or red, dusty planets?

In Search of Tomorrow is a line up of kitsch b-movies, beloved cult classics, and contemporary arthouse films that depict the utopian and dystopian fantasies of what life could be like, on Earth or elsewhere.

Film screenings include the space epic 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ghost in the Shell (the original Japanese animated film), dystopian thriller Blade Runner, and the French new release Mars Express that premiered at international film festivals to rave reviews this year.

5) Samsara at VR Gallery

• Date: Oct. 27 onwards
• Advisories: Content rated PG13 – parental guidance is advised for children below 13 years old; Suitable for 11 years old and above only

Singles who are ready to jingle, here’s your chance to embark on a journey of reincarnation that spans millions of years and experience the universe through new perspectives.

Hsin-Chien Huang’s award-winning VR experience Samsara explores the concept of Embodied Cognition through virtual reality and interactivity, allowing audiences to see through different perspectives, promoting empathy and a new understanding of our collective existence on Earth.

If you need an additional reason to check Samsara out, know that it was selected for the 78th Venice VR Film Festival and also won the Jury Award of the SXSW and Best VR Story of the Cannes XR competition.

6) Deep Field by Tin&Ed

• Dates: Nov. 16 to 26, 2023
• Available time slots: 10:30am to 11:30am, 1pm to 2pm, 3pm to 4pm

If you are parents to children who love art, you’ll want to head to Deep Field by Tin&Ed.

Deep Field is a new immersive art experience and app by Australian artists and creative technologists Tin Nguyen and Edward Cutting (Tin&Ed).

The experience begins with a guided tour of the ArtScience Museum where you and your kids will be invited to design your own flora and fauna, taking inspiration from the environment, the building itself and any artworks you might encounter.

After dreaming up your fantastical plants, you will use an Apple Pencil to sketch your designs in the Deep Field iPad app.

These sketches will be added to a global database filled with flora drawn by participants across the world in real time, co-creating a new ecosystem of plants to be revealed through the lens of Augmented Reality (AR).

You and your kids can then watch your artworks bloom into spectacular 3D plant structures around ArtScience Museum, accompanied by a multichannel soundscape experience of forgotten and extinct species created by audio naturalist Martyn Stewart.

TLDR; as part of the workshop, you can expect to:

• Learn and experience the possibilities of AR
• Reflect on their attitude towards our planet and nature
• Exercise creativity and experiment with colours, shapes, and textures
• Tour the environmental landscape and selected artworks in and around ArtScience Museum
• Co-create with participants from across the globe

7) Creative Recharge – Holiday Programmes

• Date: Dec. 1 onwards
• Admission: Mix of free and ticketed admission with online pre-booking

The holiday season is always a great time at the ArtScience Museum.

Have a Creative Recharge and participate in a wide range of holiday programmes to unleash you and your kids’ creativity.

Explore time and space through tours, quests, camps and more and record down your unique day at ArtScience Museum through a complimentary limited-edition postcard.

Postcards are free to collect at the visitor experience counter at level 1 and the ticketing counter at basement 2 of the museum.

This sponsored article by the ArtScience Museum gave this writer plenty of ideas on where to take herself on a solo date.

Top images via A R/ Google Maps and ArtScience Museum. Sputniko! and Napp Studio & Architects, Red Silk of Fate – The Shrine, 2021. Courtesy of the artists.