Synopsis:

Organised by GCA, Routes is the inaugural art exhibition of artists and artist mentors of CANVAS, a collective of aspiring visual art talents who were trained at Visual Arts Hub (VAH) of Changi Prison.

15 works by CANVAS artists explore themes that are synergistic between the location and the personal lives of the artist themselves. These are the idea of "fruits", referencing Orchard Road's history as a former fruit orchard and the idea of how we bear the 'fruits' of our actions or all that actions do bear fruit. The second is the idea of "journey", referencing Orchard Road as the main thoroughfare and the pathways and the symbolic roads in life which the artists have taken since their experience of incarceration.

The works by the artist mentors are responses to the 15 works.

Founded on the belief art is a powerful tool for rehabilitation, Routes serves as a platform to celebrate the journeys taken by talents formerly of VAH, who upon their return to society have faced some challenges with re-integration and lack access to avenues for them to continue their practice and further their art. In this, we hope that viewers will be inspired by the works created by this refreshing community of artists.

All members of the public are invited to visit this12-day exhibition between 21 Oct and 2 Nov at the gallery of 10Square @ Orchard Central between 10 am to 6 pm. Admission is free.

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Routes | The Exhibition is:

Supported by the National Arts Council and the Arts Fund

Organised by Global Cultural Alliance

Since its inception in 2014, GCA has – as part of its dual mission of bridging borders and building communities – worked with persons with experiences of incarceration in projects such as Culture Plus: A Message from the Outside (2018) with inmate artists of VAH; Fair Play (2019) which was a community arts fair which also featured works by VAH artists; CausewayExchange (2019) which featured works by CANVAS artists for part of a mural of a hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

Featuring CANVAS

Founded in 2019, CANVAS seeks to provide a support function to artistically gifted persons with previous experiences of incarceration.