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Art Attack: 5 Must-Visit Cities for Art Lovers
Travelling, by itself, is one of the best ways to have an open mind and be inspired, but nothing gets the creative juices flowing like experiencing a new country or city through art. Apart from Singapore, there are places around the world that offer great art scenes. So if you’re planning an overseas trip to view some masterpieces, these are our top five picks.
- Paris, France
Paris might be the end all as far as art cities go. The city offers a handful of world-renowned museums like The Louvre, which houses thousands of culturally and historically significant pieces. But as you tour the place, you’ll discover that there’s more to Paris’ art scene than its famous museums. From street art paintings to the classics by Monet, Paris has it all.
Make sure that you visit the Musée D’Orsay and the Musée de l’Orangerie, which houses Monet’s Water Lilies painting. Centre Pompidou and Palais De Tokyo are two other spots worth visiting. If you’ve already had your fill of major museums, take time to experience less-known but equally astonishing galleries like La Maison Rouge. To get a grittier look into the city’s art scene, sign up on a street art tour to discover how street art manages to fit in with the famed Parisian culture.
- Vienna, Austria
For hundreds of years, the best and brightest artists have been drawn to this culturally rich city. As a result, Vienna became one of the best places in the world to experience and see art. One of the best starting point for experiencing art in this city is Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss, which can be viewed at the Österreichische Galerie in Belvedere Palace. Kunst Haus Wien is another spot worth visiting as it offers an art experience incredibly unique to Vienna.
Other than paintings, music also contributes to Vienna’s rich art scenery. On your visit, make sure to plan a stop at the Haus der Musik and the State Opera House to listen to a concert.
- Florence, Italy
As an art fanatic, you probably wished to tour Florence at some point in your life. The “problem” with this is knowing where to begin, since the city’s overflowing with art history and art itself. If sculptures are your thing, then head to Bargello and the Accademia Gallery, which showcases Michelangelo’s David. Capelle Medicee also warrants a visit as it’s an impressively built burial ground for the members of the Medici family.
If you want to break away from the hordes of tourists in these iconic museums, Florence has a lot of other options to offer. Fashion lovers will surely adore Ferragamo Museo, a museum dedicated to the works of shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo. Other than that, Museo Galileo serves as a great option for experiencing Florence’s bursting works of art.
- Berlin, Germany
Ever since the Berlin Wall collapsed, the city has become a magnet for artists around the world and, today, there are now hundreds of galleries in Berlin, drawing thousands of tourists each year. If you’re looking into getting acquainted with the city’s art scene, visit some of the larger galleries but mix them up with smaller and more intimate spots. Eigen + Art is a great place to check on contemporary art from around the world. For historic works, Gemäldegalerie is a good option to see European paintings from the 13th to 18th century.
Aside from that, Berlin is also a home to some impressive public and street art such as the East Side Gallery – world’s longest mural painted on the stretch of Berlin Wall. It’s an absolute must-see not just for art, but for its cultural significance as well.
- New York, New York
There are several great art cities in the U.S., but New York City is just tough to beat. Make sure to visit great museums like The Met and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as the newly built Whitney Museum of American Art on your art tour in the Big Apple. Apart from these museums, try rounding out the Gagosian Galleries and the David Zwirner Gallery to see some interesting exhibits. Gallery and museum pricing may vary, but there are also free options if you’re travelling on budget. Just make sure to check the list of free upcoming exhibits before your trip.
Experiencing the art scene of other cities and countries is one of the best ways to know more about the place. So add these places to your list now, and let your creative juices flow out.
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How to Be Present in Your Friendships
If you’re just like me, then you also consider your girlfriends as family. You support each other during difficult times and celebrate exciting milestones in life. You tell the truth about everything, from toxic romances to unflattering outfits. So why do we often find ourselves overlooking these precious relationships? Sure, most of us will get married, or will have lots of career and family obligations, but shouldn’t we prioritized our friendships as well? Apart from taking time to see your friends, here are other ways on how you can be more present with your friendships.
- Send a Mail
Shooting off an email may be easy, but sending cards and letters is much more personal and require a different kind of effort. When you receive a sweet note in your mailbox, you’d feel appreciated and recognized, right? Well, so will your girlfriends. So head to the Singapore Postal Service now, and make your friends feel remembered and loved.
- Disconnect From Technology
While this may seem easy, you’ll actually end up feeling like your phone is glued to your hand. Your fingers might even instinctively swipe when you see your screen light up with a new message. If you have the habit of monitoring your emails and texts even during special get-togethers, simply turn off your phone to avoid temptation. Your emails and messages will still be there when you turn it back on.
- Schedule One-on-One Plans
It’s quite easy to rely on group activities or big events to reconnect with people you care about. But the truth is, the best time spent with your friends is the time you spend with them one-on-one. Remember that you have different friends for different reasons, which is why its’ important to see your up-for-anything friend separately from your shoulder-to-cry-on friend. Set and spend a one-on-one time with each of them to get the most intimate experience with each of your girlfriends.
- Take Note of Important Dates
Remembering birthdates is a basic requirement for any friendship, but what about job promotions or wedding anniversaries? Also, isn’t remembering a friend’s difficult milestone just as important as taking note of the happy ones? Remembering the date of their tough breakup or the death of their loved one will show them how much you care about their happiness, as well as their hardships.
- Check Jealousy Between Friends
We’ve probably experienced our fair share of girl-on-girl jealousy, but when it comes to our best friends, it just simply can’t exist. Even if you’re in a difficult situation while your best friend is on top of the world, you’ll never know how the future may play out. Always offer your undivided excitement and support to your friends, so that when it’s your time to succeed, your friends will be there to support and appreciate you as well.
- Share the Conversation With Everyone
Generally, people love talking about themselves. It makes us feel loved and recognized, but at some point, it just goes overboard. You might find yourself sharing family updates, asking for a favour, and complaining about your work, all before the waiter starts taking your orders. Remember that quality time with your best gals doesn’t come around often, so don’t let your dinner end without hearing updates from everyone on the table.
- Keep in Touch Actively
Keeping in touch can be tough at times, but it’s important for you to reach out and let your friends know that you’re thinking about them. An easy way to do this is to schedule a specific date for a get-together dinner. Marking the date on the calendar will hold you all accountable. For long distance friendships, do the same thing either through video chat or phone. Most of the time, it’s good to disconnect around friends but in some situations, technology is what helps us to stay in touch with our loved ones.
Being present in your friendships is as important as developing your career or fulfilling your commitment with your family. So put the aforementioned tips to work to stay in touch with your friends even if they’re miles away from you.
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5 Realizations You’ll Get After Graduation
Graduation are always a special and memorable event in our lives. It is the time for celebration and pleasure for surviving years in school and finally being able to surpass every challenges that you faced in your academic journey. It is a significant milestone in our life which will always be cherished for a lifetime.
There is a big number of students who graduate college annually. In Singapore, year 2012 there are 674,000 university graduates in just a year. Each year, the number grows bigger and bigger producing more graduates yearly. But the question is, with this great number of graduates what do they usually end up realizing after they graduated their tertiary education? Here are five realizations that fresh graduates usually realize after graduation;
- You will realize that success is not a straight road, it’s a roller coaster zigzag path to the finish line. Everyone thinks that reaching success will always be an easy road but guess what? It isn’t. There is no shortcut in success and that’s what fresh graduates do realize the moment they enter the real world, their own chosen field. There will always be trials and problems that will come along the way that they must face but like everything, when you overcome it all, things will eventually fall into place and will be worth it.
- Work is not always a guarantee. After graduation, most graduates’ think that next will be having a job, but in reality looking for a job and finding a job isn’t that easy. It is never easy to find a job to help you pay your bills. It is not an all the time guarantee that when you graduate you will eventually have a job after that. Life is complicated and you have to seek things that you want, chase after them before you can finally have one.
- Your profession and passion will not always be in synced with each other, and decision-making becomes tougher. After graduating, most of us thinks that it is finally the time for us to do and chase the desires of our hearts. Believing that it is the time for doing the things we are passionate about. But life is not easy as it is, because sometimes are passion will not be enough for us to live and pay bills. We are stuck on deciding whether we continue or passion or thrive more in our profession. It is a usual dilemma but eventually as you grow, you will be able to come up with the right solution.
- Making money is not easy, not as easy as we think it is. Spending was easy before when you are still in college but when you graduate things will turn upside down and you will soon realize that making money is never an easy thing to do. It is not a joke to work all day in order earn money to spend and be able to survive.
- Life is a competition, so never settle for something less. The most awakening realization that most graduating student realize when finishing college is that life is never easy and it is never a fair game. Every day is a competition, not just with anybody else, but the competition within yourself. Life is not an easy plan we designed for ourselves because life is what we make it, so if we want to win and succeed we should always strive for something great.
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5 Types of Facebook Friends
Living in the 20th century would be hard to imagine without having the high rise of technological advancement, internets and thousands of appearing social media sites on line. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other sites are continuing to rise to fame since it is a fact that this sites are one of the necessities of the generation of today. Amongst it all, the most famous media site of today is Facebook where millions of people from around the globe has joined for either fun, communication or making new friends.
In the online world, over 74% of the Singaporeans use social media in a regular basis. And with this number it is said that 3.8 million of Singaporeans are registered Facebook users. YES – that’s how many people only in Singapore uses Facebook. Imagine the scope of having all this countries with a percentage of Facebook users. With all this numbers, certainly there are different kinds of people you usually find in Facebook, and here are 5 types of friend you usually have on Facebook;
- The “Timeline Selfie” Addicts
In Facebook we always have that one friend who floods our timeline with his or her selfie every now and then. That kind of person who takes vanity to a whole new level. They are the one who posts basically every time with new selfies with captions like “Just got home from school”, “So stressed out from work”, “Messy hair don’t care” and other captions that doesn’t really relate to the picture. They are fun to look at and they really do exist.
- The fierce one who always has an enemy on social media
Like any other, there is also that friend who seems to always have some issues with himself or with some else. Usually, they posts how much they hate the world, their life or a specific person making Facebook as their war zone. They seem to be a little too intense in language and they tend to catch your attention.
- The always in love with their girlfriend / boyfriend and shows it to the world
How could we missed the constant “I love you’s” and cheesy love quotes posted by that specific friend who seems so in love with his guy or girl right? We see them on our timeline constantly flirting with each other and telling the world how much they mean to each other. They constantly posts pictures of them together with captions of love and relationship goals which makes our single friends grow bitter and jealous. Funny but this kind of Facebook friends are really quite entertaining.
- The timeline is my diary kind of friend
We could never exclude that friend who made Facebook his or her virtual diary. They are the ones who post status of “At the moments” and what they are currently feeling, doing, watching or even eating. They are the kind who wants to inform everyone of what is happening in their life whether they are happy, sad, irritated or excited they share it all to the world.
- The “Share-Information” ambassador
This is the kind of friends who posts nothing on their timeline except links from different informative pages on Facebook like Buzzfeed and Mental Floss. They usually are there to help you get informed with the things that you must now. They are very helpful by the way.
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Artistic Journey to Singapore
If you count yourself in for an artistic journey, then jumpstart that experience right at the heart of Singapore’s art community. Arts aficionados get their senses titillated as they witness an array of artistic mediums through the countless museums, galleries and art facilities that keep them fancy. Uncover Singapore’s art scene in these must visit destinations.
8Q SAM
Be amused as you take a step in to the state-of-the-art museum that showcases cutting edge art expressions. Singapore Art Museum is one of the world’s largest locations that houses Southeast Asian artworks from modern to contemporary masterpiece. SAM also takes a lead in facilitating art education and research through coordination with international art institutions.
Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay
This “prickly” architectural structure similar to “durian” (local fruit) is recognized by many due to its lifestyle offerings from dining to entertainment. The place serves as a hotspot for art goers in the form of live music & art performances, visual exhibits and recreational activities it offers. Get a dose in their full-line up of theatre, music, visual works and art performances.
Red Dot Design Museum
You surely wouldn’t miss to check out this noticeable building as its full red color stands out even from a distance. The museum houses creative exhibits and most forward in art designs including architectural works. At the end of the day, you can savor both visual and gastronomic satisfaction as the place also offers bars and restaurants on the side.
The Substation
Immerse yourself in this performing arts hub that consists of dance studio, multi-function classrooms and gallery. Dubbed as Singapore’s first contemporary arts centre, it is situated in the city’s district where young talents are showcased and developed. After getting a full load of art shows, catch a drink at live music bar at the back of the main gallery, Timbre@Substation.
