Making a hidden place feel findable
gillman barracks has been singapore's contemporary art cluster for ten years, and people still don't go. we redesigned its website to be the way in.
fourteen buildings most people have never visited.
it sits between labrador park and the southern ridges, and opened with galleries from tokyo, manila, new york and singapore to attract international collectors. visitors never arrived in meaningful numbers, and galleries have been leaving, an exodus covid accelerated.
what does a place like this need when so much art moved online?
nac's covid-19 arts consumption study found 88% of singaporeans turned to the arts online for something new, or for comfort. we set three goals for the site: more footfall, an easier way in, and art mixed with the rest of a day out.
others wanted the same things.
gillman barracks has since been given a s$2 million facelift, with plans for a farmers' market and farm-to-table dining. gallery directors and visitors were asking for the same goals we'd set.
i used to be hard on digital museums.
i still am, a little. the trick is to stop expecting an online visit to replicate an in-person one, and ask what it can do that a gallery can't. for most people, the first time they notice a place is online.
what going digital can do for a museum
a group of women from very different backgrounds. every meeting turned into a conversation about how interaction shapes an experience. we named ourselves after flow state, one of my favourite podcasts.