Global Art Bukit Panjang (Junction 10) is the Bukit Panjang branch of Global Art Singapore, a network of around 30 children's art centres islandwide. Located at #02-20 Junction 10 on Woodlands Road and led by principal Anthony Gan, the centre teaches the Global Art & Creative programme — a complete, systematic art curriculum first developed in Malaysia in 1999 that aims to enhance children's learning abilities and creativity through art.
Lessons follow a structured ladder by age: Junior for ages 3-4, Foundation for ages 4-7, Pre-Basic for ages 7-9, Basic & Intermediate for ages 7-12 and Advanced for ages 13 and above. Alongside the core visual art track, the centre offers Cartoon & Comic, Acrylic Painting, 3D Clay, G-Clay, Deco Art workshops and Cultural Art, plus holiday programmes during school breaks. The emphasis throughout is on the creative process rather than the outcome — training children to visualise, comprehend and compose their own subjects, backgrounds and colours.
Beyond weekly classes, students can take part in annual in-house and national art competitions, sit certificated grading examinations and, as national champions, represent Singapore at the annual international Global Art competition held in a different country each year. Weekday classes run from 2pm to 9pm and weekend classes from 9.30am to 5.30pm; the centre is closed on Wednesdays. Trial classes can be booked through the website or by calling 6767 6220.
Up on the second level of Junction 10 along Woodlands Road, Global Art Bukit Panjang runs a steady schedule of children's art classes for the neighbourhood. The centre is one of around 30 Global Art centres across Singapore, and it is led by principal Anthony Gan, who welcomes families to start with a trial class before joining an age-appropriate programme.
What sets Global Art apart from a casual art-and-craft session is its structure. The programme originated in Malaysia in 1999 under founder Mahair Goh, built around a simple observation: schools emphasise languages, mathematics and science, yet almost every subject eventually asks a child to draw, outline or illustrate. Global Art's syllabus was designed to give children that visual foundation — a teaching methodology that enhances learning ability and creativity through art.
The emphasis, the organisation stresses, is on the creative process rather than the outcome. Students are trained progressively to visualise, comprehend and compose their own subject, background and colours. Drawing ability, in Global Art's thinking, rests on experience, memories and visualisation, and the syllabus works like a formal art course — from subject composition, perspective, colour harmony and contrast through to life drawing — designed for children with or without artistic talent.
The core visual art programme is arranged as a ladder by age and ability. Junior classes (ages 3-4) offer the first taste of structured drawing; Foundation (ages 4-7) builds basic lines and shapes; Pre-Basic (ages 7-9) and Basic & Intermediate (ages 7-12) move into fuller compositions and colouring technique; and Advanced (ages 13 and above) refines technique for older students.
Alongside the core ladder sit additional programmes: Cartoon & Comic for ages 7 and up, Acrylic Painting for ages 7 and up, 3D Clay for ages 7 and up, G-Clay for ages 4 and up, Deco Art workshops for ages 4 and up, and Cultural Art for ages 6 and up. During school holidays the centre also runs holiday programmes, which are booked directly without a trial.
Global Art Singapore, established in 2003 by director Patrick Tan with a first centre at Parkway, has long tied its classroom work to bigger stages. Every year there are in-house and national competitions, and the national champions go on to represent Singapore at the annual Global Art International Competition, hosted in a different country each year. Singapore students have collected trophies and medals over the years, and the network has earned recognition of its own, including the Promising SME 500 award (2013), the Singapore Quality Brands award (2013/2014) and the Asia Excellence Award (2014).
Unusually for a children's art school, Global Art also offers certificated grading examinations, giving students concrete milestones as they progress. Teachers are professionally trained — including regular overseas training courses — to guide students towards greater artistic appreciation and skill.
Classes run on weekdays from 2pm to 9pm and on weekends from 9.30am to 5.30pm; the centre is closed on Wednesdays. Families can book a trial through the website form, choosing a core programme and a preferred day from Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
For founder Mahair Goh, the purpose is bigger than art for art's sake. Parents enrol children not necessarily to make artists of them, but to equip them — because positive experiences in art develop imagination, increase self-esteem, build confidence in problem solving and encourage logical sequencing of ideas. At Junction 10, that philosophy plays out week after week as Bukit Panjang's youngest residents learn to see, process and create. To find out more, call the centre on 6767 6220, write to [email protected], or follow its Facebook page.