Sounding Lines by Stijn Demeulenaere is a free sound installation at ArtScience Museum from 6 November 2026 to 24 January 2027. It is at the Oculus on Basement 2. The museum lists daily hours of 9am to 6pm.
The installation combines underwater recordings, sounds associated with offshore wind farms and processed sea shanties. Maps presented alongside it connect the North Sea and Singapore’s seabed. It can be a short stand-alone museum visit or one stop alongside another exhibition with its own entry terms.
- Free installation at Oculus, Basement 2.
- Published dates: 6 November 2026–24 January 2027.
- Start with the museum’s Bayfront MRT directions, then follow signs for the Oculus.
- Use the museum’s For Little Listeners guide if you are visiting with children.
Find what you need
How to visit Sounding Lines for free · What can you hear in Sounding Lines? · A simple listening visit with children · How to find the Oculus from Bayfront MRT
| Question | Published details |
|---|---|
| Where? | Oculus, Basement 2, ArtScience Museum |
| When? | 6 Nov 2026–24 Jan 2027; daily 9am–6pm |
| How much? | Free admission |
| What is it? | Spatial sound installation with accompanying maps |
How to visit Sounding Lines for free
The ArtScience Museum installation page lists free admission and identifies the Oculus on Basement 2. The run spans November, December and most of January. Check museum notices on your chosen date. If you are visiting for this work alone, give yourself time to find the Oculus and listen before heading elsewhere.
Do you need to buy a museum exhibition ticket?
The Sounding Lines listing is free. Other experiences at ArtScience Museum have their own arrangements. If you are also going to More than Human or the First Life VR session, check their booking requirements and locations separately. A free work in the same building can be visited around your main timed admission.
How much time should you allow?
The installation page gives opening hours, and visitors can decide how long they want to listen. Leave a margin before closing if you also want to look at the maps. A brief stop can give you an idea of the work. A longer pause lets you notice sounds entering, moving or repeating. Choose the time according to the group’s attention and interest.
What can you hear in Sounding Lines?
The artist brings together recordings associated with wild oyster beds in the North Sea, offshore wind farms and processed sea shanties sung by a women’s choir from Ostend. The museum presents the work as an exploration of the relationships between marine life, industry and people. Follow how the sounds move through the installation rather than trying to identify every source immediately.
Listen before reading everything
At first, choose one sound and notice how it changes as you stay still or move within the area where visitors are allowed. Then read what the museum says about the source material. Compare what you imagined with what the label explains. If a child hears something different, ask them to describe its rhythm, pitch or direction before deciding what it was.
Why the title refers to depth
The museum explains that a sounding line was a weighted line used to measure water depth. The title brings that practice into a work about listening below the surface. A visitor can use the idea as a simple question: what can sound reveal about a place that is difficult to see?
Read one of the maps
The accompanying maps trace changes to the seabed and relate the North Sea material to Singapore. Find one feature and ask what it represents. Then look at the date or context. The maps are part of the installation’s explanation, so use them to ask how the relationship between sea life and human activity changes across places and time.
A simple listening visit with children
The installation page offers separate links for adults and little listeners. Start with the child’s interest. One child may prefer to guess which direction a sound came from, while another may want to look at a map and locate water and land. Keep the task short and let them choose a detail to remember.
Before entering the Oculus
Explain that the sound is the artwork, so people may want to listen quietly. Set a meeting point if the group is arriving from different parts of the museum. If someone is sensitive to sound or needs an accessible route, check the museum’s current advice. Keep another public stop available if the installation does not suit the person.
After listening
Ask what changed while you were there. It might be a sound getting louder, a voice entering or a map detail that gave the sound a new meaning. A teenager can compare a recording of a living habitat with the sound of industrial activity. A younger child can simply point to their favourite part of the visit.
How to find the Oculus from Bayfront MRT
Use Bayfront MRT (CE1/DT16). The museum’s visitor directions list Exit D as the shortest indicated walk. Follow signs to the waterfront museum and go to Basement 2. Look for the Oculus, which is a named space inside the museum.
Make a short waterfront itinerary
If the installation is your main stop, choose it first and add a meal or walk only if the group wants to stay. A paid visit elsewhere can be planned independently. Check any date-specific last-entry rule for another exhibition. The header shows the museum exterior, while the work is inside the Oculus.
How to connect the maps with the sounds
Start with a feature you recognise
You might see a coastal outline, an offshore installation or a cable route. Ask what that feature does and which part of the map helps you work it out. Then return to the sound and listen for a change in texture or rhythm. The map gives context, while the sound gives you another way to notice a place you cannot see directly.
Compare the North Sea with Singapore
Use the labels to identify which location is being shown. Think of a difference in what is being mapped or the time period covered. The museum’s description links the two seabeds through marine life and industry, but the places have their own histories. You can compare a single detail without treating the maps as identical.
Make it a short learning stop
For a child, choose one sound and one thing on a map. For a student who wants more, ask them to explain what can be observed and what the map or label adds. If the group also has a paid visit, save enough time to reach the correct entrance. A free listening stop can fit before or after it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sounding Lines free?
Yes. ArtScience Museum lists free admission.
When does it end?
The published final date is 24 January 2027.
Where is the installation?
At the Oculus, Basement 2.
Is it a virtual reality programme?
The museum describes a spatial sound installation with accompanying maps. Its First Life VR programme is separate.
Which MRT exit is closest?
The museum’s directions list Bayfront Exit D as its shortest indicated approach.
See the Singapore November and December events guide for more year-end outings.