Explore Peranakan Culture with these Vibrant Peranakan Craft Activities
Peranakan culture is known for being very vibrant and colourful, with many elements of the culture featuring rich art and design. Craft activities are thus a great way of introducing Peranakan culture in a fun and interesting way!
LolliBox has worked with Singapore’s Peranakan Museum, providing all sorts of Peranakan craft activities for museum goers to try out and learn a different part of Peranakan culture.
Check out and be inspired by some of the ways we have shared about Peranakan culture through various craft activities!
1. Felt Beaded Slippers (Kasut Manek) Craft
Nyonya Embroidery is a significant and well-recognised part of Peranakan culture. Inspired by the kasut manet, this felt beaded slippers craft allowed children to get a hands-on understanding of the iconic craft form as they put together their own shoes and embroider on beads. This Peranakan craft activity was a great way of keeping the beloved beading tradition alive in the minds of young ones!
2. Peranakan Portraits
Our Peranakan Portraits activity for Peranakan Museum’s Straits Family Sunday was a meaningful way to encourage continued connection to the Peranakan cultural identity. Children could create portraits of themselves dressed in sarong kebayas, visually bringing them closer to their culture.
3. Kueh Tutu Mini Felt Plushie
When it comes to Peranakan culture, we cannot forget about food! These easy-to-make adorable kueh tutu felt plushies are perfect for introducing the traditional treat and create cravings for it.
4. Batik Paper Dolls
Batik refers to cloth decorated using a wax and dye technique, which originates from Indonesia. The batik sarong is an integral part of the sarong kebaya, the Peranakan traditional costume.
While this paper doll craft was made to celebrate the rich history behind the batik, with some adjustments, the craft can make for a great Peranakan craft activity to showcase the beauty of the sarong kebaya. Children will have fun discovering the intricacies of the costume, all while customising the batik sarong and kebaya for their dolls to wear!
5. I Love Nonya Kueh Badge
Noya Kueh deserves all the love because of how delicious they are! This craft gives people the chance to show off their love for this traditional snack by wearing this badge loud and proud!
6. Peranakan Tiles-Inspired Coasters
If you have ever been to the colourful Peranakan shophouses at Joo Chiat, you may have noticed them being adorned by glazed ceramic tiles with intricate designs, commonly known today as ‘Peranakan Tiles’.
To honour the beautiful designs these tiles featured, this craft activity involved the recreation of these designs using hama beads to make a coaster. Participants got to take home an eye-catching coaster while having learnt about the designs well loved by the Chinese-Peranakan community in Singapore.
7. Light Up! Peranakan Lantern Painting
During Peranakan Museum’s Children Season event, LolliBox held a craft activity that taught visitors more about the exhibits featured in the museum.
Participants had an enlightening time painting and creating a beautiful working lantern, using stencils featuring designs by local artist Sam Lo’s ‘Coming Home’ Exhibit. Sam Lo’s lantern art was inspired by the conflict between tradition and modernity in Peranakan culture, and the desire to understand one’s cultural identity.
Crafts are a great way to explore culture as seen through these Peranakan craft activities! They can be enjoyable to create, all while meaningfully highlighting all the wonderful and unique aspects of a culture and sharing them with everyone!
The possibilities with crafts are endless so if you are interested in craft activities centered around cultures, come chat with us over at hello@lollibox.sg!
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Stay safe and have a great day!
Love,
The LolliBox Team
