Roots of Knowledge at the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ Botanical Art Gallery is a free exhibition that connects the dots between indigenous plant knowledge and modern botany. It is the kind of show that turns a Sunday wander through SBG into a quietly educational afternoon.
The Botanical Art Gallery is one of the underrated stops inside SBG — air-conditioned, calm, and free to enter.
Roots of Knowledge at a glance
- Venue: Botanical Art Gallery, Singapore Botanic Gardens.
- Focus: The intersection of indigenous plant knowledge and modern botanical research.
- Format: Mixed art, specimens and storytelling panels.
- Cost: Free entry.
- Best for: Curious adults, secondary-school students, casual museum visitors.
Why this exhibition is worth a slow read
Modern botany sits on a long history of plant knowledge held by traditional healers, foragers and farmers across Southeast Asia. Roots of Knowledge maps those connections — naming the people, the practices and the plants that contributed to what we now consider scientific knowledge.
It is a reminder that the field is still learning — and still has things to learn from communities outside the lab.
What to look out for
- Traditional plant uses — across medicinal, culinary and craft applications.
- Modern science crossovers — pharmacology, conservation, ethnobotany.
- Regional voices — Southeast Asian communities and practitioners.
- Visual material — botanical illustrations and reference photographs.
Plan the visit
- MRT: Botanic Gardens (CC19/DT9) — Tanglin Gate.
- Combine with: In Green — Asuka Hishiki, Pressing Plants Matters, Healing Garden, Centre for Ethnobotany.
- Sketching: Welcomed.
- Time needed: 30-45 minutes.
Add Roots of Knowledge to your next SBG morning — it is one of the most thoughtful free exhibitions in the city.
