Culture | Art and Design
Singapore Art Week 2019: A guide to the best events, festivals and activities to get you on a creative high
Arty city
Text: Aravin Sandran
Aliwal Urban Art Festival 2019
Location: Aliwal Arts Centre & Kampong Glam, 28 Aliwal Street, Singapore 199918
Organised by Aliwal Arts Centre, the Aliwal Urban Art Festival is a riotous celebration of street culture — everything from visual arts (particularly graffiti) to alternative music (afro-beat and ska) to skateboarding and breakdancing will be taking over the hip heritage district of Kampong Glam for one wild evening. On the line-up: a mini skate clinic for newbies, silversmithing workshops and a dance battle featuring some of the best urban dancers today.
The MeshMinds Foundation and LASALLE College of the Arts presents: Art x Tech For Good
Location: Roger&Sons, 115 King George's Avenue, Singapore 208561
Dates: 19 January to 27 January 2019
Singapore's first student-led, art-meets-tech exhibition brings together the students of LASALLE College of the Arts and the latest developments in VR painting, 360 films and 3D printing. Expect immersive and interactive experiences such as a digital graffiti wall that's erasable at the click of a button.
Light to Night Festival 2019: Traces and Echoes
Various locations: National Gallery Singapore, The Arts House, Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall, Asian Civilisations Museum, Empress Lawn, Esplanade Park, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay
Dates: 18 January to 24 February 2019
This year's Light to Night Festival has been expanded to six weeks and will comprise of two editions: one for Singapore Art Week (18 January to 27 January) and another for Singapore's Bicentennial (28 January to 24 February). Witness the histories and stories of the Civic District as well as 200 years of the nation's past come alive through large-scale light projections and indoor installations.
ARTWALK Little India 2019
Various locations: Little India precinct and UltraSuperNew Gallery, 107 Rowell Road, Singapore 208031
Dates: 18 January to 2 February 2019
Based on the theme of "Image and Sound of Fragrance", Singapore's most authentic cultural precinct will play host to ARTWALK for the fifth time this year. Revel in dine-in arts experiences by storyteller Kamini Ramachandran as well as painters Divyam Ragunath and Aryan Kapoor, or head on Insta-worthy tours of brand-new murals around the neighbourhood before stopping for a masala tea to cap the evening.
The Projector Culture Docs (Contemporary & Fine Art edition)
Location: The Projector, 6001 Beach Road, Golden Mile Tower, #05-00, Singapore 199589
Admission: $13.50
Indie cinema The Projector will be screening documentaries on larger-than-life cultural icons: father of the Surrealism Salvador Dali, Japanese artist Hokusai (creator of the "Great Wave") and British land artist Andy Goldsworthy. If a sit-down shindig is more up your alley than a walk about town, then these films' keyhole glimpse into some of the most influential creative minds will be a two-hour, sweat-free masterclass worth every cent.
S.E.A. Focus
Location: Gillman Barracks
Admission: 1-day pass is available at $15. Entry is free for students.
Dates: 24 to 27 January 2019
An initiative by the Singapore Tyler Print Institute — Creative Workshop & Gallery, S.E.A. Focus is a homegrown boutique art fair that will showcase some of the best contemporary and emerging art around the region with over 26 galleries, 54 artists and 186 artworks all under the roof of a pop-up structure at Gillman Barracks. There'll also be an exciting line-up of programming including panel discussions on topics such as patronage, collecting and globalisation featuring young Chinese collector Lu Xun and Coda Culture's Seelan Palay as well as an exclusive supper club dining experience with Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija and German sculptor Tobias Rehberger.
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