Walkabout the magic of the S'pore Night Festival 2022

The Singapore Night Festival (SNF) is back this year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to take a hiatus over the last 2 years.

Starting from 19 to 27 August 2022, SNF returns with the theme Rebirth for its 13th edition. This year’s festival will zoom in on the BBB precinct’s heritage and stories through makes its highly anticipated return after two years, going hyperlocal as it focuses more closely on the heritage and identity of Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB), and on local artists and arts groups. The festival will feature over 55 programmes including enthralling projection mapping installations on iconic landmarks, Night Lights installations all across the precinct, various performances, and a series of experiential programmes that shed light on the lesser-known stories of the precinct.

#SGNIGHTFEST by Pan United

Over 7-metres long, the #SGNIGHTFEST art installation comprises 3D-printed concrete letters specially created by homegrown concrete company Pan-United. 

#SGNIGHTFEST is Pan-United’s second installation at the Singapore Night Festival.

Stories from Forbidden Hill by Maxin10sity

Hungarian projection mapping production studio Maxin10sity gives us a feast for the eyes with Stories from Forbidden Hill, using ancient wall murals and nature to paint the  narrative of Singapore’s history dating back to the 14th century.

Also there is one hidden germ at the corner end of National Museum of Spore - STEPS (2022).

STEPS (2022) by Victoria Hertel

Date: 19th to 27th Aug 22

Time:7.30pm to 12midnight

Triggered through visitors entering the work's sensory radius the LED light strips change color from their initial white light to various hues along the visible light spectrum, The LEDs reset to white light once the visitor has moved on to the next step.

Cathay Hotel: The Curse of the Missing Red Shoe

Come and see the Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) precinct in a whole new light? Catch a glimpse of this year’s Highlight Act - immersive theatre performance Cathay Hotel: The Curse of the Missing Red Shoe - blends history and imagination in a forty-five-minute detective story featuring icons of the 50s and 60s like Mat Bond, Orang Minyak, and Pontianak. 

Inspector Latiff (foreground)

Mat Bond (left) and Pontianak

Mambo Girl

Orang Minyak
Watch characters from the local film come to life in an immersive outdoor performance opposite the Cathay Building for 6 nights only - 19th, 29th, 24th, 25th, 26th & 27th Aug. Time: 7.30pm, 8.45pm with additional show at 10pm on 19th, 20th, 26th & 27th Aug. 

Produced by local art collective Vertical Submarine, the group created a replica of the historical Cathay complex for their show at a Cathay Green tentage.

Classic Ticket in 1960s

TERRARIUM by AUX Media Group, Binary Style, PAPERSYNTHESIS and BIOS: Living by NFTs

Date: 19th to 27th Aug 22

Time:7.30pm to 12midnight

Imagine a hybridised reality that ponders future possibilities for nature and how technology could blur the lines between what’s living and what’s truly alive. Step into an immersive garden landscape dreamt up by AUX Media Group in collaboration with lifestyle brand Binary Style.

Look out for hornbill flying and otters running as well as Dragon playground on the screen located at National Design Centre.

Touring around BBB to locations such as Armenian Street and Queen Street, as well as familiar landmarks such as CHIJMES and the National Design Centre, to enjoy the vibrancy of the precinct and discover its stories together. Not forgetting the Stamford Court - Stamford Clock Tower.

The Melting Pot by Adeline Tan & Benedict Yeo

Madeleine by Lueur

Glitches of You by Amanda Tan

Date: 19th to 27th Aug 22

Time:7.30pm to 12midnight

Look out for a beautiful hornbill (Top: 1st & 2nd pic) projected on Stamford Clock Tower. The animated bird will take you on a virtual tour of the Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) precinct, which is set to glow in the dark between 19th to 27th August. Time: 7.30pm to 12mn.

PALIMPSEST by William Chan and Brandon Tay

Date: 19th to 27th Aug 22

Time:7.30pm to 12midnight

PALIMPSEST is a poetic expression of the artists’ contemporary take into the history and evolution of the now pedestrianised street.

The evolution of Armenian Street to a palimpsest – a medieval wax tablet or parchment from which writing has been partially or completely erased to make space for another text, these multiple translucent screens can be seen as a series of connections, presenting the Street as a palimpsest both literally and metaphorically, inscribed with layers of meaning of “here and then” and “then and now”. 

Photosensitivity Advisory: This work features flashing lights. Visitors with light-sensitive conditions should exercise caution.

Paddy Fields by FARM

Date: 19th to 27th Aug 22

Time:7.30pm to 12midnight

Paddy Fields recalls the forgotten practice of drying cultivated rice along the banks of Sungei Brass Bassa (now Stamford Canal) in the early 19th-century. The area was close to the paddy fields that used to be located opposite today’s KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. South Asian washermen and women also laundered clothes there, laying them out to dry on an adjacent open space. Using a palette of humble materials, this installation seeks to evoke the sentiments reminiscent of these activities from a bygone era.

Further up along the walkway is the Raffles City where there is a huge structure stood tall located outside ihe entrance

An Ocean Without the Anchor by SPEAK CRYPTIC

Date: 19th to 27th Aug 22

Time:7.30pm to 12midnight

An Ocean Without the Anchor is inspired by the lighthouse, a sturdy structure synonymous with being a beacon of hope shining in the darkness. A guiding light for those lost at sea, the lighthouse gives a sense of comfort to seamen leaving and returning home.

The tower comprises five figures sitting stacked on each other’s shoulders. At the top is the roof of a traditional kampung house, signifying shelter and safety as our community slowly transitions into “the new normal”.

The SNF2022 also expands to Fort Canning Park this year, showcasing works that festival-goers can enjoy at any time of the day. Tobyato Bird Pitstop by tobyato is an artistic nod to Singapore’s rich bird biodiversity, inspired by the William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings, inviting festival-goers to rediscover the well trodden park by night.

Trolling in the park, Under My Tree Roof is artist Chloë Manasseh’s first voyage into translating her artwork into a digital print displayed on the iconic Fort Canning Spiral Stairway.

Night Lights

Art Installstions within Bras Basah.Bugis

Date: 19th to 27th Aug 22

Time:7.30pm to 12midnight daily

There are lots of Arts Installations located at Banyan Tree, Waterloo Centre, Stamford Arts Centre, Ford Canning park, SMU Campus Green snd Bras Basah Complex.

Below are some of the photos shot by me.

Celebration of Life+Style by Justin Lee

NOCTURE: Conversations with Waterloo by Nhawfal Juma'at

We can no longer be Strangers after this by Perception3

Fēcundus by Twardzik Ching Chor Leng

Through Worlds by Jo Ho and Intriguant

Through Worlds is an imagination of the endless possibilities that emerging technologies which includes traveling through parallel worlds that simultaneously exist with the current physical one.

Performances & Arts&Crafts

Date: 26th to 27th Aug 22

Time:7pm to 10.30pm

Catch performances featuring the unique soundscape of Singapore by Nanyang Collective, modern multi-ethnic music by SwaRhythm Ensemble, and performance art about Malay dance gestures by P7:1SMA.

SwaRhythm Ensemble music

Discoloo Centre by P7:1SMA

Soak in the charm and the richness of ethnic arts and enjoy two delightful evenings of interactive traditional arts programmes, with a contemporary twist!

Try your hands at Indian rangoli and Chinese calligraphy, add your own twist to a shadow puppetry play by Paper Monkey Theatre, and stitch a simple motif (cross stitch pattern) at Sulam Circle by Heath Yeo.

I had this Cross Stitch motiff at my mum's house. I had learned how to stitch the rose pattern since I was in my 20s. This stitch pattern can make a perfect handkerchief or a gift to a loved ones.

Floral Cross Stitch Patterns

Don’t miss the “Get-to-Know" sessions on Chinese opera, Hainanese rod puppetry and Peranakan embroidery to learn something interesting about our traditional arts and crafts.

Swipe through and book your tickets now with Klook, the Official Ticketing Partner for the Singapore Night Festival 2022!

There are more programmes available and you can refer to the Festival website for the full listing. Also keep a look out for food kiosks adding to the festivities over the weekend.

For more information on the Singapore Night Festival 2022, visit the Festival website.

In addition, there is a tentage just outside NMS - HEAT OF THE NIGHT

Date: 26th to 27th Aug 22

Time:7.30pm to 11pm

The memory of this Singapore Night Festival 2022 and join a self-guided race down memory lane in the Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) precinct. The fastest racers will be in the running for attractive prizes including dining vouchers and a staycation at The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore, on top of bragging rights! Gather your friends and families to solve clues and uncover stories (and heritage) behind some beloved spots of the BBB city centre through interactive activities. Buy your tickets for this self-guided race now!

Registration: Information Booth located outside National Museum of Singapore.

Admission Ticket: S$10 per person *Bundle deal from 3rd to 27th Aug – S$50 up to 6 persons in one group.

Tickets can be purchased from Klook here: https://www.klook.com/en-SG/activity/74704

SYSNMH - Celestial Baby Planets

Mid-Autumn Festival 2022 is back to the SYSNMH!

This year's Mid-Autumn festival will see a line-up of exciting hybrid programmes that will be sure to delight your family and loved ones.

Isn't it cute?

It symbolizes the family reunion and on this day, all families will appreciate the Moon in the evening.

Starting from 16th August 2022  to 25th Sept 2022, look out for the return of physical programmes; workshops, free events, trails & guided tours and not forgetting the 'cute' Celestial Bodies（星球宝宝).

Twilight baby planets 

Produced by Taiwan’s Kai 3D Art Studio and in collaboration with the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, Celestial Bodies is an outdoor installation comprising spherical lanterns featuring five of the artist’s characters: Moon, Earth, Sun, Saturn, and Mercury.

The installation pays tribute to the moon which is at its brightest and roundest on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month during the Mid-Autumn Festival. 

Bring your kids down to SYSNMH who could love to hug and to embrace the baby planets!

Your kids could love it!!

Wan Qing Mid-Autumn Festival 2022

Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall 

Date: 16 Aug – 25 Sep 2022

Opening Hours: Time:

Lawn Installation hours:

16 Aug – 25 Sep 2022

Time: 10am – 9pm daily

Extended Gallery hours:

20 & 21 Aug 2022

27 & 28 Aug 2022

3 & 4 Sep 2022 (Wan Qing Mid-Autumn Festival 2022) 

10 & 11 Sep 2022

Time: 10am – 9pm 

Revive and rejoin the story, traditions behind mid-autumn festival, one of the oldest cultural festivals in the world, and revel in the rich historical and cultural significance of the festival with a line-up of live performances, cultural workshops, heritage walking tours, storytelling sessions, and more during the weekend open house.

For more information about the Wan Qing Mid-Autumn Festival, please visit Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall’s website (https://www.sysnmh.org.sg/en) and Facebook page

(https://www.facebook.com/sysnmh) throughout the festival period.

Old-Age Craft X New Design

How would you put a modern spin on products produced by traditional crafts like rangoli making, ketupat weaving, Chinese lantern making or Peranakan 

beadwork and embroidery?

Last year in July 2021, National Heritage Board (NHB) put out an open call for designers to work with local craft practitioners. NHB's efforts to breathe new life into traditional practices whose future is increasingly uncertain.

The four craft practitioners have been selected, variously involved in Chinese lantern making, ketupat weaving, rangoli making and Peranakan beadwork.

Craft X Design is to raise public awareness and appreciation of local traditional crafts; and to explore how traditional crafts can be revitalized to ensure their long-term sustainability and commercial viability.

The project is aimed to help traditional local craft practitioners to discover new audiences, modernising the crafts and creating new markets in the long run.

Making of traditional Chinese lanterns

Jimm Wong(right) x Melvin Ong

Mr Jimm Wong is one of the last traditional Chinese lantern makers in Singapore and specialises in making Foochow lanterns. As a Chinese heritage enthusiast, he became deeply 

interested in traditional Chinese lanterns in 2006 and has been practicing the craft since 2007. He has also been continuously innovating, by incorporating modern technologies such as 3D printing into his lantern-making process, as well as using different materials such as aluminum 

rods to make the lantern structure. Most of his lanterns he made by himself by hand. He is currently making custom-made traditional lanterns.

Jimm Wong visited Mr Lee Ah Hock (one of the last Foochow lantern maker from Penang) but sadly Mr Lee passed away few years ago and the other lantern maker in Zhejiang Xianju, China. So... who are the people making the lanterns? The tradition of lantern making is dying, but Jimm Wong is trying his best to keep the trade alive by applying modern techniques, he tries to innovate and thinks of ways to get people interested again.

Mr Melvin Ong, a senior designer from NextOfKin Creatives (NOK). NOK is a branding and industrial design firm with cross disciplinary creative thinkers and problem solvers. His firm has worked long-term clients such as Dell, Panasonic, Huawei, Sennheiser and Techronic Industries. Work with Jimm Wong, a local lantern maker, they designed a bamboo lantern composed of three spherical layers that can rotate individually.

The Harmony Sphere Lamp

The Harmony Sphere Lamp may look like a contemporary spin in the living hall or bedroom or even outside hanging lantern balcony in the open, it can rotate itself if there is a wind blowing. It can be made of any shapes and sizes. 

The making and hanging of Chinese lanterns is a tradition dating back to the Han Dynasty (206BC - 220AD) in China. In Spore, lanterns are hung during CNY and the Mid-Autumn festival outside homes, temples and clan associations, may light lanterns in celebration of deities' birthdays, or festivals and other occasions like funerals or weddings. Occasionally, indivdual households especially bungalow owners or collectors may also have commission lanterns.

There are 2 types of lanterns in S'pore - Teochew and Foochow lanterns - differs in the frames and drawings. The most common type of Teochew lanterns are "Oval Lantern" 大何灯笼 and "Persimmon Lantern" 大柿灯笼. For Foochow lanterns, a common type is the "Umbrella lantern" 伞灯.

Traditional timber lantern ribs holder (top) & Traditional timber lantern base knob (bottom).

The tools are required to cut bamboo into the required length and thickness for forming the lantern frames as well as both traditional and 3-D printed lantern parts to be used by Jimm Wong in his lanterns.

Most of the lanterns will never turn out the same, there will always be something like crocked or slanted but some people will like it that way. For example, when you wrap around the bamboo weaving, it will have this textured look. The lanterns will turn out beautifully uniformed, the spacings are accurate because of the 3D printing. The 3D printed part can be very straight, so Jimm Wong can rely on the machine to do the printing, so 3D printing thus helps him reduce the time and the cost per lantern

Peranakan beadwork and embroidery

Raymond Wong x Joanna Lim/Joanne Quak

Mr Raymond Wong has been practicing Peranakan beadwork and embroidery for more than 16 years and is one of the last few Peranakan kebaya makers in Singapore. He is the co-owner of boutique shop Rumah Kim Choo, where he also conducts classes to teach and promote Peranakan beadwork. In addition, he has been a part-time lecturer at the Fashion Textile Faculty in LASALLE since 2013. His works have been extensively featured in various museum exhibitions and fashion shows, both in Singapore and internationally, including in Malaysia, China, Korea, Japan, Russia, Czech Republic and Uzbekistan.

Ms Joanna/Ms Joanne Quak are designers from Aller Row, a Spore-based fashion label. Formerly known as B1NARY, Aller Row has been featured with H&M and in the ASEAN Fashion Designer Showcase. Their works have also been featured individually and as a team across various online and printed platforms.

The Peranakan Kebaya gown/dress features two triangular front panels (lipak) that falls gently over the hips.

Imagine you are in a spotlight wearing this stunning gown at Star Awards and/or lavish wedding.

Peranakan Beaded Slippers

Beaded Slippers are crafted by stitching the beaded cloth onto a shoe frame, and typically featured floral, geometric and/or bird motifs.

Beaded Shoes

Sport shoes can be made by beaded layers for fashion too. Even Peranakan high heel shoes were made by beaded with flora/flowers by stitching it. My mum wore Peranakan high heel shoe in her younger days.

Rangoli

Ms Vijaya Mohan x Mr Jarrod Lim (Jarrod Lim Design)

Final Rangoli Patterns

Coloured Powders for making Rangoli designs

Ms Vijaya Mohan, creative and talented, has been practicing rangoli since the age of 5 and now has over 55 years of experience in the craft. She has created more than 8000 rangolis in Singapore, and she currently holds the Guinness World Record for the largest rangoli pattern ever created. She has actively experimented with using new materials and contemporary designs for her rangoli works, such as the 2016 Rangoli Radiance exhibition at Gardens by the Bay, where she 

incorporated glitter and over 15,000 glass marbles. Besides promoting rangoli through arts classes and workshops in local schools, she is also a trained art therapist, and works regularly with welfare organisations to conduct rangoli programmes for underserved communities, including seniors, children with special needs, and those facing mental health challenges.

(Jarrod Lim Design) Jarrod Lim, half-Singaporean & half-Australian, a versatile designer, who's able to design both for the more inffluent consumer like those that patronise Royal Selangor. Oh..yes I remember I did bought Royal Selangor Pewter item years ago and kept at my mum's home.

Jarrod Lim now operates his studio from Singapore with an enticing gallery space at the front and his office tucked away at the back. He continues his search for new and interesting projects with clients that are open to fresh thinking and looking for an innovative solution. All of them result from his disverse upbringing and his unique spectrum of experiences.

Jarrod's metalware - Lampshade & the Bowl

Old craft and new design, Jarrod Lim utilised laser-cutting technology to carve Vijaya's intricate rangoli motifs onto slices of stainless steel.

Close-up: Metal Lampshade

The thin and flexible metal slices were then folded by hand into the form of the lampshade and the bowl.

Ketupat weaving

Mdm Anita Tompang (left)

Mdm Anita Tompang started learning the skills of ketupat weaving at the age of 9, and now has nearly 50 years of experience with it. She was recently featured in Berita Harian for her commitment to this tradition, having woven ketupats by hand every Hari Raya for over 20 years. Although ketupat weaving has become a less common activity, she has persisted in her own efforts to keep this craft alive in Singapore, including teaching and involving her own children in ketupat weaving.

The variety of Ketupats on display are all woven by ICH practitioner Mdm Anita Tompang and show how ketupat weaving techniques could be used to create a range of different ketupat forms and shapes.

Ketupat Ribbon
This ketupat ribbon looks like partyforte decoration that I saw my "Malay-Muslim" neighbour, hanging ketupat ribbons in their home for Hari Raya occasions.

Raya Furniture - instead of coconut leaves and rice cakes, strips of thick felt were woven around foams of different densities, inspired by function of Ketupats as containers.

Each colour module was woven or riveted together with other modules, which were stacked in different combinations to create the bench and stool on display. It could be nice if these ketupat texture - woven palm leaf be placed in beautiful homes.

Closeup: Ketupat Woven felt

It can rearrange each modular to form a pillow or cushion.

Four craft practitioners and designers

Their works to be showcased to the public at NHB spaces or online platforms together with videos and photos of the craft-making process.

Get up close with these modern prototypes of age-old crafts at the National Museum as part of National Heritage Board's inaugural Craft X Design showcase.

The "Craft x Design" exhibition by the National Heritage Board (NHB) at the National Museum Singapore (NMS) is on from 1st July 2022 to 31st July 2022.

They will be sharing more about collabroration process, their experiences and challenges, and their reflections on their journey of adapting traditional crafts into comtemporary products during this sessons.

Participants will also be given the opportunity to try their hand at weaving ketupats or creating rangoli, in hands-on sessions conducted by Mdm Anita Tompang and Mdm Vijaya Mohan respectively.

Date: 9th July 2022

Venue: National Museum of Spore, Activity Room Space, Level 3, 93 Stamford Road S178897

Time: 1.30pm to 4pm

Admission: Free with registration at https://go.gov.sg/cxdsharing2022 (limited seated available).