The highly popular annual night celebration organized by the people at Aliwal Arts Centre is here again. Come Aug 19, you are invited to walk among the shadows in the rich heritage district of Kampong Glam as Aliwal Arts Night Crawl pays tribute to the traditional art of wayang kulit. This year, for the first time, you get to soak in the rich line-up of programs in a pedestrianized neighborhood as it goes car-free just for the festival.
A weekend market
Over 25 independent designers will be setting up shop at The Aliwal Night Market that’s happening concurrently with the Aliwal Arts Night Crawl. Get your wallets ready and head over to the Aliwal Street Carpark and get your pick of artisanal products, fashion steals and gourmet food.
Exotic performance venues
Many new venues have come onboard the festival this year. Check out an opera recital taking place at Turkish Light Store, a storytelling session with live music at Intersections Gallery, a shadow puppet performance at Pahang Street car park, among many others.
Shadow puppetry
This ancient art form takes centrestage at this year’s festival. Witness a traditional wayang kulit performance featuring larger-than-life shadow puppets, hear stories from the Ramayana and Sang Nila Utama accompanied by gamelan music, and even get to create your very own shadow puppet via silkscreen techniques.
Rousing music performances
Expect acts like the energetic percussionist ensemble NADI Singapura (pictured above) and Singapore’s most celebrated DJ/Turntablist Ko Flow, who will work his magic live with pieces from his new album including the aptly titled single, Arab Street. NADA and renowned artist Bani Haykal also pairs up in an exciting debut collaboration. Need we say more?
Kampong Glam goes car-free
For the first time, Aliwal Arts Night Crawl is supported by the Streets For People, a community-initiated project to transform our streets into meaningful public spaces. As a result, you get to walk along the streets of Kampong Glam, one of the coolest hoods in town, without worrying about traffic. Look out for roving performance The Fantastic Mythluminator by RSCLS, an intriguing contraption that projects moving shadows depicting a scene from Lord of the Rings, juxtaposed with the epic Ramanaya.
There’s so much more happening at this year’s Aliwal Arts Night Crawl, so be sure to check out this annual multi-disciplinary arts festival held in Kampong Glam that pays homage to the rich cultural heritage of the area. For the full event schedule and more details, head on over to their page here. Also, check out the highlights from last year’s event here.
