The Arts House is throwing its annual House Party, a massive celebration where a melting pot of Singaporean artists, writers and musicians come together to share stories about themselves and their work. Happening on Mar 25-26, the party will see a host of forums, exhibitions, film screenings, music performances and more. We break it down for you so you’ll know what to expect when you’re there.
Exhibition (Mar 17 – Apr 12)
Singapore photographers Liana Yang and Lavender Chang will be presenting Pet Me, Pet Me, Look At Me, Love Me—works exploring ideas regarding intimacy and longing, all inspired by written works. Along with the exhibition are workshops and conversations with other artists such as You Jin and O Thiam Chin. You can also join a workshop with Chang and bring or share your personal stories of your favorite hawker dish, or participate in a sensual reading session where Yang deciphers subliminal online dating messages.
How much: Free but registration is required
Where: Various venues at Art House
Musician-poet collaboration (Mar 25)
Witness the magic unfold as 20 Singaporean poets and musicians come together for Note to Note where they’ll tap on each others’ prowesses to create mesmerizing, moving dialogues. Among the line-up are Youth Artist Award winner Marc Nair, sound artist Bani Haykal, the first Youth Poet Ambassador Pooja Nansi, poet and writer Deborah Emmanuel and freelance writer Samuel Caleb Wee.
How much: $20
Where: Chamber, The Arts House
Storytelling (Mar 25)
In celebration of World Storytelling Day, veteran storyteller and co-founder of MoonShadow Stories (a storytelling company) Kamini Ramachandran takes you through Shapeshifters Stories, an Asian folklore of mortals, animals and spirits that transform into other things to pursue their dreams and desires, with accompanying music by Derrick Tay.
How much: $20
Where: Play Den
Classical and jazz performances (Mar 25-26)
A house party isn’t complete without music. There’ll be classical tunes from the likes of Mozart, Prokofiev and Faure presented by Khor Shang Jin, Lillian Wang and Tan Wee-Hsin. Over at the lawn, join the experienced piano-guitar duo Mario Serio and Ernesto Valerio as the churn out soothing renditions of pop and jazz music; RaghaJazz, a regular at Esplanade’s jazz-centric events; and a collab between notable jazz names, Nicole Duffell Trio, Christy Smith and New York-based guitarist Andrew Lim.
How much: Free admission (jazz music) / $20 (classical music)
Where: Living Room or Empress Lawn
Film screenings (Mar 25-26)
Don’t expect full-length, controversial films here. The Arts House is presenting a couple of winning short films from Singapore Heritage Short Film Competition 2016 that showcases artistic interpretations of culture and heritage in Singapore. Highlights include The Art of Singapore by Eileen Chong in Mandarin and Hokkien, also the winner of the competition; Curry Fish Head by Srinivas Bhakta; and The Old Voice by Saleem Hadi, the first runner-up and winner of Cannes Distinguished Community Documentary Award in 2008. Catch Eileen Chong and Saleem Hadi in their separate sharing sessions.
How much: Free
Where: Screening Room
