It’s the last week of January and we’ve all finally accepted that 2019 is about to get real. Taper your work woes with major happenings in town, such as the now annual i Light Singapore making its return for a massive display. The child in all of us can also look forward to new carnival Toybox come the end of the week, where you can let loose proper in a giant playground meant for adults. Time to flip over to your February calendars people.
FESTIVAL
Sustainable light art festival i Light Singapore returns for a massive Bicentennial edition commemorating 200 years of being colonised Singapore’s founding. A total of 32 artworks set to the theme “Bridges of Time” will be on display, and will be for the first time include being installed on six iconic bridges around the Singapore River and Marina Bay. Expect a larger festival area too, with installations extending to Fort Canning Park. Jan 28-Feb 24
EXHIBITION
Local artist John Toh is showcasing watercolour pieces of iconic Singapore landmarks old and new, such as Temple Street, Keong Saik and the Supertrees, in a new solo exhibition titled Cityscapes, Ancient and Present. Held at Pan Pacific Singapore‘s public art space. Through Jan 28
EXHIBITION
Lend your support for local passions made possible at architect-turned-art teacher Tay Zhiyong’s debut solo art show Brush Diary. Featured in this debut are familiar scenes from Tay’s daily business of living—like the Fullerton Waterboat House, Marina Bay Financial Centre; even a bridge at Tampines River. Part of Singapore Art Week 2019. Through Jan 29
DRINK/FOOD
Head Bartender Julian Youssef from the best bar in the Middle East and Africa, Central Station, will be in town at Tippling Club for one night only, presenting five-course pairing event Once Upon a Time in Lebanon. Get to taste five sensational cocktails, all paired with tantalizing dishes from Tippling Club’s kitchen. Jan 30
PARTY
Former music and lifestyle journalist turned producer Kevin Ho is now making his debut as The Beat Usagi on the decks of Upstairs at Headquarters, in a special edition of Council Thursdays. He’ll be dishing out everything from melodic techno to darker grooves to get you dancing to his beat. Jan 31
EXHIBITION
Celebrating our hawker culture and protecting the men and women toiling behind each stall has never been more pertinent. Pledge your support to induct this beloved part of our everyday life into the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the travelling Our SG Hawker Culture Exhibition popping up at various hawker centres and community venues around Singapore. Through Jan 31
FESTIVAL
Inspired by the history of its immediate surroundings, the Asian Civilisations Museum is gathering a series of interactive artworks for display in a two-weekend showcase titled Light to Night Festival. Walk through a giant time capsule, revisit nostalgic games and come out knowing more about the Civic District than you did before. Feb 1-2
CARNIVAL
Go crazy like the kidult you are at toy giant Hasbro’s first multi-brand blowout, Toybox. Have fun with games and activities under brands like Transformers, Nerf and My Little Pony, including a human-sized claw machine, a jumbo play pool, and a Cluedo-inspired escape room, all set in a massive 4,800 sqm playground on Sentosa’s Palawan Beach. Feb 1-17
EXHIBITION
Asian Civilisations Museum and London’s British Museum are coming together to present Raffles in Southeast Asia: Revisiting the Scholar and Statesman, to illuminate the different sides of founding father Sir Stamford Raffles himself. Peer into the historic Raffles Collection on loan from the British Museum, that comprises largely Javanese and Sumatran objects Raffles personally collected during his time in the region. Feb 1-Apr 28
ART
Set to the theme “Image and Sound of Fragrance”, the fifth Artwalk Little India returns this year to the buzzing heritage district with more experiential works, where guests get to admire public art displays, wall murals, performances and more, all happening in the real-world stage of Little India. Part of Singapore Art Week 2019. Through Feb 2
EXHIBITION
Peranakan Museum’s latest exhibition, Amek Gambar: Peranakans and Photography, delves into the Southeast Asian history of photography through the pictured lives of the Peranakan community in the region. Through Feb 3
FILM
The 22nd edition of the Japanese Film Festival presents a bumper crop of 31 films this year, with screenings of Japan’s best at Shaw Theatres Lido, *Scape and The Projector. If you can only catch one screening, make it zom-com One Cut of the Dead, the festival’s opening film. Through Feb 10
EXHIBITION
Next up in Telok Ayer Arts Club’s roster of artists is Dawn Ng with 11, an experiential performance piece on human relationships that involves bringing together 11 pairs of strangers. Pay for a ticket and become part of the performance, in a social experiment-type show that combines audience participation with speed dating. Through Feb 14
EXHIBITION
Brace yourself for a disturbing visual experience at contemporary video artist Toh Hun Ping’s first solo show Dance of a Humble Atheist. In it Toh marries his self-invented techniques of bleaching, scratching and recycling filmstrips, with more than 600 handmade ceramic pieces—for a painstakingly made, frame-by-frame stop-motion masterpiece. Part of Singapore Art Week 2019. Through Feb 17
EXHIBITION
Working at the intersection of art and technology, local artist Andre Wee presents a solo exhibition of traditional and new media works (where both oil paintings and digital creations alike shine) with Within Without, held at the Mulan Gallery. Part of Singapore Art Week 2019. Through Feb 23
FESTIVAL
Crowd favourite Light to Night returns for its third year, with a bumper six-week edition to span both Singapore Art Week and the Singapore Bicentennial in February. While the second half of the festival has been themed to honour Singapore’s histories, the first two weekends will see installations and programmes emphasising new perceptions of art via the five senses. Through Feb 24
EXHIBITION
From Cold Storage to Tiger Balm, come chart the evolution of print advertising in Singapore from the 1830s to 1960s at Selling Dreams: Early Advertising in Singapore. Aside from just print advertisements, the exhibition at the National Library also includes interactive multimedia stations for you to experience life as a consumer in early Singapore. Through Feb 24
CARNIVAL
The second coming of the Prudential Marina Bay Carnival is here, set to transform the Marina waterfront into a colossal fairground filled with rides, games, food, and of course, plenty of pretty lights. This time, entry is free, and with more rides to check out than before. Through Mar 24
EXHIBITION
Trace the Polaroid camera’s fascinating history at the National Museum of Singapore’s latest exhibition, In an Instant: Polaroid at the Intersection of Art and Technology, featuring over 200 Polaroid artefacts and artworks from the original collection. Through Mar 31
EXHIBITION
The ground-breaking Minimalism: Space. Light. Object exhibition spanning National Gallery Singapore and ArtScience Museum traces the origins and evolutions of the Minimalist art movement, in more than 150 works loaned from all over the world. Check out our quick picks here. Through Apr 14
EXHIBITION
One of Singapore’s smallest minority communities is finally having their moment in the spotlight at Chetti Melaka of the Straits: Rediscovering Peranakan Indian Communities. Come hear the lesser-known stories of the Chetti Melaka, also known as Peranakan Indians—descendants of early South Indian migrants who to Singapore in the 15th and 16th centuries, and married local Chinese or Malay women. Through May 5
