Had a good haul this Lunar New Year? Well, it’s time to spend those dollar dollar bills wisely, and where better than at some of the craziest parties, intriguing art festivals and well-curated markets happening this weekend in Singapore.
Friday Feb 15
PARTY
Blackout Agency’s epic Ritual parties have found a new home for 2019, and it’s non other than at The Substation. For their first revelry of the year, all-time favourite DJ Eric Volta will be on deck duty, promising to take everyone there on a musical journey they won’t soon forget. Feb 15
PARTY
Electronic music performance platform Interstellar will be arriving at Kult on Emily Hill to bring to Earth an out of this world, experimental art and music showcase, Applause. Featuring works and live paintings by Analog Primitive, clothing customisations by Ican Harem, and DJ sets by Russian artist OBGON and Interstellar’s resident Atika Altar. Feb 15
ART
Get in touch with some Chinese culture at Huayi 2019 taking place at the Esplanade. This 17th edition has a full roster of free and ticketed programmes happening over 10 days, with perfromances by indie bands, famed musicians, local artists and more. Feb 15-24
DRINK
Looking to taste before you buy? The Straits Wine Company is throwing a TGIF Tasting at Tai Seng for three consecutive Fridays at their Leong Huat Building warehouse, where different wines will be up for sips every evening. Time to put those ang bao monies to good use. Feb 15, 22 and Mar 1
Saturday, Feb 16
FOOD/PARTY
Ce La Vi’s indulgent Sky High Brunch is back, where endless Champagne and modern Asian cuisine await as you groove to the beats from the DJs on deck. Feb 16
MARKET
Calling all phytophiles—everyone’s favourite independent bookstore BooksActually is holding a special pop-up market, and plants are of the highest priority. The PlantsActually Pop-Up Market will be growing and selling plants in a cheeky bid to reset the karma scales from affiliate Math Paper Press’s publishing activity. You’ll obviously still be able to pick up books then too, which is always a great way to spend your money. Feb 16-17
FESTIVAL
Continue your CNY celebrations at Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall’s Wan Qing Festival of Spring 2019, where heritage tours and trails, craft activities, zodiac predictions, music performances and kampong games await. Feb 16-17
PARTY
Love Silent Disco? There’ll be plenty of chances to groove this month as they bring their rockin’ headsets down to the ArtScience Museum atrium for seven nights of partying as part of i Light Singapore 2019. Feb 16, 22-23
ART/FESTIVAL
A brand new arts festival, The Future of Our Pasts Festival, hopes to bring Singapore’s micro-narratives to life, reimagining communities and places of the past and present. Nothing is off the table; the festival will explore various facets of Singapore history—from more well-worn icons like the Sungei Road Thieves Market, to lesser-known stories like the history of classical composition by Singaporean composers. Feb 16-Mar 17
Sunday, Feb 17
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. Through Feb 17
FESTIVAL
Mark the end of the Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebrations 2019 with a bang as massive floats, performers and firecracker displays parade down the streets of New Bridge Road and Eu Tong Sen Street as part of Chingay 2019. Feb 17
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
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. Through Feb 24
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
EXHIBITION
At State of Motion 2019: A Fear of Monsters, your worst nightmares will be pulled apart for in-depth interrogation as installations, paintings and video works reimagine our childhood fears in odd new ways. Go on a guided tour or explore the 11 Kampong Bugis venue yourself; just don’t be startled if you find a chill running down your spine. Through Feb 24
EXHIBITION
Rediscover two ubiquitous hallmarks of Singapore in yesteryear at Sticks by Sebastian Chun, inspired by the childhood game “pick-up sticks” and bakau piling, a technique once commonly used to construct scaffolding. Come by and take in the views as the sculptures come alive at night. 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
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. Through Apr 28
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
