An annual visual arts festival illuminating Singapore’s Civic District is back tomorrow with more blazing programs that will go on for an additional week.
The Light to Night Festival’s lights will burn for three weeks, up from two usually, with more light projections, live gigs, and interactive art from emerging artists.
Led by National Gallery Singapore, the day and night programs will return to the Asian Civilisations Museum, Esplanade’s Theatres on the Bay, The Arts House, Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall, and also debut at the National Library Board, Capitol Singapore, and Funan.
This year’s theme – New Ways of Seeing, Thinking and Being – challenges the public to gain new perspectives, ignite conversations, and shift between states of mind to accept that the world has evolved in the “new normal.”
National Gallery Singapore
On the gallery’s facade, light projections by Metamo Industries and Benedict & Palmer reinterpret the city’s iconic architecture through a cyberpunk lens. Catch a glimpse of HDBs and animation within a soundscape of hard-hitting electronic music.
Want to see anime characters and robots bask before a Singapore’s backdrop? An interactive augmented reality exhibition just outside the National Gallery lets guests project them in 360 degrees with accompanying soundscapes at any time of the day. This is the first time leading AR art production studio Acute Art is collaborating with Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen.
More diverse voices are included this year with programs highlighting the visually impaired community. A multi-sensory art installation Move For?ward (Unseen: Inside Out) by the Unseen Art Initiative at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium Foyer is a 20-minute experience that questions the perceptions and assumptions surrounding disabilities. Participants have to navigate a web of strings with their vision slightly restricted while answering thought-provoking questions.
At the gallery’s courtyard, you won’t miss the hanging installation by artists Jerome Ng Xin Hao, Zed Haan and Finbarr Fallon. Making Room depicts the changes in our private spaces due to the pandemic, the physical and mental challenges to accommodate new lifestyles in our homes and the need to constantly make room in a physical and psychological sense.
Padang
There are two installations at the giant green space. The first is an interactive installation inspired by the movement of a flight of birds and of people during the pandemic. A symphony of light and colors will emit when it detects Bluetooth signals from one’s device.
Further up ahead, there is a reconstructed shoreline from the 1800s where you can walk on the sand meant to let the public look back on the Padang’s past as a coastline.
The Arts House
Another light projection, this time by students from Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Design & Media explores the search of the great escape while encountering paths leading to dark mysteries.
Just in front of the building, you will find a roof of a building emerging from the patch of grass. This whimsical installation The City Beneath The City is inspired by the titular short story by artist and writer Jason Wee where it reimagines a world where new buildings are built over existing older buildings.
Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall
Or check out this other light projection of students from Nanyang Polytechnic from a performing arts standpoint as it shows the struggles of performing artists and how they overcome them with self-discovery, harmonies and choreographies.
Besides these art installations, expect live performances and comedy sketches at the National Gallery featuring local artists such as Keyana, Sezairi and comedian Kumar.
If that’s not enough, there are many more programs available with some online.
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