Lifestyle
The 10-day event at the Civic District kicks off on Friday (Jan 19). It will feature light projections and art installations, musical performances, and food and crafts stalls – and that’s just what’s available outdoors.
Light To Night Festival’s Art Skins On Monuments features looped visuals created by Singapore artists that are projected unto the facade of the buildings at the Civic District. (Photo: Christy Yip)
SINGAPORE: When the Light to Night Festival kicks off at the Civic District on Friday night (Jan 19), audiences can put their artistic stamp on the festivities, literally.
Among the event’s highlights is Chromascope, an interactive installation by Australia’s Spinifex Group where people can step on 12 stomping pads to control the visual images projected unto the facade of the National Gallery Singapore’s City Hall wing.
Visitors to Light To Night Festival can try their hand at manipulating Chromascope, an interactive installation where they can change the projection by stepping on stomping pads. (Photo: Christy Yip)
The game-like artwork will be complemented by the Instagram-friendly Art Skins On Monuments, a series of looped projections shown on the facades of the museum’s former Supreme Court Building wing, as well as its neighbours The Arts House, Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, and Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM).
Curated by artists Brandon Tay and Safuan Johari, these will include creations by 30 Singapore artists such as Samantha Lo, Speak Cryptic, Zero, Kristal Melson and Mojoko.
The two outdoor works are among the various outdoor and indoor events and installations that visitors can check out at the precinct-wide festival, which is a marquee event of Singapore Art Week.
A seemingly endless labyrinth awaits those who enter House Of Mirrors by Christian Wagstaff and Keith Courtney at the Empress Lawn. (Photo: Christy Yip)
Themed “Colour Sensations”, the 10-day event runs until Jan 28. It starts from 5pm till midnight on weekends (Fridays and Saturdays), while the outdoor light installations will be up from 8pm till 10pm throughout the festival.
On both weekends, the Padang will also transform into picnic ground featuring more than 80 food and craft stalls. There will also be music performances and poetry readings.
Meanwhile, other art installations will be scattered throughout the Civic District grounds.
Over at Empress Lawn, there’s House Of Mirrors by Australia’s Christian Wagstaff and Keith Courtney, where visitors can enter a very challenging and disorienting labyrinth of mirrors.
The Esplanade Park Tunnel also gets a futuristic makeover with lighting design collective Nipek’s Trip To The Colourscape. (Photo: Christy Yip)
Architecture students from National University of Singapore have also created a site-specific work at ACM Green, while the Esplanade Park Tunnel has been given an artistic makeover by Singapore-based design collective Nipek. The latter will be complemented by weekend musical performances held at the Esplanade Park premises itself.
“We see this as a throwback to the Civic District’s rich heritage of being a shared space where people from all walks of life meet to interact and bond by the Singapore River,” said Suenne Megan Tan, festival director and National Gallery Singapore’s director for audience development and engagement.
The festival won’t be limited to outdoor events – there will also be performances and exhibitions inside the various institutions’ premises.
A kaleidoscope room by artist duo Other Half is one of the new indoor artworks seen at Asian Civilisations Museum. (Photo: Christy Yip)
The National Gallery Singapore, for instance, is presenting five newly commissioned indoor artworks. It will also extend its opening hours until midnight on weekends and offer free admission to all its exhibitions.
The Asians Civilisations Museum have also commissioned works, which include a life-sized kaleidoscope installation by artist duo Other Half.
During the festival’s two weekends, St Andrew’s Road will be closed from 4pm to 1am. For more details on Light To Night Festival, visit its website here.
