Singapore’s arts and cultural scene bustles with diversity and local flavours. In spite of its cosmopolitan nature, which opens doors to rich and contemporary global influences, the city remains uniquely Asian. Packed with arts activities, festivals, events and cultural spaces, arts junkies are spoilt for choice.
Singapore’s Arts Festival 2009
The month from 15th May to 14th June presents an exciting array of performances for arts enthusiasts! The Singapore Arts Festival is an annual event held by the National Arts Council and showcases 7 new commissions, including 2 world premiers, 5 Asian premieres and 1 other Asian premiere that is jointly commissioned with international partners.
The line-up boasts 26 core productions and over 400 free outreach performances, exhibitions and special events. Viewers can expect to be enthralled by the extensive programme that ranges from premier classics to contemporary creations, which promise to captivate, engage and uplift.
Response to the 2009 Singapore’s Art Fest has been overwhelming as the event sees the most number of sold out productions since 2004. Popular performances include Mozart’s opera "The Magic Flute" and a concert featuring music from cult video game ‘Final Fantasy’.
For more information, visit www.singaporeartsfest.com.
Museums
Be sure to visit our cultural and art spaces, such as the National Museum of Singapore, the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay. These are some of Singapore’s top spots to view world-class exhibitions and artworks, theatre and much more.
For a visit that will put a twinkle in your eye, the MINT (Moment of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys) Museum of Toys is the world’s first purpose-built museum for toys. Opened in May 2006, it exhibits a wide range of vintage toys from mid-19th century to mid-20th century. These include rare and unique items such as Tintin collectables, exclusive teddy bear collections and Astroboy figurines.
Singapore’s new Peranakan Museum is a treat for culture junkies, or anyone curious about Peranakan heritage. It houses the first comprehensive display of Peranakan culture worldwide and showcases more than 1,200 items. Through the latest technology used in the museum, visitors can enjoy a rich multi-sensory experience of Peranakan heritage that spans from material culture to merchandising and food sampling.
Coming up in 2012 is the National Art Gallery of Singapore, housed in the historic City Hall and former Supreme Court Building. The main focus of this designated cultural icon will be Southeast Asian art. The gallery adds to Singapore’s aspirations of being a regional and international hub for the visual arts; even its compounds are designed to be conducive for art exhibitions. Adding to its complete appeal, the gallery will be adopting a lifestyle concept of retail, food and beverage to serve up an enjoyable experience of the arts in comfort.
Visual and performing art groups
Besides still art forms, Singapore also offers entertaining performances by local and international visual and performing art groups.
The country’s arts scene is enriched by both traditional performances as well as modern eclectic performances which are originals in their own right. For starters, check out Singapore’s established arts groups, which include the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Singapore Dance Theatre, Singapore Lyric Opera, Singapore Repertory Theatre and TheatreWorks.
The Singapore Tourism Board Event Calendar has a comprehensive listing of arts and cultural events in Singapore.
To find out more about the development of arts and culture in Singapore, check out the Profile section.
Images courtesy of Visitsingapore
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