8 Reasons Why You Should Not Miss The Coming Singapore Night Festival 2016

The iconic Singapore Night Festival returns this weekend! Every year, the variety of exhibitions, installations and festival atmosphere fail to disappoint, so we can’t wait for Singapore’s arts and heritage district to become pedestrian-only zones and for the festival vibe to hit.

This year is the ninth edition of the festival, and draws inspiration from Victorian and steam-engine times to create a world with hints of sci-fi and fantasy. From what we see and hear so far, it looks good enough to satisfy our inner sci-fi and fantasy nerds, and promises to be bigger and better.

Here are 8 of the events we’re hyped up for:

1. Delicious food & drink at Festival Village

• – 19 Aug & 20 Aug, 26 Aug & 27 Aug
• – 6.00 PM to 1.00 AM
• – SMU, Festival Village
• – Free Admission

We’re already drooling at all the good food we’re going to get our hands on at the Festival Village. (churros!!!) It’s where the festival atmosphere is most keenly felt, with a throng of people gathering to browse a host of flea market booths and F&B stalls, and enjoy their food and drink. Besides that, it brings a musical festival element – this year, local acts like Linying, Stopgap and HubbaBubbas will perform, as well as the Australian acts Alice Ivy, Tali Mahoney and Frida.

2. Invasion by CLOSE ACT

• – 26 Aug & 27 Aug
• – 8.00 PM to 8.30 PM
• – Armenian Street
• – Free Admission

These mechanical sculptures look like they came out of a storybook – at first glance, we wouldn’t have guessed that this was live display! We can’t wait to immerse ourselves in a mystical world with giant mechanical beasts, inspired by prehistoric and mythical animals, roaming amongst the crowd. We imagine this may have been a little like what Game of Thrones’ Mother of Dragons feels like.

3. Les Aquamens by MACHTIERN

• – 19 Aug & 20 Aug
• – 8:00 PM – 8:30 PM, 9:30 PM – 10:00 PM, 11:00 PM – 11:30 PM
• – Various locations, Various locations in the festival precinct
• – Free Admission

Become part of the performance itself, when two men strike up conversations with you while their heads are encased by fishbowls. They’ll be wandering around the district, prompting us to think about how we connect with each other when there are barriers (represented by the bowls) between us.

4. The Wheel House by Acrojou

• – 19 Aug & 20 Aug
• – 8:00 PM – 8:25 PM, 9:25 PM – 9:50 PM, 10:50 PM – 11:15 PM
• – National Museum of Singapore, Mainground
• – Free Admission

The Wheel House is an acrobatic theatre performance that will roll with the audience at the main ground. The design of the circular house looks amazingly detailed and beautiful, and the dystopian concept brings to mind other tales of survival and friendship in post-apocalyptic settings that we’ve been enjoying.

5. JOURNEY by NOVAK

• – 19 – 27 Aug
• – 7.30 PM to 11.00 PM (Sun – Thu), 7.30 PM to 2.00 AM (Fri & Sat)
• – Singapore Art Museum
• – Free Admission

Jules Verne’s novels will come to life on the walls of the Singapore Art Museum. We’ll be sure to catch this stunning visual display, where intricate designs depicting landscapes from the novels will be projected onto the façade of the museum.

6. KEYFRAMES by Groupe Laps

• – 19 Aug to 27 Aug
• – 7.30 PM to 11.00 PM (Sun – Thu), 7.30 PM to 2.00 AM (Fri & Sat)
• – National Museum of Singapore, Façade
• – Free Admission

The National Museum of Singapore, which appears formidable and formal during the day, gets an energetic new dimension at night thanks to these neon figures. We’re already excited for the cool light show, but beyond that, the figures mean to tell stories and narratives from the city.

7. THE STORY BOX

• – 19 Aug & 20 Aug
• – 8:30 PM – 8:40 PM, 10:00 PM – 10:10 PM, 11:15 PM – 11:25 PM
• – National Museum of Singapore, Gallery 10
• – Free Admission

One of several steampunk-inspired performances, The Story Box is another performance bringing light to the night that we can’t wait for. It looks to be a cool combination of theatrical performance and projected animation, set in an alternate world.

8. THE INK MAPPING

• – 26 Aug & 27 Aug
• – 8:00 PM, 8:30 PM, 9:00 PM, 9:30 PM, 10:30 PM, 11:00 PM
• – National Museum of Singapore, Gallery 10
• – Free Admission

The Ink Mapping brings a whole new dimension to body art. Tattoos become fluid works of art on human skin, as Oskar and Gaspar transform the models’ tattoos into projects that move to create stunning performances.

Image Credit: Nightfest.sg