SINGAPORE – The Singapore Night Festival (SNF) enters a new chapter as it returns to light up the Bras Basah.Bugis precinct from 17 to 25 August 2018, with a line-up of riveting performances and provocative installations for all festival-goers. Returning for its 11th edition, the annual Festival invites all to Bring on the Night with new creativity, spotlighting people from different disciplines and backgrounds – including those outside the arts sectors – who are coming together to create and collaborate.
The 2018 edition is supported by more than 60 partners. It will kick off with the annual Night Lights, featuring 16 mesmerising light installations by both local and international artists situated at unique pockets of spaces within Singapore’s arts and heritage district. From 23 to 25 August 2018, revellers can also look forward to a dynamic display of 27 performances from genres across the different arts disciplines, presented alongside an eclectic collective of F&B options and artisan craft offerings.
Festival Director, Angelita Teo, said, “As we enter a new decade of SNF, we wanted to challenge ourselves to expand on the idea of creativity and explore possible synergies. New ideas and refreshing innovations can come from the most unexpected partnerships, and this year we reached out to cross-disciplinary influences and practitioners such as artists, designers, engineers and architects. This diverse mix has resulted in some very exciting collaborations this year, and showcases the festival as a platform where people from all walks of life are able to come together to celebrate, experience and contribute to the arts.”
Multidisciplinary talents take centre stage
SNF 2018 welcomes a myriad of talents from a diverse range of backgrounds. Festivalgoers can look forward to new interpretations of art from these “unexpected artists” as they explore the intersections between art and other disciplines.
One example is the unique collaboration between local jazz dance troupe EV Dance and local engineering firm Hope Technik, who will integrate art and technology to present Let there be ___. The one-of-a-kind performance will see jazz dancers donning and performing with the ‘Audra Exoskeleton’ – a specially designed suit manufactured by Hope Technik to assist workers in lifting heavy weights.
Taking part in SNF for the first time, Singaporean accountant turned visual artist Teng Kai Wei invites festival goers from all walks of life to take The Leap of Faith, to explore and discover the world around them. A parallel to Teng’s own courageous journey leaving a familiar office environment and taking the plunge to be a full-time artist, the honeycombinspired installation shows how the support of a close-knitted community enriches individual experiences. The installation also lights up with words of encouragement when visitors interact with it.
The Leap of Faith by Teng Kai Wei
Art meets technology meets fashion as the festival partners with the World of WearableArt for the first time. The internationally renowned New Zealand-based design competition, whose alumni include the likes of Maria Tsopanaki and Dimitri Mavinis – designers for Lady Gaga, the Black Eyed Peas and Jessie J – will display eight past competition creations that are in themselves a theatrical spectacle. Among the eight is Life Pulse (Biological Micro-universe), the first shortlisted entry from Singapore by Singaporebased Galina Mihaleva, Assistant Professor at the National Technological University’s School of Art, Design and Media.
World of WearableArt
More up-close and unexpected encounters at the Festival
To create a more immersive experience for every visitor, the festival has also revamped the way in which the programmes and performances are presented.
Programme Director of the Festival, Jervais Choo shared, “This year, we have chosen to adopt a different format with performances and acts spontaneously stepping up-close to our festival-goers to encourage them to add their own creative energy to the performances and actively participate in the festival. The idea is for unexpected encounters at different corners of the festival grounds, which we have creatively curated for that element of surprise. We invite everyone to explore the numerous interesting spaces around the precinct, participate and interact with the different acts, performers and art installations we have created and planned.”
Festival-goers will be in for a surprise when they bump into the giant horses let loose by Company Quidams! The French outdoor theatre troupe will present the mesmerising roving act, FierS à Cheval or ‘Proud Horses’, a playful dream-like spectacle which features largerthan-life luminous horses strutting, dancing, and leading festival revellers around the precinct.
FierS à Cheval by Compagnie des Quidams
To amp up the reverie, Spanish percussion troupe Deabru Beltzak will team up with local percussion group, MOTUS, to present Su a Feu – a rousing performance of dance, percussion and fire. Dressed as futuristic invaders, the performance will take to the festival grounds and invite the public to liven up the streets for a night of fun and laughter.
Performing in Singapore for the first time, UK troupe Lords of Lightning will also stun audiences with a show of electrical wizardry. The performance features a duel that harnesses nearly four million volts of electricity and sends lightning bolts hurtling up into the air – a feat achieved through an amalgamation of physics and art.
The Duel by Lords of Lightning
Familiar spaces around Bras Basah.Bugis precinct will also be transformed into delightful and unexpected experiences. Festival-goers will get the opportunity to see the back alleys of Armenian Street through fresh eyes, as graffiti art and technology collide at Graffiti Alive. Created by local architectural consultancy firm, Arup Singapore, the installation utilises motion sensors and lights to bring local street art to life and turn the Armenian Street alleyway into an intriguing night time streetscape.
A greater focus on local acts
SNF is a celebration of Singapore local arts scene and has always strived to be a platform grooming the next generation of creatives in Singapore. This year marks a new milestone as the SNF Open Call received its highest number of public entries, of which five have been selected for showcase as part of the Night Lights line-up.
Among the selected open call works is the team behind past festival favourites #showerthoughts (2016) and Tessellations of Time (2017) – LiteWerkz, which comprises of a group of students from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). They will present a solar-system inspired installation titled Orbit for SNF 2018, promising a one-of-akind experience and #selfie opportunity that cannot be replicated as visitors trigger a unique sequence of light and reflection as they interact with the installation.
Orbit by LiteWerkz
First-time participants Max Lab, a lighting design and technology company based in Singapore, will invite festival-goers to discover and rethink our perspective of lighting with Light Wave – a visual manifestation of wave energy transmission. Festival-goers are invited to move and twist the series of suspended light rods, to create waves of dynamic lighting that flow across the tranquil water surface of the Reflection Pool above Bras Basah MRT.
Light Wave by Max Lab
Local collective Starlight Alchemy is no stranger to the Festival, and returns this year with their tallest interactive installation yet. Titled Ember Rain, the installation explores how great innovations often begin from a single spark or catalyst. By pedalling on a bike which is part of the installation, festival-goers will be able to ignite a shower of sparkling embers that cascade down from a five-metre tall fire tower.
Beyond the stunning displays and installations, festival-goers can kick back and relax at the ever-popular Festival Village, which will be held at the SMU Campus Green from 23 – 25 August. From listening to a diverse pool of local acts, to shopping for sustainable goods, and feasting on an array of food options, the space is the perfect oasis after an exciting night around the precinct.
