Arts Picks: 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace showcase, Gardens by the Bay sculpture show, poetry marathon
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Artist Crystal Lee's On Letting Go (2024) is an installation featuring naturally dyed textiles that deal with the themes of holding on and letting go at 195 Pearl's Hill Terrace.
PHOTO: SUPPER HOUSE
Let It Linger at 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace
With the fate of independent creative cluster 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace still uncertain as its lease expires in March 2026, a showcase of six Singapore-based artists presents site-specific work responding to the socio-cultural history of the former police barracks and themes of urban transformation.
Experimental design studio Supper House is organising Let It Linger, a group show featuring artists Agatha Lee, Crystal Lee, Liz Zhu, Kansh, Natalia Tan and Veronyka Lau. The diverse artworks on display include textiles, installation and image-based media.
Lee’s On Letting Go (2024) is an installation featuring naturally dyed textiles woven through the window grilles within 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace. Both loosely and tightly interwoven, the work hopes to grapple with ideas of holding on and letting go, as well as change and transformation.
Curator Kelly Janine says the show is “an ode to the third spaces that hold communities together, but are now slowly disappearing from public life”.
She adds: “I hope it encourages visitors to think about the socio-historical significance of this independent art enclave as well as the intangible dimensions of a city that are transformed alongside urbanisation. In Singapore, the landscape is always changing, so I find it necessary to have an exhibition that considers what aspects of the past still inhabit the future.”
Where: Lucky Hall, 02-45, 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace
MRT: Chinatown
When: July 18 to 21 and July 26 to 28, 2 to 7pm
Admission: Free
Info: str.sg/Ki8B
Poetry Festival Singapore
Migrant poets reading at a previous edition of Poetry Festival Singapore, which is celebrating its 10th edition in 2024.
PHOTO: POETRY FESTIVAL SINGAPORE
Poetry Festival Singapore is marking its 10th edition with what it dubs a 23-hour multilingual verse marathon featuring more than 200 poets, around the festival theme of “Un.bound”.
Not 23 consecutive hours, thankfully – as that would test the patience of even the most avid poetry lover – but spread across three days from July 26 to 28,
The spotlight in 2024 is on Tamil poetry, and Dr Chitra Sankaran, associate professor at the National University of Singapore, will deliver a keynote on the growth of Tamil poetry on the island.
The line-up runs the gamut of new writers to established poets. Some highlights include a pioneer poets showcase on July 26 at 7.30pm, featuring the works of Robert Yeo, Lee Tzu Pheng and Wong Yoon Wah, as well as those of late poets Arthur Yap and Suratman Markasan.
On July 27, catch readings in two concurrent sessions at 2.15pm by the authors of new releases, including young writers Max Pasakorn, Tricia Tan and Ng Zheng Wei.
On July 28, migrant worker poets such as Md Mukul Hossine (Me Migrant) and Rolinda Espanola (No CindeRella?) will read in a session at 11.30am. A finale reading at 5pm will see pioneer poet and Cultural Medallion recipient Edwin Thumboo conduct a reading alongside other poets.
Where: Multiple venues, including National Library Building and The Arts House
When: July 26 to 28, various timings
Admission: Free, except for Across The Music Verse: The Concert ($15)
Info: pfs2024.peatix.com
“Made In SG” Sculpture Collection at Gardens by the Bay
Singaporean sculptor Han Sai Por’s Tropical Leaf.
PHOTO: SCULPTURE SOCIETY (SINGAPORE)
Pose with new sculptures by Singaporean artists which will be landing at the Colonnade in Gardens by the Bay as part of Sculpture Society (Singapore)’s annual show opening on July 20. There will also be workshops conducted alongside the exhibition.
Highlights include Tropical Leaf, an abstract marble work reminiscent of plants, by Cultural Medallion recipient Han Sai Por. She says in her artist statement: “Much of my work has been tied to expressing a sentimental sense of loss and persistent longing for a more metaphysical or spiritual interaction with the radically changing landscape.”
Other sculptors on show include Chong Fah Cheong, Cassandra Lim, Baet Yeok Kuan, Chua Boon Kee and Ang Chee Yong.
In a press statement, Sculpture Society (Singapore) says: “These intriguing works complement the botanical splendour of the Gardens, adding a new dimension to the landscape and providing visitors with a unique artistic experience.”
Where: Colonnade, Gardens by the Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Drive
MRT: Bayfront
When: July 20 to Aug 18, 9am to 9pm daily
Admission: Free
Info: str.sg/Kzig
