Carparks, narrow corridors and a wet market in Geylang Serai serve as backdrops to a series of contemporary dance films by local dance company P7:1SMA.

The films, which draw on the sights, sounds and stories of the neighbourhood, are part of the National Arts Council's Arts In Your Neighbourhood programme, which begins today and is offering digital as well as on-site programmes for the first time.

"We didn't want it to be a 'tribute' to Geylang or things that represented the spectacle of Geylang," says the dance company's artistic director Norhaizad Adam. "We were interested in everyday things, everyday situations, everyday people."

District 14: 7 Kali Bah, as the ritualistic film series is titled, is set to the theme of migration and change. The choreography was inspired by letters, audio recordings, photographs, textiles and objects created and gathered by young people, seniors and local merchants in engagement sessions with P7:1SMA.

A group of seniors wrote letters inspired by the neighbourhood, which youth in turn responded to in the form of photos, for example.

Noting that Geylang Serai has a history of flooding, Norhaizad, 33, says: "We adapted this natural disaster into a metaphorical confluence of memories - the remembering, the forgetting, the rebirthing. (We are) asking questions about place identity, memory objects and what hope means today."

Seven short films, each around seven minutes, will be launched online from Monday to Nov 22.

A 20-minute "epilogue" will be streamed online on Nov 29, the last day of Arts In Your Neighbourhood.

The Arts In Your Neighbourhood programme, which has its main seasons in March and November, returns this month with a focus on the towns of Kallang and Geylang.

One of the 11 events is a virtual choose-your-own-adventure story by digital publisher Tusitala and author Akshita Nanda, which invites people to "walk" around Kallang River from their own homes.

Another highlight is Brilliant Corners: The City Is Blooming, a project by creative studio System Sovereign, which features five murals in Katong and Geylang by artists Ink & Clog, Jaba, Oak & Bindi and Kiat.

The murals, which are located in Joo Chiat Complex, the Geylang Park Connector underpass and on the side of shophouses, respond to stories from residents as well as young people at St Patrick's School and the Jamiyah Children's Home.

The murals are marked out on the Brilliant Corners Art Trail App.

The public can also tune into a playlist of songs the artists had listened to while painting the murals.

System Sovereign's co-founder Jonathan Nah Eng Kiat, 46, one of the artists, was touched by the "enthusiastic" response from the public, adding that some of the neighbouring shop owners also offered their walls for painting.

Pedestrians stopped to chat with the artists too.

"The simple act of painting a wall was able to ignite conversations between strangers... It was super positive and really sweet."

Ms Elaine Ng, NAC's senior director of engagement and participation, says: "Many artists, partners and cultural organisations have risen to the occasion by leveraging technology to present the stories of Kallang and Geylang in engaging ways online, while retaining some physical programmes for Singaporeans to appreciate the arts from wherever they are.

"This is no mean feat and we applaud the resilience and ingenuity of the arts community in working with NAC to keep in line with the safe management measures as they continue to co-create with the diverse communities of residents."

• For more information, go to artsforall.gov.sg/AYN