What’s bright, shiny & gives you the license to make a lot of noise at night?
The Night Festival!
With ‘Voyage’ as a theme, Night Festival (or Voyage Night Festival 2011) is back for its 4th year! It’s sure to bring you to a different place (pun intended) with the line-up they have this year.
This year’s festival celebrates the dynamic cultures of both east & west (or to put it more chim-ly – Occident & the Orient) through an apt artsy salute to maritime heroes, praiseworthy journeys and pays homage to our forefathers – the people who pioneered Singapore & helped shaped this little red dot into what it is today.
Hustle & bustle of Night festival 2010!
As Ms Lee Chor Lin, the Director of National Museum of Singapore, puts it, “This year’s Night Festival revisits the roots of Bras Basah when it was inhabited by various ethnic groups such as the Eurasians, Armenians and Jews, not to mention the less dominant Chinese dialect groups like the Hainanese.” (Bet you didn’t know that huh?)
Like all other years, Voyage Night Festival 2011 has everything we love – visuals, lights, cool installations, moving images, an in-your-face fierceness, films, roving performances, indoor & outdoor concepts and an unforgettable experience for you.
This year’s cherry-on-top of the all-rounded proverbial cake?
Lampounettes by TILT
This special major light installation presented by Singapore Art Museum in conjunction with Nuit Blanche Paris takes you on an illuminating adventure through 7 places all around Bras Basah – familiar environments that will be whimsically transformed into a different magical realm. Not something we see everyday (or night)!
The bestest part? All this goodness has been extended into 4 nights (instead of the usual two).
Here’s our favourite line-up with a lowdown of what’s happening where!
VENUE: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SINGAPORE
Eva Quartet (performance)
Photo credit - Elen Music
- Fri 26 Aug & Sat 27 Aug 2011 | 7.00 pm | National Museum Façade
- Fri 26 Aug & Sat 27 Aug 2011 | 9.15 pm | Stage B, Singapore Management University Campus Green
Strong voices reflecting the primeval quality & simple purity of singing, the Eva Quartet carries the spirit of Bulgarian tradition of young women dancing & singing in village squares. Held in open spaces, the Eva Quartet, comprising of 4 solo singers from the legendary female folk choir, is bound to lift spirits and raise your goosebumps.
Marco Polo (theatre / puppetry)
By Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company
- Fri 26 Aug & Sat 27 Aug | 7.15 pm & 11.30 pm | Glass Atrium, Level 2
Who doesn’t love puppets! The story of Marco Polo (travelled to China, stayed there for 27 years, returned by sea to Venice whilst accompanying a Mongolian princess who was on her way to marry a Persian prince), is reinvented and retold through Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company‘s puppet play.
A totally creative infusion of Taiwanese & Italian puppeteers and musicians, the show is performed in a 100-year-old finely carved wooden stage accompained by specially designed puppets with silk costumes.
Soundwalk (sound art / performance)
By Stephan Crasneanski, Simone Merli, Kamran Sadeghi, Dug Winningham
(Photo credit - Soundwalk)
- Fri 26 Aug & Sat 27 Aug only | 7.00 pm, 9.00 pm & 12.15 am | Ulysses Syndrome, Rubʼ al Khali – “The Empty Quarter”, The Passenger (live performance by Soundwalk) | Exhibition Gallery 1, Basement
- Fri 2 Sep & Sat 3 Sep | 10.00 am – 2.00 am | Ulysses Syndrome | Exhibition Gallery 1, Basement
Soundwalk, an international sound collective based in New York, showcases 3 works that captures the whirlwind and murmurs of human & port activity complete with the echoes of the past at civilisation crossroads. These sounds result in a unique compilation & plethora of sounds, cultures, trades, stories & languages.
Corazon de Angeles in Paradise (performance art)
By Theater TOL
(Corazon De Angeles in Paradise)
- Fri 26 Aug & Sat 27 Aug only | 10.30 pm | National Museum of Singapore, Stamford Green and Stamford Road
Be the witness & participate in this inter-cultural wedding whilst guardian angels (a universal element in all cultures) keep a watch over them to wish them all the good things. Images of Old Singapore provide a powerful element to this musical-dancey-acrobatical live performance.
(NOT) Under The Banyan Tree (film screenings)
A Programme of the National Museum Cinémathèque
Ali Baba Bujang Lapok (1960)
- 26 & 27 Aug, 2 & 3 Sept | 8.00 pm | National Museum of Singapore, Bus Bay, Level 2
26 August – Ali Baba Bujang Lapok (1961)
27 August – The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
2 September – The Tingler (1959)
3 September – 13 Ghosts (1960)
Bring your mats, movie snacks & other picnic nosh and watch 4 movies over 2 weekends all in the comforts of the open area at National Museum. Funny, horrifying, whimsical movies awaits you!
Tracking Memories: An Exhibition of Photo works by Kwek Leng Joo and Watercolour Paintings by Ong Kim Seng (exhibition)
- Stamford Gallery, Level 1
Tracking memories this time showcases interesting perspectives of train stations, train operations, railway tracks & the activities around them. This second-time collaboration pays homage to the recent historical developments of the railway in Singapore. With that memory still fresh in our minds, this exhibition is relevant & would be pretty nostalgic.
A Dozen of Those (exhibition)
By Lim Shing Ee
Curated by Tay Swee Lin
A Dozen of Those
- Fri 26 Aug – Sat 3 Sep | 7.30 pm – 2.00 am | Rotunda, level 1
If like me, you’re always looking forward to the unusual & bright installation that Night Festival have in the main entrance of National Museum, this year bright large red helium balloons create an amazing sight right smack in the middle of the Rotunda.
Held down by faceless brown figues, the whole installation speaks of the artist’s life living as a Singaporean woman artist living in Japan. Definitely a sight not to be missed.
VENUE: SMU CAMPUS GREEN (opposite National Museum)
A Bigger Bang (musical performance)
Percussionists – Cheryl Ong, Eugene Toh, Xu Fan, Jean-Gabriel Phophillat, Low Yik Hang, Chen Kangren and Benjamin Boo
- Fri 26 Aug & Sat 27 Aug | 7.30 pm
A repertoire of refreshing new sounds awaits! This infusion of percussionists from NAFA Singapore & Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, assembled by well-known local percussionist & conductor Quek Ling Kiong, aims to live up to the name A Bigger Bang, by tantalising audiences with its dynamic & captivating sounds!
Oana Cătălina Chiţu & Bucharest Tango (performance)
- Fri 26 Aug & Sat 27 Aug | 7.30 pm – 2.00 am
An genre that we don’t get to experience often – the tango! With a Romanian touch, the band combines lost tango songs with colour & gypsy influences. Coupled with some suprising touches just for Voyage Night Festival 2011, the band & the sassy voice of Oana Cătălina Chitu is sure to delight & enthrall audiences!
Niyaz (performance)
(Photocredit - Zamzama Productions)
- Fri 26 Aug & Sat 27 Aug | 12.00 midnight
Here’s a performance that I will definitely attend. Indian and Persian poetry, Sufi mysticism, electronica, modern trance & haunting mystic sounds inspired from Kurdish, Turkish, Persian and other central Asian musical influences, Niyaz combines modern and tradition together to perform a 21st tapestry of melodious songs.
Kramat Ensemble Percussion Ethnic Madura (percussion performance)
- Fri 26 Aug & Sat 27 Aug 2011 | 9.15 pm & 11.30 pm
Accidentally formed because of the social necessity to maintain order by sounding alarms utilising local instruments, the sounds has since developed into music now known as musik saur. One of the 40 bands that remain, Kramat Ensemble Percussion Ethnic now integrates their music with gamelan instruments & continues to electrify audiences with their sounds.
The Shape of a Dream (performance, theatre)
By Cake Theatrical Productions
The Shape of A Dream
- Fri 26 Aug & Sat 27 Aug 2011 | First performance | 8.00 pm | Water Feature at SMU
- Second performance | 8.30 pm | Roving
- Finale| 9.45 pm | Stage B, Singapore Management University Accountancy Block
We’ve all heard of names of famous explorers from fictional stories (like Sinbad the Sailor) to non-fictional stories (Marco Polo, Ferdinand Magellan) that have filled our heads with tales from their journeys. Inspired by these stories, The Shape of A Dream is a theatrical and dramatic performance that depicts pilgrims on the journey of their lifetime. Watch them as they rove all around the area!
VENUE: VARIOUS LOCATIONS ALONG STAMFORD ROAD
Passage Illuminations (light interactive installation)
By Whenlightswork
- Fri 26 Aug – Sat 27 Aug 2011 | 7.00 pm – 2.30 am
Whenlightswork, a new local design team who was inspired from the guerilla lighting movement from UK goes on a mission to enlighten (so to speak) the night environment along Stamford Road with the help of SP‘s School of Design. Holding special torches, they will light up passageways in an inter-play of light and colours and shadows on building facades.
VENUE: The Substation
Film Screenings
Curated by Migrant Voices
- 10.30 pm – 12.30 am | The Substation Façade
Curated by Migrant Voices (“a community arts charity that showcases artistic talents of migrant workers in Singapore”), the films screened tells stories of migrant workers in Singapore – how they live, work and play. You’ll also get to see tasteful and intriguing stories of their lives.
Roving Artists (random performances)
Curated by Ezzam Rahman
- 7.00 pm – 1.00 am | The Substation Premises
Be surprised by random acts of performance & performance art scattered in the audience as you walk around the Substation compound. Artists will attempt to blend in the crowd and unpredictably interact with the audience or sudden creation of space for a performance anywhere!
Bom divertimento with Capoeira (demonstration, performance)
By Capoeira Argola de Ouro Singapore
(Capoeira - Image copyright Capoeira Argola de Ouro Singapore)
- 7.30pm – 8.30pm | The Substation Alley
Have you always been interested in Capoeira (you know, seeing them kick at each other is both thrilling & curiously fascinating at the same time)? Watch as they demonstrate fantastic capoeira moves to the sound of percussions, chanting & clapping. Audiences will be invited to try their hand in capoeira too!
Indoor Music (performances, interactive art)
(mux - Image copyright Jun)
- Fri 26 Aug | 10pm | Black Zenith
- Fri 26 Aug | 11pm | mux with OHP artist Ila
- Sat 27 Aug | 10pm | Mohammad Riduan
- Sat 27 Aug | 11pm | 3how with video artist Jun
- The Bibliorium – 10pm-1.30am
Park yourself in the comfortable spaces of The Substation’s Theatre and soak in 2 evenings of audio-visual perormances. You’ll be lull into a musical aural slumber for sure.
What’s exciting is what happens in the middle of the break when The Bibliorium (another exciting interactive installation) takes over & changes the Theatre into a reading room where audiences are invited & highly encouraged to read whilst having music played. Sounds totally relaxing!
VENUE: SINGAPORE ART MUSEUM & SAM 8Q
Night Lights 2011 (light & art installations)
By Singapore Art Museum
(Parking Mad (Le Parking en folie) at SAM by Benedetto Buffalino)
- Fri 26 Aug – Sat 3 Sep | 7.30pm | SAM (including SAM at 8Q, SOTA, NMS, SMU)
Deliciously spectacular evening outdoor showcases of light installations placed all along the Bras Basah cultural precinct.
From a massive light projections to colourful light fishes, Night Lights 2011 spare no expense at bringing the best kinds of whimsical & creative light installations for audiences. Can’t wait!
GoodNight! Flea Market
at Singapore Art Museum at 8Q Plaza
- Fri 26 Aug | 6pm to 12 midnight
- Sat 27 Aug | 2pm to 12 midnight
Grab some great buys at this night flea market that has all kinds of fashionista goodness! Pre-loved clothes, accessories, cameras, vintage trinkets, books, hand-crafted items… you get my drift! Retail therapy, woohoo!
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Voyage Night Festival 2011 is happening for 2 days in August & another 2 days in September. For more information, check out National Museum’s website or see the whole schedule HERE!
During the festival, you can enjoy free admission to National Museum, SAM, SAM 8Q, The Substation (only on 26 & 27 August) & The Peranakan Museum (only on 26 & 27 August) from 7.00 pm to 2.00 am.
Because this awesome festival covers almost all of the Bras Basah area, there will be road closures & bus route diversions along the area.
– Stamford Road Closure
(section between junction of Bencoolen Street and Queen Street)
- Thursday 25 August 2011, 1.00 am – 5.00 am
- Friday 26 August 2011, 1.00 am – 5.00 am, 9.00 pm – 2.00 am
- Saturday 27 August 2011, 9.00 pm – 2.00 am
- Bus Diversion
(We think it’s best if you go public this time around!)
