Arts in Your Neighbourhood 2019
When we think of the heartlands, we think of quiet neighbourhoods and chilling at home – not so much fun activities and hyped-up parties. Well, Arts In Your Neighbourhood is here to prove us wrong. This event will feature quirky artistic displays and musical performances inspired by the everyday experiences and childhood memories of the heartlands.
If you’re an Eastie looking to see Tampines in a whole new light – think dance performances in the middle of a wet market and running around a field of emojis – here are some activities you should check out:
1. Snap some #OOTD shots in a field of emojis
Show off your snaps with the hashtag #ArtsinYourNeighbourhood while here
Commemorate your journey through Tampines with a visit to Marks in the Yellow Field, which features over 300 iconic emojis that we use daily as a form of expression. Whip out your winning smiles and pose with your favourite emoji or take some family selfies to remember this day.
Ferry Benches in Tampines Central Park are just a tad bit tilted to test your senses!
This installation is actually a part of the public art project, (,) Sense: Tampines, which uses quirky interactive art to encourage us to pay closer attention to our surroundings. Visitors can look forward to seeing other installations around Our Tampines Hub and Tampines Central Park too.
Mycelium Network III, an interactive installation which lights up when touched in Our Tampines Hub
Date & Venue: 7th-24th March 2019 | Tampines Central Park & Our Tampines Hub
2. Listen to classical Chinese tunes played from a musical truck
Image credit: National Arts Council
Lovers of Chinese music, look out for Music on the Move by Ding Yi Music Company. The ensemble will be popping up around Tampines in a musical truck, playing both traditional and contemporary Chinese music for everyone to enjoy.
Fun fact: One of the performance pieces will be composed by residents of Tampines themselves. Listen to the final masterpiece to see if you can identify any of the sounds recorded during their excursion around Tampines!
Date and Time: 17th March 2019, 5PM-7.30PM
Venue: Carpark At Block 872A, Tampines Street 86
Date and Time: 23rd March 2019, 5PM-7.30PM
Venue: Tampines Community Plaza
3. Party on your home ground with live electronic music performances
Tigers in Tampines by Syndicate.SG
Whenever you get the feels for a night out, you’d usually head to town. But with Tigers in Tampines, a combined musical pop-up event by Syndicate.SG, the party’s gonna be brought to you. Groove to the live electronic music performances that features spoken word and actual sample sounds from around Tampines.
DJ Intriguant will be spinning some tracks here too
Image credit: @intriguant
And while you’re bopping to the catchy music performances, check out the fringe activities that will be happening, including tote bag screen printing, a street art display, and lyric writing workshops.
Date & Time: 23th-24th March 2019, 4PM-9.30PM
Venue: Tampines West CC (Side Lane)
Acoustic Transformers by Rékupertou
Image credit: www.artesine.fr
If you like unorthodox things, catch Acoustic Transformers. They’re known for playing peculiar-sounding music using instruments made from recycled materials such as stainless steel plates and other peculiar objects like flip flops.
They’ll be performing both covers and original songs from all sorts of genres, ranging from reggae to salsa.
Dates & Venue:
- 21st March 2019, 12.15PM | Asia Square (The Cube)
- 22th March 2019, 5PM & 7PM | Our Tampines Hub (Festive Plaza)
- 23th March 2019, 5PM & 7PM | Toa Payoh HDB Hub (Atrium)
- 24th March 2019 11AM & 1PM | Wisma Geylang Serai
4. Watch modern dance acts at Tampines Round Market
P7:1SMA performing at Esplanade’s Pesta Raya 2018
Image credit: @p71sma
Tampines Round Market isn’t exactly a place you’d find modern dancers hanging about, but P7:1SMA is defying all expectations by putting up a contemporary dance performance in the middle of this unassuming wet market.
Using the hawker stalls as a backdrop, they’ll be telling a tale about the wet market’s history and stories, inspired by real-life experiences of the stall owners at the market.
Date & Time: 16th-17th March 2019, 12PM
Venue: Tampines Round Market
5. Watch and have your kids participate in a time travel musical featuring opera singers
Image credit: National Arts Council
Watching a play with a child is no easy feat – they’d need to be thoroughly engaged or else they’ll be restless or dozing off midway. With Charlotte and the Time Machine, an interactive play where the kiddos might get the chance to go up on stage, you won’t have to worry.
Telling a tale about a time traveller’s musical journey through space and time, the play will feature familiar tunes from childhood shows like Bugs Bunny, to classical hits by Mozart.
Dates & Venue:
- 16th March 2019, 6.45PM | Bedok Town Square
- 17th March 2019, 5PM | Our Tampines Hub (Festive Plaza)
- 23rd March 2019, 6PM | Ang Mo Kio Central Stage
- 24th March 2019, 6PM | Toa Payoh HDB Hub (Atrium)
Explore the heartlands with Arts in Your Neighbourhood
Some of us live in the far West and may not have heard much about Tampines, but if you’ve always wondered what the other end of the island was like, this is a great opportunity to embark on a journey to the East.
Plus, Arts in Your Neighbourhood is going to be happening island-wide, so look forward to finding other activities in areas near you, like Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, and Woodlands – Westies won’t have to travel all the way to the other end of Singapore just to get in on the action.
Off Cuts Tea House in Tampines Community Plaza: Japanese tea-house created with recycled construction materials.
But if all these event locations still a tad bit out of your reach, don’t worry. You can take a Grab down and get $5 off your ride with the promo code ‘AYN5’. The list of locations this is applicable to can be found here.
And if you want to walk away with something to remember everything by, you can stand a chance to win a limited edition Tampines icon pin. All you have to do is to share a picture or video with the hashtag #ArtsinYourNeighbourhood while you’re attending any AYN performance or interacting with any of their public art installations around Tampines!
Find out more about Arts in Your Neighbourhood here
Follow the National Arts Council on Facebook and Instagram for more updates!
This post was brought to you by the National Arts Council
Photography by: Pichan Cruz