TheSmartLocal – Singapore’s Leading Travel and Lifestyle Portal

Skip to content
bring your own racket

There’s A Free Artsy Badminton “Court” In The CBD For Spontaneous Games, Just Bring Your Own Racket

Bring Your Own Racket art installation


If you thought that Singapore Art Week 2026 was all about exhibitions tucked away in museums, think again. Over at Tanjong Pagar, 2 artists brought back the whimsy of badminton amidst its heated rivalry with pickleball. Enter Bring Your Own Racket, a temporary art installation in the CBD that turns art into more than a visual spectacle.


Play badminton in Tanjong Pagar for free


bring your own racket
Image credit: Aaron Lim and Quek Jia Qi

Bring Your Own Racket (BROR) is an art installation created by Aaron Lim and Quek Jia Qi that reimagines what badminton could be if the sport weren’t bound by any rules, not even a proper badminton court. The main structure is a 46m-long bright orange net crafted from steel mesh, the same material that’s prevalent throughout the CBD where the structure resides.

sketches of an art installation
Image credit: Aaron Lim and Quek Jia Qi

Aside from it being an art piece, the BYOR net is also an open invitation to badminton lovers and curious folk to play the game however they want. There are short segments of the metal net for the vertically challenged, and taller sections for the pros who want to show off their shots and attempt a record-breaking smash.

Bring Your Own Racket, being in the CBD, also strips away the impression that Singapore’s city is all-work-no-play, carving out a space for fun and whimsy to be had at absolutely no cost.

From now till 20th February 2026, you can pop by Tanjong Pagar Community Green for a quick game of badminton with your colleagues or date. All you have to do is bring your own racket. But what if you don’t have a racket?


Use anything as a racket & invent new rules


bring your own racket
Image credit: Aaron Lim and Quek Jia Qi

Thankfully, the rules of BYOR are pretty relaxed, as you’re allowed to use anything resembling a racket as a racket, like a frying pan from your kitchen, a clipboard from your office, or even a pickleball racket if you’ve got a pickleball court booked for later in the day. For those who are sticklers for rules, there are also traditional badminton rackets on site for you to use.

There are also certain dates where you can bring your experimental kakis to devise new ways to play badminton, invent new challenges, and just expand the whole notion of the sport. Some of these new rules might even be adapted into the BYOR playbook. The next play test date is on 31st January from 4.30pm-6.30pm. Attendance is free, but advanced registration is required.


Bring Your Own Racket, an art installation of Singapore Art Week 2026


bring your own racket
Image credit: Aaron Lim and Quek Jia Qi

Art is meant to be shared and experienced, and what better way to do so than to play a round or two of badminton at a communal court with no rules? Bring Your Own Racket will only be at the Discover Tanjong Pagar Community Green till 20th February 2026.

Find out more about Bring Your Own Racket

 

Check out other arts & culture events around Singapore:


Cover image credit: Aaron Lim and Quek Jia Qi