Event Guide: Things To Do At The Singapore Night Festival 2023

PUBLISHED August 18th, 2023 06:00 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 03:53 pm

From 18- 26 August, the Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) precinct gets its annual glow-up in the Singapore Night Festival 2023. Watch the precinct come alive with three festival villages, engaging night illumination, projection mapping installations, and a slew of performances and experiences to the theme of “Singapore, The Great Port City”.

This year’s edition pays homage to our nation-building journey, spotlighting the BBB precinct as the home and activity centre of The Bugis people, the first settlers in Singapore. Traverse 700 years through Singapore’s history and immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, and stories as we round up things to do at the Singapore Night Festival 2023.

1. Visit the Festival Villages

This year’s event boasts three festival villages, with the Main Festival Village @ SMU Campus Green, in collaboration with the Singapore Management University (SMU) Arts Festival, The Social Post. Don’t forget to check out the Galaxy Studio for a flippin’ good time. Did we mention you’ll stand to win prizes when you take a selfie with the art installations with the Galaxy Z Flip5? 

Main Festival Village @ SMU Campus Green runs Sun – Thu 6pm – 10:30pm, Fri – Sat 6pm – 11:30pm. Festival Village @ Armenian Street runs daily 7pm – 12am with programmes on 18, 19, 25 and 26 August 2023. Festival Village @ CHIJMES runs daily 7pm – 12am. 

2. Roll Through Time

Roll back to the Swinging Sixties and Seventies with the psychedelic roller-skating disco rink set in the National Museum. The brainchild of Singaporean artist Dawn Ng, Time is a Black Circle takes you through a “disco time portal” where you can relive the bygone era. Skate and jive to the top hits of the 60s and 70s as you reimagine the vibrant nightlife and discotheques of the BBB precinct.

Time is a Black Circle runs 7.30pm -11.30pm at the National Museum of Singapore, Gallery Theatre. Tickets are priced from S$27 (including booking fee).

3. Explore the Light Installations

Explore the precinct and walk through Singapore’s history as a trading port under the illumination of 12 night light installations. 

Here’s what to lookout for at the National Museum:

Start your journey at the National Museum of Singapore’s Lawn with the seven metres long #SGNIGHTFEST, 3D printed with recycled raw materials. A short walk to the nearby Banyan Tree will bring you to the interactive installation, A Stone’s Throw (Away), telling the story of the Singapore Stone as you activate the lights with movements. And if you make your way to the LED Wall outside of SUPERMAMA, you’ll see the GIFFEST III: IMPERFECT COMPILATION, a fusion of architecture, symbols, icons, and shifting colours that encapsulates our multiculturalism and ever-evolving identities. 

At the Funan Kinetic Wall, dive into an underwater realm with SeaScape Symphony; make bubbles and watch them float around the transcendental aquatic landscape. Yet outside Raffles City, we step back in time to try to stop a flood with the Flowing Water Road” Shrine, an imagined shrine to appease the old Stamford canal spirit.

Here’s what to lookout for around Armenian Street:

Casting a futuristic light onto preserving native flora and fauna, the installation “Preserving Paradise” beside The Bible House presents an otherworldly garden landscape where you can interact and learn about valuable crops. Immerse in nature at Farquhar Garden, Canning Rise with Rimbun, which features cutting-edge projection mapping on nature itself. Engage your olfactory senses in the open space in front of SMU’s Yong Pung How School of Law building with The Island at the End. The multi-sensory installation whisks you to a 14th-century medical hall and apothecary, perfumed by the raw materials and resins used in incense-making. While you are on the street, join in the fun at PORT CITY 2.0, with immersive art portals, multi-genre performances and food experiences.

Here’s what to lookout for around Bugis Area:

Featuring over 80 artists pushing the boundaries of GIF at the National Design Centre, GIFFEST III: IMPERFECT invites you to relish the beauty and value of imperfection. Hop over to Stamford Arts Centre to appreciate the traditional Buginese boat in A Global Bugis Phinisi as a representation of Singapore’s global trade influence. Play on the see-saw with X O X (two kisses and a hug), a restaged installation that brings the concept of “Balance” to mind. Over at the Bugis, an inflatable periwinkle flower installation, Florescence, takes over the Bugis Street Multi-storey Carpark with its intertwining stems, representing the interconnectedness of our people. 

4. Watch Projection Mapping

Witness cultural buildings come to life with four enthralling light works illuminating the facades of the National Museum of Singapore and CHIJMES. See Singapore’s early years in 700 Years, presented by Samsung, at the National Museum of Singapore, and watch a star bloom into a flower in Birth in Bloom at CHIJMES. Celebrate the precinct’s unique cultural heritage in the Evolution of Bras Basah Entertainment Scene, and discover Singapore’s connectivity in Port(al) City, both at CHIJMES.

5. Catch Performances

Treat yourself to the lineup of performances across the two festival weekends.

Waterloo Street Stories

This innovative project is put together by the #WaterlooStKakis, a collaboration between BBB and neighbouring organisations, weaving narratives of BBB through dance, music, photography, and theatre. For the rare opportunity to explore the nooks and crannies of a theatre, wander through installations, opt for the Four Horse Road: After Hours adventure instead. To re-energise yourself, you’ll find f&b vendors like Kai’s (@drinkeatkw) and COUPCAT by BUNKERBUNKER onsite. 

Waterloo Street Stories runs 10 to 27 August 2023, at Objectifs, 155 Middle Road. The Four Horse Road: After Hours runs 18, 19, 25 & 26 August 2023, 10.30pm onwards at The Theatre Practice located at 54 Waterloo Street. Please click here for more details.

We’ll weather the weather, whatever the weather until we cannot 🫠

Imagine Fort Canning Rise as an ocean, with three larger-than-life characters embodying the unpredictability that sailors encounter over the last 700 years. This theatrical procession celebrates Singapore’s role and success as a safe harbour and trading port.

We’ll weather the weather, whatever the weather, until we cannot runs 18 & 19, 25 & 26 August 2023 at Canning Rise. Sessions timings are 7:30pm – 7:50 pm (1st session), 8:30pm – 8:50pm (2nd session), 9:30pm – 9:50pm (3rd session). 

Jazz’in @ Capitol Singapore – A Night in Asia

Jazz is given the Asian touch, with a side of Malay Pop Yeh Yeh, Indonesian Dangdut, or Japanese Enka. Artists include Coldcut Quartet, Yvette Atienza Latin Jazz Ensemble, RaghaJazz, Shanghai Jazz Club, The Sugar Bees, Varsha, The Jazz Djogets, Sunny Trio, and Natt Buntita.

Jazz’in @ Capitol Singapore – A Night in Asia runs 18,19, 25 & 26 August 2023, at Outside Stage, Capitol Singapore. Set timings include 7:30pm – 8pm (1st set), and 8:30pm – 9:15pm (2nd set). 

6. Join Experiential Events and Programs

Uncover the hidden lives of temples, art spaces, bustling markets, and lively streets through your camera’s lens in the NightFest Photo Walk. Suitable for both professional and amateur photographers. Alternatively, embark on a culinary adventure with Port Cities Food: A Culinary Pairing Journey down Middle Road, which will take you through tipples and treats of the past.

Make A Date With Tradition at Stamford Arts Centre and catch Chinese opera, Indian classical dance, and Kedai Sinseh (a unique blend of traditional Malay dance and Chinese music) performances. You can also get hands-on with Batik painting or craft a coin knot charm memento. Head to AT SG 2023 at the National Library and the National Archives of Singapore for more hands-on activities, storytelling, and performances. And if you want to know more about the artists who are part of the Singapore Night Festival, Ask Artists Anything! at the Peranakan Museum will allow you to delve into their brilliant minds.

Remember the movie “Night at the Museum”? Here’s your chance to live it out at After Dark at the Children’s Museum Singapore. Who knows what stories the postman or baker may tell? Admission is free and is on a first-come-first-serve basis. 

Singapore Night Festival runs 18-26 August 2023, 7.30pm-12am at various locations throughout the Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) precinct. For more information, please visit the website.