Culture
There’s no need to bust the bank to become a culture vulture in Singapore.
Singapore has one of the most accessible and vibrant arts scenes in the region, with many free and discounted activities on top of the profusion of local and international ticketed acts.
Festivals
Explore the many art forms here, from music and dance, to theatre and the visual arts all year round.
The annual Singapore Arts Festival is the most important event on Singapore’s arts calendar, with artists from more than 20 countries and over 400 activities across four weeks. You can expect exceptional productions, supplemented by free outdoor performances islandwide.
On-campus action is provided by the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University with their own Arts Festivals showcasing both student talent as well as professional artists, local and international.
Visual Art
Discover art everywhere by simply walking around Singapore – you’ll find sculptures, murals, and paintings readily displayed in public buildings – even in the new and glitzy Ion Orchard shopping mall.
The Singapore Biennale is Singapore’s largest international showcase of contemporary art, reaching out to over 505,000 visitors over eight weeks through eye-opening programmes and displays. The choice of locations may take you to quirky locations around Singapore, such as an abandoned army barrack or police station.
Something major to look forward to is the opening of the National Art Gallery in 2013, which will house the nation’s 8,000-strong collection, comprising mainly Singaporean and South-East Asian pieces. In the meanwhile, the Singapore Art Museum, the National University of Singapore Museum and a good number of private galleries are worth checking out.
Music
Catch your favourite artistes ‘live’ in concert! Singapore’s state-of-the-art facilities and reputation as an events hub have attracted leading performers like A*Mei and Lady Gaga, and groups like Linkin Park and Westlife.
You can also get your music fix at the ExxonMobil Campus Concerts at NUS, which provide Regular Wednesday gigs and monthly Unplugged Sessions, and are open to the public.
Film and Theatre
Enjoy outstanding performances and stunning sets, sometimes in unusual venues such as Fort Canning Park, where you can lay a picnic mat and catch a play with a sandwich in your hand.
Singapore’s first-rate staging facilities have allowed theatre-goers to catch top billing acts like the Royal Shakespeare Company’s King Lear, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera and Cats. For something ethnic, check out the occasional Chinese opera and Malay bangsawan performance.
Film buffs will enjoy the annual Singapore International Film Festival, which screens more than 200 films, with a focus on groundbreaking Asian cinema. Smaller festivals such as the French and German Film Festivals are perfect meeting places for art film fans.
Literature
Make a unique date with the Singapore Writers Festival - one of very few multilingual literary fests in the world. Its programme intertwines English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil literature with other art forms like music, theatre and film.
Museums
Find some time for Singapore’s over 40 museums. Ranging from the eminent National Museum and Asian Civilisations Museum to niche collections at the Peranakan Museum, Philatelic Museum, and the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, these institutions show you the best of our local and regional heritage.
Ticketing
Getting tickets for sporting and entertainment events is a breeze through SISTIC, Singapore’s largest ticketing service provider, either online or from its many outlets, as well as from tickets.com and Gatecrash. Their websites all provide comprehensive synopses of coming events and also highlight all available discounts.