Huney'Z World: Community Arts

Hi Huneybees,

Created by Sengkang East residents, Youth Network and students from Nanyang Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic and North Spring Primary School, this artwork ‘Woven Harmony – A Singapore Story’ is attempting to set a new Singapore Book of Records for the largest Singapore map made of bottle caps at the Sengkang East PAssionArts Festival 2026.
(Image Credit: People’s Association – PAssionArts)

The arts are continuing to pop up across our heartlands this September!

Following August’s PAssionArts Festival 2026 activities, where we saw creativity taking on very different forms across Singapore’s neighbourhoods, the festival continues this 5 and 6 September 2026 with another round of community celebrations.

From recycled art in Tampines to a neighbourhood legend coming to life at Telok Blangah, one thing I’ve enjoyed about following this year’s festival is seeing how every neighbourhood interprets the theme “Our Neighbourhood Gems” differently.

And that is really what makes PAssionArts Festival interesting to me. Instead of having to head into town for an arts festival, art is brought right into spaces that residents already know and use, with the people living there becoming part of the creative process too.

This coming weekend, you can expect everything from community weaving and pencil drawings to Chinese Orchestra performances, coffee painting and even edible flower planting.

More PAssionArts Festival Activities This Weekend

If you’re wondering where you can experience PAssionArts Festival 2026 this weekend, here are 3 more neighbourhood celebrations happening on 5 September.

PAssionArts Festival and Mid-Autumn Celebration @ Ulu Pandan

Date: 5 September 2026
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Venue: Ulu Pandan Community Club, Level 2 Multi-Purpose Hall

With Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, Ulu Pandan is combining the festivities with an evening of arts, culture and community activities. Residents can look forward to interactive arts activities, multicultural stage performances, games, snacks and fringe activities suitable for the family.

Tanjong Pagar–Tiong Bahru PAssionArts Festival 2026

Date: 5 September 2026
Time: 4:30pm – 7:30pm
Venue: Tanjong Pagar Community Club

If you enjoy getting hands-on, the Tanjong Pagar–Tiong Bahru edition might be the one to check out. From 5pm, residents can try a surprisingly wide variety of creative activities, including coaster decorating, ice cream soap making, UV clay making, fan marbling, coffee painting, windmill making and edible flower planting. There will also be different upcycling and keychain-making activities to explore.

Then, from 6pm, slow things down and enjoy a Chinese Orchestra performance, bringing a musical element to the afternoon’s festivities. I quite like the mix here because there isn’t just one definition of “art”. You can make something, grow something, experiment with different materials or simply sit back and enjoy a performance.

Canvas of the Hidden Stars V2 @ Sembawang West

Date: 5 September 2026
Time: 5pm – 8pm
Venue: Open Hardcourt in front of Blk 786B, Woodlands Drive 60

Over at Sembawang West, Canvas of the Hidden Stars returns for its second edition with another series of collaborative art experiences. Residents can take part in community weaving using upcycled textiles, origami and an animated community art experience created through pencil drawing.

Rather than simply viewing a finished artwork, the activities invite residents to become part of its creation. And I think that captures the spirit of PAssionArts particularly well. Sometimes the neighbourhood gem isn’t necessarily something we go there to see. It can also be something that neighbours create together.

Snap, Stamp & Win at PAssionArts Festival 2026

There’s also an extra reason to explore the different PAssionArts Festival celebrations this year. Visitors can take part in the Snap, Stamp & Win contest by completing the festival’s Passport Quest for a chance to win prizes.

Prizes include a HUION Kamvas Pro 16 V2 Drawing Pad worth $465 and a $100 Beyond The Vines gift card. Check out PAssionArtsSG on Facebook and Instagram for the latest contest details and instructions before taking part.

What Is PAssionArts Festival 2026?

Running from August to September 2026, PAssionArts Festival returns with the theme “Our Neighbourhood Gems” for its second year.

The festival invites Singaporeans to look a little closer at the people, places, objects and stories around them that give each neighbourhood its own character.

This year, the festival dives deeper into the histories and personal stories behind these neighbourhood “gems”, with residents themselves contributing to art installations, workshops and performances.

Rather than keeping art within traditional galleries and museums, PAssionArts transforms familiar heartland spaces into temporary creative grounds where residents can participate, create and celebrate together.

Sometimes we travel across Singapore looking for something interesting to see, without realising there may already be stories, creativity and little gems waiting right within our own neighbourhoods.

So if one of these celebrations happens to be near you this weekend, perhaps it’s worth dropping by and seeing what your fellow residents have created.

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Hi Huneybees,

SIFA 2025 opened in the heartlands as over 70 artists lit up Bedok Town Square with The Sea and the Neighbourhood at the first-ever SIFA Pavilion

SIFA 2025 wasn’t just a festival, it was a movement that brought the arts closer to the people than ever before. Over three vibrant weekends, the Singapore International Festival of Arts made bold strides in accessibility, inclusivity, and connection, reminding us that art is at its most powerful when it’s for everyone, everywhere.

Organised by Arts House Limited and commissioned by the National Arts Council, this 48th edition of the Festival wasn’t just a celebration of Singapore’s creative spirit, it was also a milestone moment, coinciding with SG60 and the conclusion of Festival Director Natalie Hennedige’s visionary four-year tenure.

Though the festival has ended, the sense of awe lingers - from sharing unforgettable moments with others to witnessing art in its most diverse, accessible forms.

Umbilical drew audiences into a multimedia journey through identity and the emotional legacy of Singapore’s 1965 separation from Malaysia

Art in the Heartlands: A Festival Without Walls

In a bold reimagining of where art can live, this year’s Festival made its debut in Singapore’s heartlands through the brand-new SIFA Pavilion at Bedok Town Square. For the first time, large-scale multidisciplinary works unfolded right in the everyday paths of residents, shoppers, and commuters, transforming a familiar public space into a site of discovery, beauty, and wonder.

Opening night featured The Sea and the Neighbourhood - a cross-disciplinary collaboration helmed by composer Philip Tan, choreographer Christina Chan, video artist Brian Gothong Tan, and visual artist Wang Ruobing. With over 70 musicians, dancers, and artists, the performance invited passers-by and arts lovers alike to gather, reflect, and connect.

“This installation was never meant to remain still – it was alive,” shared Wang Ruobing. “Its heartbeat came from the community itself — from hawkers and visitors to the curious passer-by.”

The Festival's closing weekend at the Pavilion brought the community full circle, with Sing Song Social Club leading a joyful, all-voices-welcome choir under the stars, fronted by well-loved local artists Benjamin Kheng, Aarika Lee, Sandra Riley Tang, and Daphne Khoo. It was a powerful reminder that art doesn’t need velvet seats or ticketed halls to move people, just an open space and an open heart.

COLONY – A True Colors Project challenged audiences to rethink inclusion and reimagine ability within the landscape of contemporary performance

Breaking Barriers, Building Belonging

Accessibility wasn’t just about location. SIFA 2025 also led the charge in making the arts more inclusive for all abilities and backgrounds. This was most poignantly felt in performances like:

LEAR is a multi-sensory theatrical work that reimagined Shakespeare through inclusive design.
COLONY – A True Colors Project explored the beauty of imperfection through an international cast of diverse-abled artists.
A moving appearance by The Purple Symphony, Singapore’s largest inclusive orchestra.

“Creating COLONY was illuminating and humbling,” shared artistic director Remesh Panicker. “It reminded me that joy — not perfection — is the true measure of meaningful art.”

From start to finish, SIFA 2025 championed art without barriers, offering captioned and relaxed performances, wheelchair-accessible venues, and works that actively welcomed neurodiverse and disabled audiences.

Set against the backdrop of Empress Lawn, The House Between The Winds invited families into a whimsical, participatory world where imagination met performance

Little SIFA: Big Impact

For younger audiences and families, Little SIFA returned in full colour to Empress Lawn, transforming the green space into a playground of stories, movement, and imagination.

Children and their grown-ups wandered through The House Between The Winds, a whimsical kinetic sculpture by artist Yang Jie, and enjoyed a free, accessible adaptation of Animal Farm by The Finger Players that was performed under the open sky.

“Its themes sparked dialogue across both intimate and grand settings,” shared director Oliver Chong, whose full version of Animal Farm also ran at SOTA Drama Theatre. “It proves that theatre really can transcend boundaries — now more than ever.”

A striking SIFA installation, LATTICE, transformed a daily path into an unexpected encounter with light, sound, and movement

Homegrown Voices, Global Conversations

Even as SIFA embraced its homegrown roots, it continued to create space for cross-cultural dialogue and international exchange. The Festival presented works from six countries, including:

HOME by Geoff Sobelle (USA) is a poetic exploration of memory and place.
Told By My Mother by Ali Chahrour (Lebanon), a moving tribute to maternal love.
Vampyr by Manuela Infante (Chile), a sharp, surreal take on climate politics.
LATTICE, a site-specific commission by Japanese artist Karyn Nakamura, transformed Funan’s underground walkway into a living canvas.

These offerings weren’t just showcases, they were conversations, weaving Singapore’s artistic voice into the global tapestry.

“It was a heartwarming, caring, and more than ever needed exchange,” said Chahrour of his SIFA experience.

LEAR unfolded through bold imagery and physical storytelling, exploring universal themes of the human condition and emotion in a visually arresting performance

Looking Back, Moving Forward

SIFA 2025 wasn’t only a success in numbers, with over 90 events across 9 venues, 15 local commissions, and 70,000+ Festivalgoers, it was a success in spirit. It proved that the arts can thrive outside traditional venues, that local stories have global resonance, and that when access is prioritised, connection follows.

As Natalie Hennedige takes her final bow, she leaves behind a legacy that expanded what a festival could be - not just an event, but a lived experience.

“I’ve kept the Festival in close relationship with the land, the artists, and the people,” she said. “I’ve returned again and again to the same questions: How do we push the boundaries of Festival making? How do we remain generous, imaginative, and true to the artists we believe in?”

The baton now passes to incoming Festival Director Chong Tze Chien, who will lead SIFA into its next chapter from 2026 to 2028.

Hossan-AH! In The High Arts took audiences on a heartfelt and humorous journey through the nation’s artistic evolution (left), while stray gods (right) by weish enraptured them with an elemental soundscape reflecting the artist’s exploration of her Hakka heritage.

One Festival, All of Us

Whether it was singing with strangers in a Bedok Square, watching theatre on a city lawn, or seeing one’s heritage brought to life through myth and sound, SIFA 2025 reminded us that art belongs to everyone.

From heartland to global stage, this year’s Festival didn’t just bring the arts closer, it redefined what closeness can look like. I'm definitely looking forward to the 2026 edition, which is slated to run from 15 – 31 May 2026. Stay tuned for my updates ~~~

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PAssionArts Festival 2026: 3 Neighbourhood Arts Events to Catch This Weekend