ART SG 2026 Returns to Singapore: S.E.A. Focus, Global Galleries & Must-See Highlights

Hi Huneybees,

ART SG 2026 has officially opened at Marina Bay Sands, kicking off with an exclusive VIP Preview and Vernissage at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre. Now in its fourth edition, the region’s leading international art fair brings together more than 100 galleries from over 30 countries and territories, alongside expanded programming, new curatorial directions, and exciting global partnerships. The fair runs 23–25 January, right in the heart of Singapore Art Week.

But this year, there’s an especially meaningful milestone for Southeast Asian art.

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S.E.A. Focus 2026 Entrance Facade.
Image courtesy of S.E.A. Focus & ART SG

S.E.A. Focus Enters a New Chapter

For the first time, S.E.A. Focus — Singapore’s homegrown platform dedicated to Southeast Asian contemporary art — is presented as part of ART SG through a strategic collaboration that gives regional artists an even bigger international stage.

Curated by John Tung with artistic consultation by Emi Eu (Executive Director of STPI), the eighth edition revolves around the theme “The Humane Agency.” The idea is simple but powerful: artists as agents of compassion in a world facing uncertainty, displacement, and environmental fragility.

Instead of responding to today’s crises with distance, the works here lean into empathy and care. Across the presentations, you’ll find reflections on conflict and peace, migration and belonging, and our increasingly fragile ecosystems — all positioning art as a way to slow down, feel deeper, and reconnect with our shared humanity.

Installation View at S.E.A. Focus 2026.
Image courtesy of S.E.A. Focus & ART SG

Sixteen galleries are part of this year’s S.E.A. Focus, including several familiar Singapore names like Mizuma Gallery, Gajah Gallery, AC43 Gallery, Mr Lim’s Shop of Visual Treasures, Intersections Gallery, and Wetterling Teo Gallery.

International galleries are also spotlighting Southeast Asian artists. Berlin’s neugerriemschneider centres its booth on Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen, while Jakarta’s ara contemporary presents a dialogue between Indonesian artists Mar Kristoff and Enka Komariah exploring identity and marginalisation.

Other powerful presentations include works by Filipina artist Imelda Cajipe Endaya (Silverlens), whose richly layered mixed-media pieces address cultural identity and globalisation, and Thai artist Ruangsak Anuwatwimon (Gallery VER), whose research-driven practice looks at environmental destruction along the Mekong River.

Adding to the regional strength, ISA Art Gallery presents works by acclaimed Indonesian artist Arahmaiani, known for her sharp social and political commentary.

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ART SG 2026 VIP Preview & Vernissage.
Image Courtesy of ART SG 2026

Conversations That Go Beyond the Booths

S.E.A. Focus also extends into dialogue through the SEAspotlight Talks, curated by Clara Che Wei Peh. These panel discussions and fireside chats bring together artists, curators, and cultural leaders to unpack how Southeast Asian art is evolving — creatively, historically, and within the art market.

Expect thoughtful conversations on institution-building, storytelling across disciplines, and how artists today turn ideas into immersive worlds and long-term projects.

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Roberto Matta, Le temps de la nuit, 1963
Image from Galerie Gmurzynska

What Else to See at ART SG 2026

Beyond S.E.A. Focus, ART SG’s main GALLERIES sector features an impressive mix of global blue-chip names and leading regional spaces. International heavyweights like White Cube and Thaddaeus Ropac return alongside regional powerhouses including Sullivan+Strumpf, Ames Yavuz, Ota Fine Arts, Gajah Gallery, and Richard Koh Fine Art.

If you love discovering rising talent, the FUTURES sector spotlights young galleries founded within the last decade. This year also marks the launch of the ART SG FUTURES Prize, awarding USD 10,000 to an outstanding emerging artist.

Another new addition is SOUTH ASIA INSIGHTS, a dedicated pavilion highlighting contemporary art from South Asia, while FOCUS presents tightly curated solo and duo presentations.

Performance Art - Brian Fuata 
Image Courtesy of the Artist + John Miller @ Sumer Gallery Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland

Large-scale works take centre stage in the PLATFORM sector, where you’ll encounter monumental installations and site-specific pieces scattered throughout the fair. For the first time, ART SG is also introducing a PERFORMANCE ART sector, bringing live, experimental works into the fair environment — expect spontaneous, immersive encounters rather than traditional stage performances.

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[Zilberman] Chi Yin Sim - Time Travels with a Rotten Suitcase (2025)
Image Courtesy of Artist and Gallery

ART Beyond the Fairgrounds

ART SG also spills out into the rest of the city.

The ART SG FILM programme, presented with ArtScience Museum, runs daily from 22 January to 1 February. Curated under the poetic theme “Would You Tell Me a Story Until I Fall Asleep?”, the screenings transform the cinema into a quiet, contemplative space for moving image works by artists from around the world.

Meanwhile, PERSPECTIVES brings talks and keynote conversations into the fair itself, featuring artists, museum leaders, and cultural thinkers discussing everything from performance art to building global museum collections.

View of Wan Hai Hotel, Singapore Strait
Image courtesy of ART SG & Rockbund Art Museum

One of the most atmospheric off-site highlights is Wan Hai Hotel: Singapore Strait at The Warehouse Hotel. Co-presented with Rockbund Art Museum, this immersive exhibition transforms the heritage property into a living, breathing art space exploring maritime identity, migration, and survival. It runs 20–31 January with free admission.

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[INKstudio] Bingyi, Lightning Series

Art Meets Lifestyle

As always, ART SG blends art with lifestyle experiences. Expect special presentations and installations from partners like UBS, Ruinart, AXA XL, Belmond, and more, alongside tastings, design showcases, and even hotel packages such as The Standard Singapore’s ART SG Culture Fix stay that bundles accommodation with fair access.

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Melati Suryodarmo, I Love You, 2007.
Installation view @ ART SG 2026, Singapore.
Image Courtesy ART SG 2026

If you’re heading down, set aside a few hours at least as ART SG 2026 isn’t just about viewing art, it’s about stepping into conversations, stories, and perspectives from across Singapore, Southeast Asia, and the world.

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i Light Singapore 2025: The Ultimate Date Night Trail — From AR Surprises to Glowing Dreams

Hi Huneybees,

If you’re on the hunt for a date night that’s a little more magical, a little more meaningful, and very Instagrammable, i Light Singapore 2025 might just be what you’re looking for. From digital oracles to glowing dream bridges, this year’s festival is filled with art that’s interactive, playful, and unexpectedly touching.

Themed "To Gather", this edition marks Singapore’s SG60 celebrations, and you can feel that spirit of togetherness pulsing through the entire experience. Here’s my curated guide to viewing the installations, whether you’re planning a casual walk or something a little more romantic.

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 Start with a Glow-up at Sign
📍The Promontory

This one’s hard to miss. A towering kinetic sculpture shaped like an infinity loop lights up the bay with dynamic waves of colour. As we arrived, couples were already lounging nearby, taking it in like a digital campfire. It doesn’t actually burn, but its flickering lights mimic flames so convincingly that it creates this almost meditative, dreamlike atmsphere. It’s the perfect place to begin your evening, just far enough from the CBD buzz to feel like a getaway, yet with Marina Bay’s skyline reminding you this is still very much the city you love.

Settle into the nearby Campfyre @ NOMADS, grab a couple of light bites, and just lean into each other. Whether you’re deep in conversation or quietly people-watching, it’s one of those rare city spots that invites you to slow down and just be together.

Step Into a Garden That Grows With You

📍Lawn beside NTUC Building  

Take a stroll through Take a walk through the meadow with me, and the ground literally comes alive beneath your feet. Glowing flowers respond to your presence with light and melody, intensifying as more people gather. Crafted from recycled acrylic and industrial fragments, the whole scene feels like an urban fairytale. It’s gentle, emotional, and immersive. ideal for couples who love to pause, reflect and co-create moments.

Dance Together at VJYourself!

📍Event Square, Marina Bay

Feeling playful? Don’t miss VJYourself! by Playmodes Studio (Spain). It’s like a digital mirror with a twist. Step in front of the screen and like no one’s watching (or do it together!), your movements are captured and remixed into a giant, glowing video montage. It’s silly, spontaneous, and oddly touching seeing yourself reflected back in pulsing waves of light. Great icebreaker or just a reminder that it’s okay to be goofy together.

Turn Each Other’s Heartbeats into Art
📍Breeze Shelters

At In Tandem, your heartbeat becomes part of the light show. It's an interactive piece built by NTU students using biometric sensors, so go ahead and place your hands on the sensors, watch as your pulses create a shared rhythm of light and sound inside the glowing orb. It’s a small, meaningful interaction; one of those “we’ll remember this” kind of moments.

A Walk Beneath Giants
📍Red Dot Design Museum

Take a slow, hand-in-hand stroll along the waterfront, and don’t be surprised if you both stop mid-conversation to stare up in awe. Fantastic Planet by Amanda Parer features three massive, glowing humanoid figures that seem to have landed right in the heart of the city. They’re peaceful, a little mysterious, and the perfect backdrop for those couple selfies you didn’t plan on taking (but definitely will).

There’s something oddly peaceful about being so small under their gaze. I overheard someone whisper, “It’s like they’re visiting from another world,” and that summed it up perfectly.

Whisper to the Future at Urban Oracle

📍Pontoon near Red Dot Design Museum

Imagine wandering down a quiet stretch of the pontoon, city lights shimmering off the water, and coming across glowing letters suspended over the bay. The Urban Oracle by Ultravioletto is part poetry, part prophecy. Press one of the red buttons along the boardwalk, and a pulse of light flows through the letters like a heartbeat, delivering an AI-generated message inspired by Singapore’s past, present, and future. It’s inspired by ancient temple oracles, reimagined with a digital twist. A little mysterious, a little romantic, just perfect if you love decoding meaning in the stars… or the code.

Link Hands at Embrace

📍Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade

Embrace is a beautiful tribute to solidarity and connection. Link hands with your date (or new friends!) beside life-sized silhouettes, and watch them glow to life. Created in celebration of the Singapore Armed Forces’ 60th anniversary, the installation symbolises strength in unity, like a quiet, radiant salute to those who protect us. It’s surprisingly moving.

Dance Across a Light Piano
📍Helix Bridge

Next stop: Mozart on the Helix Bridge. It’s a giant, deconstructed piano that lights up and plays music with every step. It’s playful and a little chaotic, just like love sometimes. The piece reflects how creativity can rise from disruption. A beautiful nod to our messy, musical lives. Don’t be afraid to let loose and dance across it together (bonus points if one of you pretends you're in La La Land).

Discover a Portal at Clifford Square

📍Clifford Square

Elementary by Tonoptik brings a bit of sci-fi magic to the waterfront. Two viewers on opposite sides of a glowing screen interact with floating shapes, but nothing behaves the way you expect. It’s fun, a bit chaotic, and perfect for sparking conversation about control, nature, and unpredictability in life (and love).

Cross the Bridge of 1,000 Dreams

📍Cavenagh Bridge

If there’s one installation that feels like walking through a dream, it’s this one. Bamboo sticks lined with children’s designs light up to form a glowing bridge of collective imagination. Each stick represents a different future. It’s heartwarming and hopeful - a reminder that Singapore itself was built on dreams, just like any great relationship.

Watch a Waterfall Flow Upwards

📍UOB Plaza Façade

Thousands of LED tubes simulate a waterfall, but instead of falling down, the light flows upward. Reverse Waterfall plays with perception and reality in a way that makes you stop, think, and smile. A great metaphor for any couple who's ever decided to do things a little differently.

Get Lost in a Garden of Guardians

📍Raffles Place Park

This inflatable forest of tropical blooms is all colour, joy, and quiet power. Inspired by the artist’s own family history of florists, The Guardians is like stepping into someone’s memory of beauty. With six designs based on Singapore’s native plants, this is a soft, inclusive space that invites reflection and rest, or perhaps a little couples' hide-and-seek...

Feel the Wind Glow at Saulux

📍Fountain Plaza, South Beach Avenue

Saulux is a luminous field of willowy twigs that light up with every breeze. The glow is warm and golden, and the whole space feels alive and whispering. If you’re the type of couple who finds magic in nature, this one’s a must-visit.

See the World Differently at This Is Not a Screen

📍South Beach Avenue, Level B1 

Made from recycled phone screens, this piece plays with how we perceive light and reality. No two people see the same thing - depending on your angle, colour and form shift completely. A smart, layered reminder that in love and life, perspective changes everything.

AI and a Bit of Dancing

Catch the digital showcase by Alibaba Cloud called Cloud City: Built with AI, where you can upload a photo of yourself and watch as it transforms into a futuristic dreamscape. It's wild to see yourself in a sci-fi world, envisioned by generative AI. Slightly uncanny, but incredibly cool.

On 20 June, put on your wireless headphones and groove through the festival at the Silent Disco Parade. There’s something kind of magical about dancing in sync with your partner in the middle of the city, surrounded by glowing art. You’ll both be laughing by the end. Guaranteed!

Take to the Water - Paddle or Cruise

If you're feeling adventurous, try the Glow Paddle - a dragon boating experience in LED-lit boats. Prefer to sit back and relax? Hop on the i Light River Cruise Shuttle and float past the installations together, taking in the view from a new angle. It's peaceful, romantic, and a nice break for your feet.

End the Night at GastroBeats

Finally, make your way to GastroBeats at Bayfront Event Space. Share some bites, explore the local vendors, or just sway to live music under the stars. There are pet-friendly zones, artisanal goods, and even a nostalgic sound journey through Rewind, Replay, Remix: SG Edition. It’s the perfect way to wind down, maybe even with dessert in hand.

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So if you’re looking for a date night that’s out of the ordinary, trade in the usual routine for something a little more magical - i Light Singapore 2025 is the perfect way to light up your night and share a sense of wonder together. There’s so much more to see and do, and you can dive into all the highlights in my earlier introduction post here.

i Light Singapore 2025 runs from 29 May to 21 June, 7.30pm to 11pm daily (till midnight on Fridays & Saturdays). Admission is free, but some activities may require tickets.

*Bonus Tip: Most installations come alive after dark, so arrive around 7:30 PM and give yourselves a few hours to explore. Wear comfy shoes, and don’t forget a power bank for all those Instagrammable moments.

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Step Into the Life of Frida Kahlo At the ArtScience Museum: Frida Forever

Hi Huneybees,

Frida Kahlo, the iconic Mexican artist, is universally recognized as one of the most influential female artists of the 20th century. Famous for her powerful self-portraits, Kahlo’s work explores themes of identity, the human body, and her remarkable resilience in the face of personal challenges.

In tribute to her enduring legacy, ArtScience Museum presents Frida Forever, a special exhibition running until September 1, 2024. This showcase is part of the museum's "Year of Extraordinary Women," celebrating Kahlo and other remarkable women throughout the year.

The exhibition is divided into three engaging segments - Frida Kahlo: The Life of an Icon, Bare: Frida's Inner World, and an immersive VR experience - Exquisite Corpse, to complete the journey. Rather than focusing solely on her art, the spotlight shifts to explore her life in depth: her childhood, inspirations, motifs, iconic dresses, medical history, and even her trauma. Adding to the allure, the exhibition features works never before seen outside the United States, offering visitors a rare and unique experience.

Produced by Layers of Reality and the Frida Kahlo Corporation, the first segment, Frida Kahlo: The Life of an Icon, immerses visitors in Kahlo's life story through cutting-edge technology. Spanning eight thematic spaces, the exhibition features photographs, films, 360-degree projections, interactive installations, and multi-layered technology to trace her journey from childhood to the life-altering accident that shaped her path as an iconic artist. This segment also delves into Kahlo’s other passions beyond painting, such as her political activism and romantic relationships.

Frida Kahlo: The Life of an Icon

The exhibition opens with a strikingly designed altar dedicated to Frida Kahlo, reflecting the Mexican tradition of honoring life after death. While this might seem a bit morbid to some Asian audiences, it feels fitting and respectful as a prelude to exploring her life and legacy.

As we move further into the exhibition, a stunning garden scene unfolds - The Garden of Love, featured for the first time, is inspired by Frida Kahlo’s own garden at the Blue House. This section highlights Frida's deep love for nature, showcasing her surrounded by flowers, plants, and animals. The vibrant, Mexican-inspired garden brims with images of her in her botanical world. Here, you can also participate in a special program by adding your own love wishes to the garden, contributing to its ever-growing beauty.

The Accident segment highlights a pivotal moment in Frida's life—the near-fatal accident that shattered her body but ignited her passion for painting. This multimedia installation employs innovative multi-layer technology, using overlapping projections to create a stunning three-dimensional effect that immerses visitors in her experience. You can almost feel the depth of her pain as you witness this transformative chapter of her life.

Standing before the multimedia installation, The Dream, as it slowly unfolds, is a powerful reminder of the enduring strength of the human spirit. This artwork reflects the period when Frida Kahlo was bedridden, during which she created many of her most significant pieces. Through intricate projection mapping and an AI algorithm inspired by her work, the installation beautifully portrays themes of life, death, health, and illness, encapsulating the complexities of her experiences.

There's an interactive area where you can discover iconic symbols and motifs that frequently appear in Frida's art, like the monkey, sugar skull, pineapples, and flowers. The Endless Symbology section is perfect for capturing some Instagram-worthy photos or TikTok videos.

At La Rosita, you can sit down and color your own portrait of Frida Kahlo, drawing inspiration from her famous self-portraits. This experience recreates the moments when Frida would paint with her students along the vibrant streets of Mexico. Once finished, you can scan your artwork and watch it come to life as an animated projection on a large screen.

The seventh themed space is dedicated to Frida Kahlo's global travels and the influential people she met along the way. This colorful section highlights her journeys from Mexico to cultural centers like New York and Paris, where she connected with famed artists like Marcel Duchamp. Visitors can fully immerse themselves in her story through an impressive 360-degree digital projection of photographs, animations, and graphics, creating a continuous loop of her remarkable history.

The Fashion Icon segment offers a rare chance to get up close and personal with Frida Kahlo's iconic garments, on loan from the Frida Kahlo Corporation. This display highlights her vibrant, traditional weavings and showcases how deeply she embraced her culture and love for color. Her fashion continues to transcend generations, leaving a lasting impact on the world of style.

Bare: Frida's Inner World 

The second exhibition, Bare: Frida's Inner World, delves deeper into Kahlo's personal and medical struggles. With the support of her great niece, Cristina Kahlo Alcalá, and fashion curator Circe Henestrosa, this segment offers a revealing look at her complex health journey. It highlights her time at the American British Cowdray Hospital in Mexico, featuring medical records, photographs, and even an X-ray of her spine taken just three months before her passing on July 13, 1954.

Visitors can also examine clinical datasheets detailing her health leading up to her final major surgery in 1953, when her lower right leg was amputated due to gangrene. Taking it a step further, a team of medical experts from Singapore—including an orthopaedic surgeon, anaesthetist, and clinical psychologist—were invited to provide modern-day insights. Their analysis brings new understanding to the physical and emotional pain Kahlo endured, offering a fresh perspective on her life and resilience.

Exquisite Corpse

Conclude your visit to Frida Forever by heading to the VR gallery on Level 4 for the final segment, Exquisite Corpse, created by Layers of Reality and Blit Studios. Immerse yourself in a virtual reality experience that explores the rich and imaginative world of Frida Kahlo's mind. Step inside her home and enter the intimate space of her bed, where she spent countless hours recovering. From there, embark on a captivating nine-minute journey through vivid, dreamlike landscapes inspired by her iconic artworks.

After walking through the Frida Forever exhibition, I’m left in awe of Frida Kahlo’s enduring spirit, her resilience, and the profound depth of her life story. Each segment, from the intimate glimpses into her personal struggles to the vibrant exploration of her artistic world, reveals a woman who channeled immense pain into stunning works of art. Her legacy has been so beautifully preserved, allowing us to connect not just with her art but with her as a person. It’s a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit, and I leave feeling inspired by her courage, creativity, and timeless impact.

Come talk a walk into Frida's life at Frida Forever.

Tickets and Reservations

All offerings under the season Frida Forever will run from 4 May to 1 September 2024. To enjoy exclusive perks and discounts, Sands LifeStyle members can purchase tickets to the various offerings under Frida Forever at all Marina Bay Sands box offices and website. Meanwhile, non-members can also purchase tickets via Fever. Guests are strongly encouraged to pre-purchase tickets online prior to their visit.

For more information on Frida Forever, please visit https://www.marinabaysands.com/museum/frida-forever.html.

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Tons of Interactivity At This Year's i Light 2023

Hi Huneybees,

Phew! There's so much happening this June at Marina Bay and I'm playing octopus here trying to keep up with my articles and social media postings. I shared about GastroBeats in my previous post and this one's dedicated to i Light Singapore 2023 itself.

Curated to the theme of A New Wave this year, most of the artworks are anchored on the colour

blue which is omnipresent in nature’s blue spaces such as oceans and rivers, and often associated with emotions such as calmness and serenity, inspiring us to contribute to a more sustainable future as we interact with each installation.

If you are making plans to head down, here are some tips...

1) Not just for the weekends

This year's i Light is not only happening over weekends, so to beat the crowd, try making plans to check them out on weekdays instead. I bet it will save you more time trying to "erase" these people from your Instaworthy shots.

2) Get geared up

Spreading across more areas like South Beach and Millenia Walk, be sure to dress comfy and cool. Prepare your mini fans, and chilled drinks and get ready to clock those steps, or get geared up and rent a bicycle to enjoy these art pieces whilst enjoying the breeze along Marina Bay. 

3) Fringe Programmes

This year's iLight will see a lot of fringe events alongside the light installations, so take note of these dates if any catches your eyes...

● GastroBeats

Bayfront Event Space (4pm – 11pm daily)

As the Festival Village of i Light Singapore, GastroBeats offers a month-long celebration of good food, good music and good fun with can delicacies served up by 50 homegrown F&B vendors and live performances by talented local musicians from a variety of genres, such as 53A and Tabula.

*General admission to the Festival Village is free, while charges apply for selected activities. 

● Lightwave: Turning the Tide, presented by Alibaba Cloud

The Promontory at Marina Bay 

Weekdays: Sunday to Thursday – 7.30pm to 11pm (last experience at 10.40pm)

Weekends: Friday and Saturday – 7.30pm to 12am (last experience at 11.40pm)

Lightwave: Turning the Tide imagines a future where human exploits have damaged the world around us irrevocably. Transported to an underwater world, visitors are left to ponder: How have we come to this? Through three unfolding chapters of thought-provoking multi-sensorial light experiences, explore how our way of life has impacted nature, and be inspired to make a change and turn the tide.

*Admission tickets are priced at SGD5 each and can be purchased from Klook.

● Light Wash

Key buildings and bridges across Marina Bay precinct

7.30pm – 11pm daily (with extended hours to 12am on Fridays and Saturdays)

In line with the Festival’s colour theme for this edition, key buildings and bridges around the Bay will be lit up in a blue hue on Festival nights, complementing the light art installations and evoking a tranquil ambience.

● Guided Walking Tour by Let’s Go Tour Singapore

i Light Singapore festival grounds

3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25 June (Saturdays and Sundays): 8pm to 9.30pm

On this specially curated walking tour conducted by Let’s Go Tour Singapore over four weekends, hear from experienced guides about this year’s Festival theme, A New Wave, as well as the creative ideas, stories and trivia behind the delightful artworks.

*Tickets for the guided tours are priced at SGD30 each and can be purchased from Let’s Go Tour Singapore here. 

● Rediscover Marina Bay Walking Tour

Marina Bay

7, 14, 21 June (Wednesdays): 5.30pm, 6pm, 6.30pm

Find out how the sea was transformed into a distinctive and sustainable district in the heart of our city. Discover what lies beneath Marina Bay to support sustainable living, and how urban planners sculpted a skyline that is distinctively Singapore. Get the story behind the centrepiece of Singapore’s transformation efforts by joining this special 90-minute walking tour led by URA volunteers. A

*Tickets for the guided tour are free and available on a first-come-first-served basis. Sign up here to reserve a spot.

4) Make a pledge

i Light i Pledge, presented by Alibaba Cloud

This year, the Festival is once again partnering susGain, a local social enterprise championing sustainability, on i Light i Pledge. Pledge your commitment to eco-conscious practices by making small but impactful changes in your daily lifestyles to cultivate sustainable habits.

● The Switch Off, Turn Up (SOTU) pledge calls for all to switch off non-essential lighting and turn up air-conditioning temperatures during and beyond the festival period. Since the Festival’s inception in 2010, SOTU has been a key component of i Light Singapore’s sustainability drive. The initiative has rallied many building owners, corporations and businesses around and beyond Marina Bay to

reduce their energy consumption in lighting and air-conditioning. This year, over 100 buildings and properties will be participating in the initiative (see list of participants here). The programme has also been extended to the public and schools for the first time this year.

● The Be a Zero Hero pledge encourages the public to adopt zero-waste habits such as reducing the use of single-use items and food waste. For each pledge submitted by participants up to the first 5,000 pledges, All Clear - a sustainability enterprise providing offshore and ocean clean-ups - will remove 100g of waste from Singapore waterways. As such, up to 500 kg of waste will be removed as an outcome of the pledge. 

For each pledge submitted online, a visual that is unique to each pledge will be generated using Alibaba Cloud’s AI technologies. The visuals can be viewed on i Light i Pledge’s website and as part of the last chapter at Lightwave: Turning the Tide. This initiative aims to demonstrate how a small step taken by an individual can contribute to a larger sustainability objective. Take part in the i Light i Pledge here and stand to win attractive prizes.

5) Key Highlights

This edition will see 22 artists from eight countries coming together to showcase 14 captivating light art installations. There's a few that caught my eye and I feel are definitely not to be missed...

● Tree Man by ENESS (Australia)

Location: Event Square

Encircling a sapling in his arms, Tree Man provides sanctuary for a young tree while carving out an inner sanctum for visitors. Falling into his arms feels so warm, so protected as though hugging a real-life BayMax, so comfy to just lean against it.

As one enters the arms of Tree Man, light switches across a spectrum of colours, and sparse melodies on top of a forest-inspired soundtrack are triggered, leaving one to wonder if we can ever find a balance between the digital and natural world. The act of nurturing and connecting with our environment is emphasised in these whimsical light sculptures. Emitting light with heads that are shaped like digital screens, the artwork invites reflection on humans’ insatiable preoccupation with devices, which could be detrimental to our circadian rhythms. 

● Glacier Dreams by Refik Anadol Studio (USA) and Julius Baer

Location: Façade of ArtScience Museum

Inspired by both the beauty and fragility of glaciers, Glacier Dreams is the result of a groundbreaking, long-term research project involving machine learning, environmental studies, and multi-sensory media art. Visual materials collated from publicly available data and institutional archives, together with glacier images personally collected by Refik Anadol in Iceland, are processed through machine learning algorithms and transformed into Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based multi-sensory narratives.

The artist, together with his Los Angeles-based team, hopes to raise awareness of climate change and rising sea levels through poetic glacier-themed experiences, and also contribute to the study of glaciers with their existing AI tools.

● Trumpet Flowers by Amigo & Amigo (Australia)

Location: Clifford Square

Inspired by gramophones, these super-sized flowers burst to life occasionally with a specially commissioned musical score by Otis Studio, accompanied by some of Sydney’s finest jazz musicians. Immerse yourself in this playful and fun musical garden using the interactive keys and try to activate to "whole band". I love how everyone comes together to create a beautiful piece of music, bring in your friends or simply work with the other visitors...

● Résonances by Louis-Philippe Rondeau in collaboration with ELEKTRA (Canada)

Location: Open Plaza, OUE Bayfront

Résonances is an interactive installation that embodies the inexorable passage of time. It seeks to reveal the limit between present and past. As an arch of light appears in darkness, a temporal portal emerges. When visitors cross this threshold, their image will be projected onto the adjacent wall and seem deployed in time through the slit-scan technique. In this visual metaphor, the past constantly takes over the present, and visitors will see their own image fade inexorably into the oblivion of white light. The artwork emphasises that all light is the manifestation of events that have already occurred; the twinkle we see in the night sky is but a bygone snapshot of the stars. Try walking through the portal in different poses, with different people and create your very own timeline artwork.

● Show III by Chen Jiawen, Lai Ling Ling Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore) and James Cook University  (Singapore)

Location: South Beach Main Entrance (next to JW Marriott Singapore South Beach drop-off point)

What does one usually think about in the shower? Let's take a quick one in public?

Inspired by a belief that showers are perfect settings for self-contemplation, Show III is an invitation to unwind outdoors by soaking in its calming blue light, with the company of a composed soundscape and virtual water droplets. The act of showering without water serves as a reminder for visitors to reflect on their water usage. It also aims to provide an alternative environment where one can be free of worries in the bustle of the city.

Ok, spoilers up to here, the rest is for you to experience and enjoy.

i Light Singapore 2023, presented by DBS, will be held from 1 to 25 June 2023, 7.30pm to 11.00pm daily with extended hours to 12.00am on Fridays and Saturdays. Admission is free, while charges apply for certain programmes. Visit https://www.ilightsingapore.gov.sg for more information.

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