This month will see the return of the annual festival after a three-year hiatus, with creative inspiration beckoning at Marina Bay Sands and other venues around town.
Left to right: Bangkok-based creator Saran Yen Panya; the MEL Series by fellow Thai product designer Sarunphon Boonto. (Photos courtesy of Singapore Design Week)
EMERGE @ FIND
An offshoot of the concurrent FIND – Design Fair Asia, which is being billed as the region’s biggest furniture, interiors, and design fair of the year, EMERGE @ FIND aims to throw the spotlight on emerging Asian makers. The inaugural 2022 edition is being curated by Suzy Annetta, editor-in-chief of Design Anthology magazine, and more than 50 creators from six Southeast Asian countries will be in town to display their work, some of which has been created especially for the occasion. Among the featured talents are Singapore’s own Hans Tan, Indonesian designers like Alvin Tjitrowirjo and young textile artist Clarissa Nilastiani, along with the prolific Saran Yen Panya from Thailand. EMERGE @ FIND will take place from September 22–24 at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, and will be publicly accessible from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the 24th.
5000 Lost Soles, Liina Klauss’ large-scale art installation of discarded flip-flops at the Potato Head Beach Club in Bali. (Photo: Potato Head)
“N*thing is Possible by Potato Head, OMA & Friends”
Singapore’s National Design Centre is hosting a three-month multimedia exhibition from cult hospitality brand Potato Head, documenting its ongoing journey in pursuit of a zero-waste lifestyle. Expect collaborations with big-hitters such as Japanese starchitect Kengo Kuma; David Gianotten from the acclaimed global studio OMA; Andra Matin, one of Indonesia’s most prominent architects; and British furniture designer Max Lamb. This design showcase illustrates how waste and offcuts can be transformed into beautiful, usable objects and desirable artwork, and is complemented by a series of talks and expert-led panel discussions, as well as hands-on activities. The exhibition will also reveal the blueprint for Potato Head’s success on the sustainability front thus far, serving as inspiration for others to apply similar principles in their own businesses. “N*thing is Possible by Potato Head, OMA & Friends” will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. from September 16–December 25, 2022.
The distinctive greenery-covered facade of Oasia Hotel Downtown. (Photo: Far East Hospitality)
P*DA Tours – The Hunt for the Green Treasure by Tribe Tours
Among the more unusual ticketed events are weekend treasure hunts that involve solving puzzles while taking a more in-depth look at examples of award-winning sustainable architecture. Part of the President*s Design Award (P*DA) Tours being launched during Singapore Design Week, they feature exclusive experiences not normally offered to the public. During the tours, which are scheduled on September 17 and 24, guests can inspect the vertical gardens at HDB development SkyVille @ Dawson and visit a home inside the estate. The itinerary takes in Gardens by the Bay, where you’ll learn more about energy efficiency and see how horticultural waste is converted into fuel, before continuing to the landmark Oasia Hotel Downtown. At the property, architects will be on hand to explain how its spaces were designed with natural lighting and cross ventilation in mind. The experience is priced at S$150 per person.
The Re-Route festival aims to showcase the people and places of Singapore’s Little India district.
Re-Route by Plus Collaboratives
Running from September 16 to October 9, this “creative place-making festival” centered on Little India is inspired by the neighborhood’s lesser-known stories, allowing even longtime Singapore residents to see the heritage district from a new perspective. Design interventions at various sites nod to aspects of the area’s history: recalling the long-lost colonial-era racecourse, the open fields along Race Course Road will be reinvented as a modern-day Sporting Social Club, with a “member’s lounge” and café, a festival-branded retail store, and sidewalk games. Similarly, the memory of New World Amusement Park — once a popular nightlife destination from the 1920s to 1960s — will be revived through interactive installations, costume and fashion design displays, and live entertainment, while displays along Serangoon Road will highlight once-common trades and traditional crafts like brick-making and rattan weaving.
