Source: ARTWALK Little India. Izzad Radzali Shah, Festival, ARTWALK Little India 2018, LASALLE College of the Arts, 2018. Photo: Ng Wu Gang.
The multidisciplinary arts festival ARTWALK Little India is a collaboration between LASALLE College of the Arts (LASALLE) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), with support from the Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association. It returns for its fourth year in January 2018 as a featured event in Singapore Art Week.
With the theme of Urban Mythology, the event kicks off a renewed three-year partnership between STB and LASALLE, following a successful initial collaboration from 2015 to 2017 that saw attendance grow from 74,000 to 140,000 visitors.
ARTWALK 2018 features seven new murals, an art installation, performances by three artists, and a variety of fringe activities, all spread across 10 days. New interactive experiences like dress-a-puppet workshops and aura photography readings will also be available.
This installment of ARTWALK welcomes back several artists to breathe life into Little India’s stories. Master storyteller Kamini Ramachandran, a recurring presence since 2016, will share tales of the supernatural. Eunice Lim, the artist behind the ARTWALK Little India murals Cattleland and Cattleland 2, returns to pay tribute to Siyamala Bookstore, Singapore’s oldest Tamil bookstore known for importing publications directly from India. Inspired by Lim’s 2017 mural, former student volunteer Leow Wei Li joins this year’s ARTWALK with Dominic Khoo as the art duo sobandwine. Their mural celebrates the marigold flower and its significance in Indian culture.
In the spirit of collaboration, ARTWALK 2018 invited Little India’s business owners to take a more active role. For the first time, corporate sponsors with businesses in the area have signed on, including lead sponsor Corwin Holding, a joint venture between Lum Chang Holdings and a fund managed by LaSalle Investment Management Asia responsible for developing the new mixed-use project at the former The Verge site. Co-sponsors include Nippon Paint and Wanderlust Hotel. Four organizations—Monster Day Tours, Indian Heritage Centre, Artgrain, and Audace Bar & Restaurant—have also joined as program partners.
“We wanted everyone to feel invested in the neighborhood and the festival," shared Hazelina Oh, a BA(Hons) Arts Management student at LASALLE. “Ultimately, we aim to celebrate the rich diversity and history of Little India. With the personal commitment from these individuals, many of whom found incredibly creative ways to expand on this year’s ARTWALK theme, we believe the 2018 event brings new depth to an already vibrant and evolving conversation about Little India.” ARTWALK is coordinated by a group of seven BA(Hons) Arts Management students from LASALLE under the guidance of artist and LASALLE Senior Fellow Milenko Prvacki.
“ARTWALK Little India has been instrumental in invigorating the precinct and making Little India and its rich heritage resonate with a younger audience,” said Kenneth Lim, Director of Cultural Precincts Development at STB. “It has also created a more immersive tourist experience in Little India.”
Details:
ARTWALK Little India 2018 takes place from January 18–27, 2018, with events and activities scheduled from 6pm to 9pm, Thursday through Saturday.
The festival guide is available for download and physical copies can be found at the Indian Heritage Centre or Clive Street POLI site.
Guided tours by Monster Day Tours are open for registration
Self-guided tours are available on the Locomole app, which can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play Store.