Why sweat it out in a club when there’s a party going on outdoors? Hsieh Nizhen explains how a new festival could transform Singapore nightlife

Nightclubs may soon become obsolete. Yes, you read that correctly. Getting wasted kills brain cells, drunken conversations in dim lighting with strangers end up in regrettable one-night stands, and music at close range ruptures the eardrums. So why not bring the nightlife outdoors and get stimulated in an alternative way?

This month’s Night Festival, a first of its kind in Singapore, will run the gamut from spectacular theatrical performances and open-air cinema to beat boxing, DJ gigs and interactive art installations that you can wander in and out of – all this alive and brimming in the heart of the city. But it’s not just a case of artful fun. ‘It’s bridging what social background and perspective tend to divide,’ says Tan Boon Hui, deputy director of programmes at the National Museum.

Not one to divulge too much too early, this is all part of Tan’s deviant art-party blueprint for the weekends of 18 and 19 July and 25 and 26 July. The sprawling festival will hit the streets (Fort Canning Road and Stamford Road), the SMU (Singapore Management University) green and the garden in front of the museum. It is as openended a concept as it is open-air – in line with the Government’s recent grandiose plans to ‘generate night buzz’ and ‘contribute to the “soul” of city life’. The area is already being enlivened by pedestrian-friendly features, created to allow people to amble from the junction of Armenian Street and Stamford Road to the National Museum.

‘I was quite taken by the street festivals of Europe and Melbourne,’ says Tan of his inspiration for the event. ‘They are different from the performing arts festivals here that tend to situate themselves at concert halls and theatres. Which is why bringing these festivals out gives people the opportunity to gather and enjoy culture in a relaxed way.’ Even before any performers take the stage, you can expect a surreal change in atmosphere as a prelude to the artistic storm. Australian large-format projection specialists, Electric Canvas, will play with lighting and shadows to accentuate the detailed façades of historic buildings in the area. With the mood lighting set, Italian troupe Studio Festi (pictured above)– having rerecently enthralled the crowd in Macau at the 100-day countdown to the Beijing Olympics – will open with a site-specific aerial piece incorporating elements of earth, wind, water and fire to provide a natural undertone to their acrobatics. This will be no easy task, considering the complications posed by the trees, buildings and the everlooming threat of rain ‘onstage’. The group, known for its massive outdoor shows, describes itself as the ‘theatre of the world’ with utopian ideals.

The second weekend of the festival is in collaboration with nightclub Zouk. Its Beatnik Picnic, which will boast a purely local line-up, includes an 80-person percussion act, onthe- spot poetry, body-painting and even live silk-screening. TOS staffer Sabrina Lee’s alternative greeting card website (www.mypapercuts.net) will make its way outside; her witty, tongue-in-cheek illustrations and text will be blown up to become teepees sheltering artists and their craft from the elements. It’s truly a group effort.

‘The museum’s aim is to bring more life to the Bras Basah area,’ says Zouk’s marketing manager Tracy Phillips, who along with Zouk creative director Mriz Sidah helped curate the Beatnik Picnic. Zouk was ‘roped in’ to help because of their party-planning experience, Phillips adds. Besides Zouk’s resident DJs, international acts will create the soundtrack for graffiti art demonstrations. Expect Toronto-based female MC, Masia One, US-based turntable maestro DJ Shortkut and Australian electro-pop band Van She to make an appearance.

Don’t worry if you’re underage; this event is open to those 16 and over. ‘It’s nice to be able to entertain this group of people for a change,’ Phillips says. ‘For example, the younger breakdancers miss out when we hold B-boy competitions in the club, but this time around they can take part too and are very excited.’ This aesthetic buffet is what Tan hopes to replicate for future events. If this experiment proves to be a success, it could signify not just another evolutionary phase of the local art scene, but a new era in Singapore nightlife – prompting people to wake up inspired instead of hungover.

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