The best things to do in Singapore in July 2021

Take your art appreciation to an unexpected location – Level 3 of Raffles City Shopping Centre. Curated by Ode To Art, The Art Passage has been refreshed with a new exhibition featuring works by Thai artist Knakorn Kachacheewa and Indonesian artist Vani Hidayatur Rahman from now till July 31. Admire the vision of the two distinctive artists – where the fusion within the exhibition creates a platform that allows us to look at our society from a different perspective. The artists offer glimpses into imaginary alternative universes, a good break for eyes made sore by our society plagued with a pandemic. 

Videogames are a big business – even the eSports industry is booming. Always pushing the envelope, videogames are about to level up as they go from the small screen to the big museum gallery with Virtual Realms: Videogames Transformed. Set to make its global premiere at the ArtScience Museum on June 12, the multi-sensorial exhibition re-imagines videogames as a captivating 21st-century art form – one that avid gamers and contemporary art lovers can experience in virtual and physical realms under one roof. Prepare to engage your senses with six impressive installations put together by six of the world's leading videogame developers including Kojima Productions, Enhance, thatgamecompany, Tequila Works, Media Molecule, and David OReilly. Each of these jazzy realms is driven by a unique theme – Synthesia, Unity, Connection, Play, Narrative, and Everything. From "seeing" sounds and "feeling" visuals to experimenting in both the physical and virtual worlds, these installations will have you tapped into your imagination the moment your step inside the gallery.

Got a mini Picasso at home? Unlock your child's creativity with the third edition of Gallery Children's Biennale. Instead of the usual labyrinth of interactive artworks at National Gallery Singapore, the bi-yearly multi-sensorial art experience returns with its first-ever hybrid edition from May 22, 2021 until December 2022. This "phygital" edition kicks off with an online experience via a kaleidoscopic microsite on may 22, followed by on-site art installations at National Gallery Singapore on September 3. Curious kiddos can look forward to interactive online adventures, immersive storytelling sessions, and digital artmaking with local and international artists as well as fellow children from other countries.