The best things to do in Singapore this week (Aug 17-23)

Whether you’re part of the arts community or just curious to see what goes down behind the scenes, CITRUS fest 2026 invites everyone to pull up a seat. Back for its second edition alongside Singapore Night Festival, the event takes over 42 Waterloo Street for 10 days to tackle burnout culture. Themed Kacang Puteh, Care‑Oke?, the fest explores care as a collective responsibility through informal gatherings, workshops, and experimental sharings. Catch a town hall session where local theatre practitioners debate artist life, a participatory installation reimagining the old S‑11 coffee shop, and the Stone Soup Party for communal dining and karaoke.

A Singaporean twist on street parties is coming to Hideout Coffee Bar with the What’s Your Flavour? Block Party. Inspired by 1970s and ’80s New York street parties, the Mackenzie Road shophouse transforms into a vibrant East-meets-West showcase where homegrown creatives and hip-hop artists gather for performances and competitions. Highlights include a performance pairing breaking with silat, cyphers for freestylers competing for cash prizes, and a live soundtrack spun by producer-composer Fauxe. Hosted by MC Alif Aircho, the evening also features Adam Wang creating a live graffiti mural combining street art with Chinese calligraphy that you can add your own touch to.

If you missed the sold-out run of Fried Rice Paradise: The Makan Party last year, the food-meets-family-drama is back for a second serving of sibling rivalry. Settle down at the dinner table as chef-owner Bee Lean searches for an heir to her restaurant, letting you vote on the next Boss Lady between her daughters Fancy and Nancy. The pair face off in a massive cooking showdown full of spice. Adapted by Thomas Lim from Dick Lee’s 1991 classic stage musical, this interactive four-course dinner theatre reboot boasts a returning cast starring Serene Chen, Ching Shu Yi and Audrey Luo.

Forget pyramids and desert terrain. For its first-ever ancient Egypt-themed showcase at Lilytopia, Gardens by the Bay is swapping out dune landscapes for a rare look at the country’s past. Travel back in time to a lush garden filled with blooming lilies that once grew along the Nile, including the sacred blue water lily, which symbolises rebirth, the sun and the afterlife. Through a vivid palette of blooms, the showcase revives the faded colours of ancient Egyptian art. Presented alongside the display is A Glimpse of Egypt, an exclusive exhibition by Salwa Elhamamsy featuring dreamy, Impressionist-inspired oil paintings of Egypt’s breathtaking landscapes.

Often dubbed Chinese Valentine’s Day, Qixi Festival returns with Crafting Flavours That Inspire, celebrating local food heritage, artisans, kopi brewers and culinary practitioners. Explore Chinese and Nanyang flavours with wok mastery and sugar sculpting at Become 食神 (God of Culinary), or feast through a five-course menu at Qixi Banquet Under the Stars. You can also join heritage tours following the footsteps of Samsui women through Chinatown to learn about their contributions to Singapore’s early development. Hands-on workshops invite you to prepare Teochew Gongfu Tea, crochet local treats like ang ku kueh, and craft traditional qiaoguo pastries.

Over 100 exhibitions, talks, tours and loads more are happening across the island for this year’s Singapore Gallery Month. Presented by Art Galleries Association Singapore, the 2026 edition puts a deeper focus on the art of collecting, with a programme designed to help everyone get more out of their gallery visits. Whether you’re a first–time buyer or a seasoned collector, there’ll be plenty to learn, with participating spaces like FOST Gallery and ShanghART. Enjoy community gatherings, including rapid-fire “speed dating” at Gajah Gallery, or stay out late for Art After Hours at Tanjong Pagar Distripark for late-night talks, tours and interactive programmes.

One of Singapore’s most chaotic families is back – and they’re bringing even more mayhem this time around. The Choos cordially invite you to crash yet another gloriously dysfunctional family gathering: a masquerade party. Show up in your best silver or gold getup and prepare for family secrets and betrayal to spill around the buffet table. The Choos serve up drama alongside a wide spread of local delights, from laksa, rendang and satay to truffle egg croissants, kaya bread and butter pudding and Milo Dinosaur buns. Live chef stations will also be whipping up personalised plates of chicken rice.

Tired of hearing about all the AI National Day movies? Filmhouse’s latest film programme, Got Time For Cinema?, turns the lens towards homegrown titles made by actual Singaporeans. The lineup revisits Anthony Chen’s Growing Up trilogy – including Ilo Ilo, Wet Season, and We Are All Strangers – featuring a Q&A session with the director and cast. Other highlights include Tan Siyou’s girl-gang drama Amoeba and How Can This Be Allow?!, a selection of Objectifs-curated short films exploring aliens, isolation and immigrant experiences to offer a more complicated look at life on the Little Red Dot.

Asian Film Archive’s annual programme dedicated to short films is back for its 8th edition. Singapore Shorts brings together 18 works made between 2025 and 2026, selected by a multidisciplinary panel spanning printmaking, sound design and film. Split across four screening sessions, featured titles include the Southeast Asian premieres of Eric Teo’s Hourglass and Jessi Goh’s Ibu, a documentary following local drag icon Kak Nina Boo. The event also features In Transit — Expanded Cinema, an evening pairing silent short films by emerging local filmmakers with an improvised live soundtrack by DIY music project Biru.

Get to see Singapore as you’ve never seen it before. Or maybe you have, but you just haven’t been paying close attention. Presented by Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film, A Life in Colour is a landmark solo exhibition showcasing the archive of prolific photographer Tan Lip Seng. Timed alongside National Day, the exhibition captures everyday Singaporean life – from wet markets to construction workers – in vibrant detail, tracing the nation's journey to a modern metropolis. The showcase launches with a new photobook created with Tan's sons, featuring unseen final works that highlight his evolution from film to smartphone photography.

Confluence Art Space presents The Quiet Revolutionary, a month-long exhibition dedicated to late Cultural Medallion recipient Chua Ek Kay. Gathering over 50 career-defining works spanning three decades, the showcase traces his impact on contemporary Chinese ink through his blending of classical techniques with abstraction and modern composition. Highlights include his atmospheric depictions of old Singapore streets like Cecil Street and City Hall, as well as the 2.5-meter-wide lotus illustration Peace by the Pond.

One of Southeast Asia’s leading contemporary artists is taking over the Singapore Art Museum for a major solo exhibition. Titled Afterimage, this three-month-long showcase centres on Manila-based artist Maria Taniguchi, exploring repetition, time and labour through monumental paintings, sculptures and video installations. The exhibition is anchored by her ongoing series of towering, untitled “brick” paintings featuring thousands of tiny, hand-painted black rectangles. Other highlights include her Java Plum wood Runaways sculptures and four moving-image works spanning 16 years.

Esplanade’s annual theatre season returns with the theme Precarious Bodies to offer five thought-provoking performances that unpack power, identity and fragile systems. The 2026 edition marks the first chapter in a new three-year trilogy. The lineup opens with Fragments of Tuah, which demystifies the legendary icon Hang Tuah, before moving through Iran’s Blind Runner, Australia’s Multiple Bad Things and the local production Monstress. The season closes with Handle with Care, an experimental stage where the audience becomes the main character.

Stock up your pantry with fresh local produce at the Central Singapore Market. Organised by the Central Singapore CDC, this roving heartland market runs until December 2026, popping up at locations like Bishan Active Park, Zhongshan Park and Upper Thomson. Each stop brings a fresh mix of eco-conscious creators and food entrepreneurs. Discover organic vegetables, gluten-free granola, plant-based deodorants and even edible insects. The July 26 stop offers sustainable fertilisers and truffle oil, while August 2 adds a dried flower workshop and live music.

Relive your favourite local Chinese dramas with Singapore TV: From Local to Global. Presented by Mediacorp and the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, this latest exhibition charts the evolution of Singapore Chinese television from the 1960s to today. The showcase features hundreds of original costumes, props, photographs and memorabilia from beloved productions. Visitors can explore immersive installations replicating classic sets, try their hand at dubbing a scene and share their hopes for the future of local television at an interactive voting wall.

Move aside, Labubus. It’s all about Crybaby now. Created by Thai artist Molly Yllom, the popular Pop Mart blind box figurines arrive at the Singapore Oceanarium for the latest Cry Me An Ocean collection, which reimagines them as adorable marine animals. Explore 11 themed photo spots throughout the exhibits, where each marine–inspired Crybaby is displayed next to the sea creature that inspired its design. Spot everything from a jellyfish to a manta ray, alongside two 5–metre–tall outdoor inflatables of the Anglerfish and Pufferfish Crybaby. Complete the experience at the Resorts World Sentosa Weave pop–up store to get your hands on exclusive merchandise, including limited–edition eye masks while stocks last.

We may not have Disneyland, but Sentosa is giving us something pretty close from now till September 20: a Magical Island Adventure! In collaboration with Disney Cruise Line, the island transforms into a playful day-to-night experience inspired by the seven themed areas aboard the Disney Adventure, now sailing from Singapore. Start your journey in the skies with a themed Singapore Cable Car ride, before wandering through Sensoryscape’s blooming, dreamlike pathways featuring Disney princesses and heroines and down to Palawan Beach for Big Hero 6's Baymax, Toy Story favourites and Marvel heroes. For the first time, the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia opens till 10pm, so can catch the islet glowing after dark with The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Lilo and Stitch, and Moana. 

Musée du Louvre presents its expansive collection of Islamic art in Southeast Asia for the first time ever at the Asian Civilisations Museum. The exclusive exhibition, Crosscurrents: Masterpieces of Mughal, Safavid, and Ottoman Art from the Musée du Louvre, brings together over a hundred ancient treasures from the royal collections of the "Gunpowder Empires." The objects chart their rise and fall, offering a glimpse into the forces that dominated West and Central Asia between the 16th and 18th centuries. This rich history is paired with ACM’s own collection of jewels to reveal the empires’ influence on distant shores like Southeast Asia during a time of expanding global trade networks.

It’s time to live out your Disney dreams at Gardens by the Bay. Floral Fantasy comes alive once again with the return of Disney Garden of Wonder, which opens from now until March 2027. For its second instalment, the impressive horticultural display features over 20 Disney and Pixar character topiaries spread across six zones. One of the biggest highlights at this year’s showcase is the debut of Anna and Elsa from Frozen. The Arendelle sisters each get their own floral setting, complete with a frosty archway and icy mountains, alongside other Disney princesses like Jasmine from Aladdin, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and Rapunzel from Tangled.

Other returning favourites include Toy Story heroes Buzz Lightyear and Jessie, plus Winnie the Pooh and pals. You can also expect light-hearted installations that feature Disney icons in a more Singaporean setting, such as a playful display of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck operating a teh tarik stall.

Calling all sci-fi and fantasy fans: have you ever wondered what it might feel like to step into the world of your favourite novel or game? Now you can experience it for real with The Portals Experience at Fever Exhibition Hall. Billed as the world’s most extensive collection of original fantasy and science-fiction art, the exhibition invites you to step into eight richly imagined realms to explore more than 300 masterpieces, alongside over 10,000 books and miniatures that have inspired beloved universes, such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, Dune and Warhammer 40,000.

Displayed are also original book cover art for classic titles, including David Wingrove’s White Moon, Red Dragon, and The Day After Tomorrow by Robert A. Heinlein. The experience is completed with immersive, larger-than-life sets that’ll transport you to these magical worlds. No digital screens or VR technology, just elaborate backdrops and plenty of imagination to create the ultimate photo op.

Held alongside the exhibition is Future Singapore: 2126, a commissioned series by Singapore-based illustrator Kristal Melson featuring three neon-coloured prints that imagine the city-state 100 years into the future through a vibrant, sci-fi fantasy lens. You can also cop the exclusive artworks as merch, available at the Portals gift shop.

Step into the Minecraft universe as Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue makes its Asian debut at Mandai Wildlife Reserve. From April 24 to September 13, fans of all ages can embark on a thrilling, interactive quest through eight larger-than-life themed rooms. Equipped with an “Orb of Interaction,” you’ll craft, build, and battle to save a village from a zombie attack – all in under an hour. Successful heroes can even claim a limited-edition in-game cape. With theatrical sets and plenty of photo ops, it’s a high-stakes, blocky adventure that brings the digital game to life in the real world.

Play and discovery collide at the National Gallery’s newest children's exhibition, When Art Meets Nature, opening April 30. Co-curated with Taiwan’s Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts, the showcase transforms the gallery into a multi-sensory forest ecosystem. Explore Peace Forest by Soh Ee Shaun, a soft-sculpture playground that teaches kids about biodiversity, or dive into Where the River Runs, an interactive audio experience by Yenting Hsu centred on indigenous Taiwanese traditions. Through art and play, this immersive journey encourages young explorers to reimagine their relationship with the natural world and the creatures that protect our planet.

In this larger-than-life artwork taking over the National Gallery’s Padang Atrium, contemporary Thai artist Navin Rawanchaikul captures the dynamic and passionate cultures and lives that make up the diverse Singaporean community. Following a year-long engagement with migrant workers, indigenous groups and faith organisations, the artist’s revelations and discoveries are translated into spectacular billboard paintings, video interviews and a travelogue that celebrates their vibrant stories and voices.

The showcase is supported by an enriching two-part programme that highlights the people who have inspired the installation. Join in on fireside chats with the artist to explore behind the scenes and the empowering migrant stories. Singaporama Unfolded Part I centres on Kaugnay, an organisation for Filipina domestic workers, and its fabulous Trashion Show, while Part II traces the history of migration in Singapore. The latter presents a performance of a traditional Indian folk dance by Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) Ambassadors, alongside a discussion on identity, community and collaboration.

Five women, over 50 artworks and one shared mission. This exhibition brings Southeast Asian artists Amanda Heng (Singapore), Dolorosa Sinaga (Indonesia), Imelda Cajipe-Endaya (Philippines), Nirmala Dutt (Malaysia) and Phaptawan Suwannakudt (Thailand) to display their work together in Singapore for the very first time. But more than just an art showcase, Fear No Power is a space to have a conversation about meaningful change and the artists’ decades-long commitment to it. Featuring photography, paintings, sculptures and performances that date all the way back to the 1960s, this multidisciplinary exhibition examines the concept of communal world-building across the region and what it means to forge a community. Every piece of work is an intimate and powerful reflection deeply rooted in care, collaboration and resistance.

Whether you’re a peacock enthusiast or a curious newcomer, Peacock Power: Beauty and Symbolism Across Cultures uncovers the majestic bird’s impact across Asia. Featuring over 100 artefacts, from ceramics and clothing to intricate jewellery,  the exhibition traces the peacock’s symbolism, especially in Peranakan art and wedding traditions. It also debuts Thousand Eyes, a new ecological reinterpretation of the motif by Singaporean artist Ernest Goh.

Beyond the displays, visitors can explore peacock species and behaviours through holographic tech and interactive stations. Round out your visit with curated public programmes or join a guided tour for deeper insight into the stories behind the pieces.