You may remember the Light To Night Festival back in 2016 to commemorate the 1st year of operations of the National Gallery Singapore, one of Singapore’s most highly anticipated art museums. After a short hiatus, the festival made a comeback in January 2018 with free activities at the museum and the surrounding Civic District. Here’s a look back at what you might have missed.
What is the Light to Night Festival 2018?
Previously a festival to commemorate the National Gallery’s first year of operations, it has now become an event to commemorate the arts and giving a voice to the local arts scene. The festival consists of exciting activities like concerts, late night entry to the National Gallery, exciting artwork along with a flea market and food hall. There’s a lot to talk about in this year’s edition of the Light To Night Festival.
Extended Opening Hours At The National Gallery
As it’s an event organised by the National Gallery themselves, free entry was available to everyone who wanted to check out the museum itself. Plus, admission hours were extended all the way till late into the night giving visitors the opportunity to check out the variety of interesting exhibitions happening in the museum. Even paid exhibits were temporarily free during the festival in order to get more people into the museum hopping bandwagon.
Live Concerts At Esplanade Park
Neighbouring Esplanade Theatres held a live rock concert at the Esplanade Park as part of the festival. The concert provided an avenue for festival goers to rock on throughout the night with its energetic vibe and lovely live music. Since it’s organised by the Esplanade Theatres, you could watch more of such concerts at their own premises for free on the weekends.
Live & Interactive 3D Projection Mapping Show At The National Gallery
A popular highlight of the previous edition of the festival was the live 3D projection mapping show held at the National Gallery. This time, interactive features were added giving visitors the opportunity to be part of this amazing visual spectacle. Many visitors were taking turns interacting with the installation and curious onlookers definitely enjoy the wonderful visuals at the show.
More 3D Projection Mapping At The Arts House & Victoria Theatre
Though not as extensive as the National Gallery, 3D projection mapping shows could also be found at the neighbouring Victoria Theatre and The Arts House. With presentations that showcased all kinds of amazing visual imagery to curious onlookers all around, it definitely captured a lot of attention.
Flea Market & Food Hall At The Padang
Right at the Padang was a flea market and food hall set up by budding local entrepreneurs. Complete with glittering lights, the activities at the Padang certainly attracted the most amount of people in the Civic District compared to others within the area. Treat yourself to some amazing merchandise and crafts made by our local crafters or indulge in some delicious food and beverages by our own local vendors. It doesn’t get any better than this.
Art Installations Everywhere
Other than the installations that can be found in the museums, the whole Civic District were also decorated with some interesting art installations as well such as House of Mirrors, a house-sized kaleidoscope made out or mirrors. This particular installation was well received as it attracted a very long queue despite being a paid attraction.
Even the Esplanade Tunnel and Esplanade Park received some love as well. The Colourscape turned the Esplanade Tunnel walkway into a dark tunnel that constantly changes colours giving off that mystery vibe for passersby. Walk further into the Esplanade Park and be mesmerised by the rows of lampposts which constantly changed colours as well.
Conclusion
The Light To Night Festival 2018 was an interesting event making the arts more accessible to the general public. With the Civic District itself becoming more pedestrian-friendly after some road modifications and infrastructure upgrades, you can look forward to more of such wonderful events happening throughout the year.
More Information
Official Website: https://www.lighttonight.sg
