SINGAPORE – The second annual Art Walk festival, a multidisciplinary arts event, was held in various cultural precincts of Little India. The event which was held from the 19th to the 23th of January was in conjunction with Singapore Art Week 2016.

 

The festival, which is a three-year planned collaboration between LASALLE College of the Arts and Singapore Tourism Board (STB), aimed to bring communities of people around Singapore together by showing the rich history , tradition and culture of Little India through stories, art and exploration.

 

The four day festival included many programmes both in the day and night. New artworks were created by students and alumni of LASALLE. An example would be the “Loops of the precious” which was an art piece inspired by Indian Jewellery.

 

Murals and installations such as that were displayed in various parts of Little India such as Belilios Lane and Upper Dickson Road, for viewing.

 

“I saw & learnt many new things about the Indian culture. Different countries have different things, that is why I came here to check out little India,” said Ms Liu Qin, a visitor from China.

 

On the first day, an opening ceremony was initiated with performances by Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS). Guided tours were provided for the visitors who had come by and on the other three days, a free and easy tour was placed.

 

Performances by established art groups here in Singapore such as Lotus Collab and Harmony were also ongoing along Campbell lane, to keep the visitor’s spirits up and high.

 

“I saw two teenagers around the age of 18 who were playing Carnatic music,” said Mr Venkhat Shanmugam, a shop owner, who enjoyed the traditional Indian music genre with his colleagues.

 

The art exhibition also garnered many sight-seers of different ages. One particular art piece that got the crowd talking was the Hands: God of Shiva painting located at Level 2 of the Indian Heritage Centre.

 

The artist, Miss Kana Higashino, a student currently pursuing Fine Arts, Bachelors Level 2 in LASALLE, made her art exhibition into an activity which allowed visitors to get their hands dirty. “It was very important to me that I included the community and public into my art work,” said the 19-year-old.

 

Being inspired by a traditional Indian dancer from National University of Singapore (NUS), Miss Higashino created an abstract artwork which included the hand gestures that were representative of Shiva, the god of dance.

 

Overall, many who came to view the exhibitions and watch the performances were not disappointed.

 

Daniel, who came with his family from Argentina, to explore Singapore said, “Everything here is extremely beautiful, and I liked the traditional music by the performers the most.  I would definitely come back here again.”