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Do You See Light To Night Singapore 2025 Sparkling In The Dark?

A straight-laced and bustling city in the day that hides beauty in the night. If you happen to drive past the Civic District in the upcoming few nights, you’ll be mesmerised by dancing lights splayed across various museum surfaces, acting like a dazzling beacon against the backdrop of darkness. You’ve probably already guessed it – Light To Night Singapore 2025 is here for its annual run! 

Light To Night 2025 is not only a marquee event of Singapore Art Week, but it also coincides with the Gallery’s 10th anniversary and SG60 with this year’s edition featuring over 70 artworks and programmes. Beyond just pretty lights against the darkened backdrop of the night, this year’s theme is “Do You See Me?”. Spotlighting visionary local artists while inviting audiences and creators alike to “see and be seen”, Light To Night Singapore 2025 explores diverse, multifaceted identities in Singapore’s society, showcasing unique perspectives from all kinds of communities. 

TL;DR, audiences can look forward to large-scale projection mappings, incandescent art installations and thought-provoking pieces while wandering through the festival. But let’s dive into the installations and pieces that you absolutely cannot miss. To make things easier, the installations have been categorised into their different venues!

Marvel at the colours prancing across the building’s surface

A classic feature at every year’s Light To Night Singapore, the light projections on the National Gallery Singapore Façade are always the highlight of the festival. This year sees three pieces projected onto the building: Spirit of Resilience by Chng Seok Tin, The Perception of Beauty by Jaafar Latiff and Imprinted Memory by Goh Beng Kwan. 

Spirit of Resilience by Chng Seok Tin features a series of select artworks that illustrate her resilience despite an accident that cost her vision and uniqueness in the way she approaches art. Always experimenting with different mediums and pushing her creative limits, this projection puts on display her artistic journey, showcasing how she navigated the obstacles life threw at her while developing her practice.

The Perception of Beauty by Jaafar Latiff focuses on his works from the 1970s to the 1990s placing his influential career in the spotlight. With flowing strokes and an experiential approach, he challenged and pushed boundaries and the conventionalities of this traditional medium, revolutionising batik art by fusing tradition and modernity. This projection seamlessly showcases his unyielding pursuit of modernist innovation and his transformative impact on the art landscape in Singapore.

Imprinted Memory by Goh Beng Kwan logs his monumental journey as an artist as his identity changes with time and progress. As an artist grows and discovers more about oneself, things tend to change and develop as well. Whether it’s an external influence or an internal change, you uncover new aspects of yourself – but that doesn’t mean these changes are easy to accept. Watch along as this animation depicts Goh Beng Kwan’s journey to accepting and adapting to new cultures, identities and challenges.

📍Location: National Gallery Singapore, Façade

Through The Looking Glass

I could stand and watch the lights dance across the pillars for hours

The first exhibition we came across, Through The Looking Glass by Claire Teo, taps into all your senses, delving into the complexities of human perception. This mesmerising exhibit consists of several pillars standing, some encompassed with a shimmering silver surface, others glowing softly in the darkened room. Deep blue light is cast across the room, reflection reminiscent of waves flowing across the different pillars. 

With stories from other marginalised individuals, visitors can peek through gaps in different pillars to glimpse different objects that hold all kinds of meaning to their owners. Just like in real life, others’ stories are not simply on display for everyone to see – it’s not so easy to understand and empathise straight away. Immerse yourself in the stories of the individuals behind the placards as they share their journey of self-acceptance and growth despite the labels and prejudice thrust upon them. 

In a space where you look through a lens that is different from yours, hopefully, this journey will provoke a sense of retrospection and epiphany towards yourself and those around you. After all, at the end of the day, we all want the same things: to be seen, to be heard and to be understood. 

📍Location: National Gallery Singapore, Level B1, The Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium Foyer

kālacakra (a clock for progress)

Imagine lying down and staring up at a ceiling like that

If you’re wandering the National Gallery, there’s a high chance you’ll come across the Rotunda Library & Archive, a beautiful library with a domed ceiling. Amble in and tilt your head up as a wondrous spiral of images circles the ceiling. This is kālacakra (a clock for progress) by Kapilan Naidu, where you too can be a part of the gallery and festival’s many art pieces. 

Interweaving personal reflection and collective memory, watch as one-of-a-kind artworks are born from the archives of the National Gallery Singapore with a twist that you introduce. As personalised art pieces are projected one by one onto the ceiling, a tapestry of reflection is slowly unveiled. View yourself as part of Singapore’s past, present and future as you watch the Rotunda’s ceiling swirl with identity and community. 

📍Location: National Gallery Singapore, Supreme Court Wing, Level 3, UOB Southeast Asia Gallery, Rotunda Library & Archive

Return To Paradise

Reminds me of all the breathtaking scrapbook spreads online

One of the few exhibits that isn’t light-based, Return to Paradise by Beverley Ng is reminiscent of scrapbooking journals, filled with overlapping textures, bright colours and doodles. Rather than the usual art that is conventionally beautiful and aesthetic, this display is instead chaotic but structured in its own unique way, making it more authentic and personal. 

A form of personal expression that is easy to relate to, this collage uses loose-leaf paper, Post-Its, old photographs and handwritten notes over schedules to display the repetitive mundane of daily life. These pockets of rediscovery are often glossed over in everyday life but here, it is exemplified and spotlighted – there’s no need for it to be pretty, it just needs to be real. 

Through these small but meaningful ways of escape, the artist carves out a space for joy, vulnerability and self-discovery, proving that you don’t need a huge realisation or change to grow in life. Whether you’re struggling or indulging in subtle pleasures, the key is to embrace and live in the moment 

📍Location: National Gallery Singapore, Supreme Court Wing, Level 1, Padang Atrium Corridor

Scarce City

Think you can win?

One of the ticketed events of Light To Night Singapore, Scare City paints a world obsessed with scarcity. Blending art, technology and thought-provoking gameplay, this immersive and interactive resource-management game pushes players to reevaluate their relationship with the limited resources that Singapore has. 

Set in an environment completely constructed of 3D-printed recycled plastic, this game challenges the notion of success in our current society, where consumerism is the margin of a successful life lived. This light-based resource-management game kickstarts retrospection on what it means to have enough. 

📍Location: National Gallery Singapore, Supreme Court Wing, Level B1, Concourse Gallery

The Arts House

Now You See Us?

Never thought that such a grand building would adopt such a bold and street-style appearance

One of the many light projections, Now You See Us? by TraseOne takes the historic façade of The Arts House and revamps it into something edgy and vibrant. Created by the hands of 10 artists, this light projection is one to revel in – and is by far my favourite of the projections. Watch as bright colours dance across the brick surface of this monumental building, presenting to audiences a side that you would’ve never expected. 

Tapping into a side of Singapore’s art history that isn’t often featured and showcased, the installation embodies the theme of Light To Night Singapore 2025. A direct response to the festival’s theme of “Do You See Me?”, this installation dives into the journey of graffiti in Singapore, from when it was tucked away in the shadows to now, where there’s more widespread acceptance. Coupled with a hard-hitting soundscape, this audio-visual feast is unlike the rest, with a more street-style vibe to its storytelling and artistic heritage. 

📍Location: The Arts House at the Old Parliament, Façade

 A Little Bead of Work

Throwback to when I made beaded accessories when I was younger

A little ways away from Do You See Us? is A Little Bead of Work by Kray Chen, one of my favourite exhibits of the entire festival. On the Outdoor Lawn are illuminated planter beds filled with little glow-in-the-dark beads marked with letters and symbols. Not only can you string these beads together, running your hands through the piles of beads and hearing them clink together — how satisfying! 

Visitors can make all kinds of bracelets or necklaces from names to song titles that are important to them, personalising them with cute symbols, from stars and moons to flowers and hearts. This exhibit not only gives visitors a tangible takeaway from the festival but also a meaningful one. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the accessories that come from this are easy to match and absolutely adorable too! 

What or who would you think of?

Part of Arts House Limited’s VERSE, a celebration of Singapore’s literature, guided activation of this installation happens on Festival weekends (Friday to Sunday) from 6pm to 10pm. Inspired by Abraham Cruzvillegas’ Empty Lots, this work hopes to help visitors realise the power and beauty of words as they uncover new and fresh ways to see themselves and those around them. 

📍Location: The Arts House at the Old Parliament, Outdoor Lawn

Asian Civilisation Museum

Unsung Threads

Don’t overlook this due to its simplicity

Singapore has always been praised for its cultural richness but the stories of those who are behind it often go unnoticed. Made by the students from the School of the Arts, Singapore (SOTA), explore the stories of migrant workers in Unsung Threads. From coolies to hawkers to artists, find out how these figures have laid the foundation of Singapore’s success. 

Through simple animations and bright colours drawn from humble rattan food covers on display in the Asian Civilisations Museum, Unsung Threads visualises Singapore’s past and explores the point where art meets history. Stand and watch as the screen flips through different mesmerising patterns and animations, creating a visual feast that connects all kinds of different communities, 

📍Location: Asian Civilisations Museum, Extension Wing Façade

Light To Night Singapore 2025

Visiting after the rain made the vibes so much cooler

Eager to light up your night? Then, explore this radiant side of the Civic District from 17 January to 6 February 2025! When else will you get the chance to say that you’ve been in the museum after hours? With so many installations and pieces to marvel at, you will never run out of options. These aren’t all the installations and exhibitions available so be sure to wander around and explore yourself!

My recommendation is to visit on weekends – the Art X Social: Festival Street at St Andrew’s Road will be activated for all three weekends, so revel in the night with a side of mouthwatering delights! From what they teased us with at the preview, I can assure you that those delights are absolutely worth your tastebuds. 

If you’re ready to plan out your route or participate in some ticketed events, be sure to check out Light To Night Singapore 2025’s website for more information on the tickets as well as the locations for all the artworks featured in this year’s festival!

🗓️Date: 17 January – 6 February 2025
📍Location: Civic District
💲Price: Free admission with ticketed programmes
⏰Time: Various timings


 Photos by Izzah Ilyana of the DANAMIC Team

Jolyn Goh

Yapping about food or K-pop 24/7

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