Marina Square is marking its 40th anniversary with 40 Years & Beyond: A Place That Grew With Us, an exhibition that opened on 23 October 2026 at Level 2, Marina Foyer (opposite Turtle). It runs until 31 March 2027, the same day the mall is scheduled to close for asset enhancement works. That makes these five months the last stretch to see the mall in its current form.
If your family has a photo of someone squinting into the sun on those outdoor steps, this exhibition is built around exactly that kind of memory.
Before the Bay Was a Skyline
Marina Square opened in 1986, when the Marina Bay waterfront was still mostly an idea.
The tenant history works like a family tree for anyone who grew up in Singapore. The outdoor steps became a meeting point in their own right, the kind of place where “see you at the steps” needed no further directions.
The exhibition walks through all of this in three zones. The Bay Takes Shape covers the mall’s beginnings and the changing waterfront around it. The second zone looks at the everyday visits and routines that made Marina Square part of people’s lives. The third, The Next 40 Together, asks visitors to add their own memories and hopes for what comes next.
Step Back Onto the Steps
The headline attractions are the photo settings inspired by three Marina Square landmarks: the outdoor steps, the octopus fountain, and the outdoor food court. These are recreations based on recognisable architectural details, so the original fountain isn’t coming back. They do give old friends a backdrop for a reunion photo. That’s a great excuse to drag your parents out on a weekend!
Archival imagery and displays recalling former shopfronts fill out the rest of the space. For anyone under 30, these are probably the only way to see what Tokyu or Eng Wah looked like from the inside.
The centrepiece is 40 Years, 4,000 Moments, a community installation that grows as visitors contribute. Scan the QR code on the touchscreen panel, upload a photo, and it appears on the screen inside the circular structure alongside memories curated by the mall. It’s the most worthwhile part of the exhibition, because a mall can archive its own press photos but only shoppers have the blurry birthday shots from the food court.
Shoot the Mall Before It Changes
The single best thing on the programme is the 40th Anniversary Photography Workshop on 14 November 2026 at 4pm. Trainer Gautami leads the two-hour walk-and-learn session in collaboration with Cathay Photo. It starts at dal.komm COFFEE and then moves through the mall’s distinctive spaces, covering framing, perspective, and the way light plays across the architecture.
The workshop is capped at 40 participants. Each participant gets two drinks and a slice of cake, and the best photo wins a Canon EOS R50 kit. Each participant gets two drinks and a slice of cake, and the best photo wins a Canon EOS R50 kit worth S$1,189. It’s open to everyone from smartphone beginners to people with serious camera gear.
The case for booking is simple. Redevelopment begins from 1 April 2027, so this is a guided chance to document a building before it changes, for roughly the price of a nice brunch. With only 40 places, the mall recommends registering early on the official Marina Square website.
Make a Keepsake
A creative programme runs alongside the exhibition across 27 activity days and 36 workshop sessions. Activities rotate, so each visit can offer something different. The earliest October dates have already passed, but most of the calendar is still ahead.
Wax Sealing is a drop-in session where visitors decorate anniversary keepsakes with wax seals. It runs from 1pm to 5pm on 31 October 2026, then on 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, and 30 January 2027.
2027 Calendar Art Journaling is a drop-in session for assembling an A3 2027 calendar from collage materials inspired by Marina Square. It runs from 1pm to 5pm on 14, 15, 21, 22, and 28 November 2026, and on 5, 6, 12, and 13 December 2026.
Water Marbling is a drop-in session for decorating ceramic coasters. It runs from 1pm to 5pm on 14, 20, 21, 27, and 28 February 2027, and on 6, 13, and 14 March 2027.
Photo Embroidery is a workshop where participants stitch onto photos of objects and details linked to the mall’s tenants. Sessions run on 31 October 2026 at 2pm, 6 March 2027 at 11am and 2pm, and 13 and 14 March 2027 at 11am.
Cyanotype Printing is a workshop for making blue-and-white postcards from light and archival imagery. Sessions run on 14 November 2026 at 11am and 6pm, on 15, 21, 22, and 28 November 2026 at 11am, and on 9, 10, 17, 23, 24, and 30 January 2027 at 11am. There are two sessions on 16 January 2027, at 11am and 2pm.
Loom Weaving is a workshop for weaving on a commemorative acrylic loom. Sessions run on 5 December 2026 at 11am and 6pm, on 6, 12, and 13 December 2026 at 11am, and on 14, 21, 27, and 28 February 2027 at 11am. There are two sessions on 20 February 2027, at 11am and 2pm.
Two pairings stand out. Cyanotype printing on 14 November fits neatly around the 4pm photography workshop: take the 11am print session, wander the mall, then head to dal.komm. The calendar journaling sessions in November and December are a practical pick too, since a 2027 calendar made from Marina Square imagery will hang on your wall through the year the mall closes.
Why the Clock Is Ticking
The anniversary comes as Marina Square prepares for a major change. The mall is scheduled to close on 31 March 2027 for an asset enhancement initiative, which is part of a partial redevelopment of the Marina Square complex. The mall’s owner, Singapore Land Group (SingLand), describes the result as Singapore’s first “hyper-mixed development”. SingLand is a subsidiary of UOL Group, and it owns the mall through Marina Centre Holdings.
Until then, the mall is one of the city’s biggest family malls, with close to 800,000 square feet of net lettable area according to SingLand. For anyone whose childhood weekends involved bowling, a movie, or a meal under the old roofline, the exhibition is the closest thing to a proper goodbye.
🗓️ Date: 23 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 (workshops and activities on selected dates)
⏰ Time: 10am to 10pm, according to the mall
📍 Location: Marina Square, Level 2, Marina Foyer (opposite Turtle)
📸 Photography Workshop: 14 November 2026, 4pm, limited to 40 participants
🎁 Prize: The best photo from the workshop wins a Canon EOS R50 kit
🎨 Drop-in Sessions: 1pm to 5pm on listed dates
📝 Registration: Via the Marina Square website, with updates on the Marina Square Reward app
The steps, the fountain, and the food court have been a backdrop for 40 years of first dates, family dinners, and “where are you?” phone calls, and this is the last season to stand in front of them before the redevelopment begins. Bring the people who were in those old photos, add yours to the 4,000 Moments wall, and grab a photography workshop slot while the 40 places last. Workshop schedules and sign-ups are on the Marina Square website, so book in before 31 March 2027 arrives!
Photos and Visuals courtesy of Marina Square.
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