Singapore Tourism Board partners St+art India Foundation for an immersive art event as part of its SingapoReimagine reopening campaign
- The highlight is a cross-cultural art installation titled “Dreams from the Futures” (Ethirkaalak Kanavugal in Tamil), in partnership with St+art India, by Indian and Singapore based artists at Phoenix Marketcity in Chennai
- A special Culinary Evening, featuring Singaporean food at the newly-launched restaurant Mr. Ong and an exclusive Singaporean foodie masterclass with top local influencers
- he Chennai activations come in the week of Singapore opening up to vaccinated travel from all Indian cities, effective 16 March 2022. Travellers can look forward to fresh and innovative experiences, along with exclusive deals.
Chennai, Thursday, 17 March 2022
Singapore is gearing up to welcome visitors from India with its SingapoReimagine campaign to get visitors to reignite their passion for travel through fresh and innovative experiences in Singapore. This follows the recent announcement of quarantine-free, two-way Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Singapore and all Indian cities for fully vaccinated travellers from 16 March 2022.
To drive visitation and inspire travel for Singapore, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has partnered St+art India Foundation (St+art) to create a large-scale outdoor, art installation titled “Dreams from the Futures”, a cross-culture artistic collaboration between Singapore-based artist Ms Tina Fung and Indian artist Ms Osheen Siva.
Inspired by the concept of Utopia, Dreams from the Futures/ எதிர்காலக் கனவுகள் (Ethirkaalak kana vugal) features the seamless amalgamation of traditional Tamilian and Singaporean elements – such as Pera nakan motifs and classic mudras – juxtaposed with futuristic elements like cosmic portraits to showcase inc lusivity, coexistence, and a connection between past and future.
This multi-layered installation invites Chennai audiences to imagine new and expansive futures, in line with the theme of SingapoReimagine as visitors can look forward to new, unexpected and innovative experiences in Singa pore, alongside enhanced hygiene and safety measures. The installation will be on display for three (3) weeks at Phoenix Market City, Chennai. The latest installation continues the series of cross-cultural artworks that STB and St+art have jointly unveiled at iconic locations like Sassoon Docks, Mumbai, Lodhi Colony, Delhi and Little India, Singapore, all brought to life by the spirit of the vibrant island destination’s brand, Passion Made Possible.
By weaving familiar elements from both cultures with futuristic imagery, the installation aims to reimagine the known and transport us through a journey of possible dreams. The diverse face silhouettes serve as a gateway into the work. As audiences walk through them, they are met by fellow visitors to share a sociable and explo rative space. From the entrance onwards, the visitors are encouraged to consider the human connections we make as we cross roads with new cultures and people.
Speaking about the artistic collaboration, Mr. GB Srithar, Regional Director- India, Middle East & South Asia (IMESA), STB, said, “As Singapore reopens its borders cautiously and gradually for international travel, the cou ntry is ready to welcome back Indian travellers with renewed experiences and seamless safety standards. Toge ther with St+art India Foundation, our ‘SingapoReimagine’ activation in the beautiful city of Chennai celebrates the Tamilian history and cultural connection between both the countries through the expression of art. Going forward, we aim to elevate the campaign to other parts of the country to bring out the cultural commonalities, and also give a glimpse of the reimagined experience that visitors to Singapore can enjoy.”
Giulia Ambrogi, Curator, St+art India Foundation, said, “I’m delighted to have had the opportunity of collaborati ng with such talented artists, thanks to the continuous support of The Singapore Tourism Board. Art can be extre mely relevant in such difficult times and this installation aims at being a message of hope and of coexistence, looking at the future as something we can all reimagine together beyond borders. The immersive installation works as a crescendo, converging into the well as a final vision and epiphany to start from, in thinking about expansive inclusive futures.”
Talking about the art installation, Singaporean artist, Tina Fung, said, “I wanted to create an environment which parallels desire for experiences that are thought-provoking, fun and immersive. The work is not only social me dia worthy but most importantly engages, educates and supports the overall narrative and connection.”
Indian artist, Osheen Siva, added, “It has been a joy to work on this project, as it is an extension of the themes that I often like to explore in my own art practice – solidarity, utopia, connection and togetherness. I’ve loved working with Tina and her studio as they beautifully and seamlessly brought our ideas into the colorful, eng aging and interactive physical realm.”
Talking about the collaboration, Mr. Sabari Nair, Centre Director of Phoenix Marketcity said, “Phoenix Mark etcity has always acknowledged and appreciated all forms of art and has been in the forefront for providing its space to let people experience formative art. Our collaboration with St+Art and the STB for this project will give visitors an opportunity to be a part of interactive and immersive art that will take them on a journey to renew and relive the perfect imaginary world. This art installation designed by Indian and Singaporean artists will give a different perception to every visitor through their three-dimensional setting. We are looking forward for people from in and around the city to come in and visit the installation put up in the mall.”
Along with the art installation, STB and Singapore Airlines will organise a trade networking session on 18 March 2022 to share the latest updates on the India-Singapore Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) with the Chennai travel trade, which has now been extended to all points in India. More travellers from India who are fully vaccinated can now visit Singapore using VTL flights. To celebrate Singapore cuisines, a Master Class will also be held at the newly launched Singaporean restaurant “Mr Ong” at Park Hyatt Chennai. This will culminate with a feast of dele ctable Singaporean cuisines at the restaurant to give invited social media influencers a glimpse of gastr onomic experiences awaiting visitors to Singapore.
The SingapoReimagine initiative aims to maintain top-of-mind awareness and recapture mindshare amongst global audiences. SingapoReimagine showcases a different side of what the city has to offer, from exciting new attractions and novel dining concepts, to wellness retreats and sustainable experiences. Travellers also enjoy enhanced hygiene and safety measures, as well as peace of mind as they navigate the new state of travel in a COVID-19 world.
Fresh and innovative experiences in Singapore – Indian travelers can look forward to brand-new attractions such as Slingshot, Asia’s tallest extreme swing ride; and SkyHelix Sentosa, Singapore’s highest open-air panoramic ride and the first carbon-neutral attraction on Sentosa Island. Wellness seekers can recharge and rejuvenate at Singapore’s first villa-only hotel, Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa (opening soon this year), as well as the newly-opened Oasia Resort Sentosa.
Prioritising traveller safety with safe management measures – Singapore has put in place robust measures to safe gu ard the health and safety of travellers and the local community. As of 14 March 2022, 91% of Singapore’s total population has completed their full vaccination regimen. Travellers can look out for the ‘SG Clean’ quality mark which denotes a high level of cleanliness among local businesses and premises and use the TraceTogether app to facilitate contact tracing. More information on Singapore’s enhanced measures can be found on Visit Singapore website.
About SingapoReimagine
SingapoReimagine (SRI) is an international campaign to rally local and global communities to reset and revive to urism, while building the anticipation for travel to Singapore. As travel gradually resumes, STB aims to reignite the passion to travel by showcasing how Singapore has reimagined itself through fresh and innovative experi en ces, while ensuring peace-of-mind for all travellers.
About the Singapore Tourism Board
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is the lead development agency for tourism, one of Singapore’s key econom ic sectors. Together with industry partners and the community, we shape a dynamic Singapore tourism landsca pe. We bring the Passion Made Possible brand to life by differentiating Singapore as a vibrant desti nation that inspires people to share and deepen their passions.
More: www.stb.gov.sg or www.visitsingapore.com | Follow us: facebook.com/STBsingapore or twitter.com/stb_sg
About Tina Fung
Singapore-based artist Tina Fung is the founder of Space Objekt, a design studio specialising in creating small scale props to immersive larger than life installations. She has collaborated with Osheen Siva, an illustrator, a muralist, and a graphic designer from India, to create this masterpiece which will be at the mall until 31 March 2022.
About Osheen Siva
Osheen Siva is a multidisciplinary artist from Thiruvannamalai, currently based in Goa. Through the lens of surrealism, speculative fiction and science fiction and rooted in their Dalit and Tamil heritage, Siva imagines new worlds of decolonized dreamscapes, futuristic oasis with mutants and monsters and narratives of queer and feminine power.
Past clients have included Adult Swim, Whatsapp, Gucci, Vans, Converse, Levis, Dr.Martens, Decolonize Fest amongst others. They were also an Illustration Jury member for the One Club for Creativity – ADC’s 100th Annual Awards in 2021.
About St+art India Foundation
St+art contributes to urban regeneration and community living through contemporary urban art projects. The foundation enables a vision for democratised public spaces through interdisciplinary art interventions that are rooted in the social context. The foundation aims to engage the public imagination by connecting communities and providing a platform for artists and cultural exchanges. Since 2014, the foundation has organised multiple festivals and public art projects in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Coimbatore creating iconic landmarks within all these cities. Each new edition of festivals and public art districts brings to civic spaces curated interventions, which are embedded in urban culture, and activate alternative spaces for art enabling people to reimagine how public spaces can be utilised.
