Missed Singapore Design Week 2018? Here are 4 more design events you can attend

Singapore design has a daring agenda. While other design-related agencies worldwide aim for livable cities, DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) is directing all its efforts to create a lovable city by 2025. Couple that with an innovation-driven economy and you’ve got a mission cut out for designers across fields—from architecture to graphic design. UNESCO aptly marked it a Creative City in 2015.

Singapore Design Week (SDW), happening 5-18 March 2018, is one of key platforms the council prepared alongside the National Heritage Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority. This fifth edition of SDW has a record number of eight programs helmed by industry partners.

“For Dsg, a mark of success for SDW will be the growing number of ground-up initiatives that we see each year. Our dream is to make this a yearly celebration that is truly owned by the design community,” said Dsg executive director Agnes Kwek.

If you missed this year’s SDW, don’t worry. It is definitely happening again next year with a new set of activities. One thing you can look forward to is a partnership with three Australian UNESCO Creative Cities (Melbourne for literature, Adelaide for music, and Sydney for film). Australian creatives will co-create projects with Singaporean designers directed by the theme “In My Neighborhood”.

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Moreover, if you are set to visit Singapore this year and are looking to complement your hawker food trip with some design education (or vice versa), note these dates and events.

9 March – 1 April: i Light Marina Bay

i Light is Asia’s leading sustainable light festival. Just stroll around the Marina Bay waterfront to see 22 installations by an international roster of designers.

Throughout the festival, the public can explore and learn more about the topic of sustainability by participating in a series of talks and workshops. The Switch Off, Turn Up campaign will rally corporate organizations around Marina Bay to switch off non-essential lighting and turn up their air-conditioning temperatures to save energy. i Light Marina Bay will also dovetail with the Earth Hour initiative on 24 March when the light art installations will be switched off for an hour during the annual island-wide lights out event.

15  March – 15 June: Urban Design Route

An extension of Singapore’s Urban Design Festival, this design route is “an exploration of urban design through a series of temporary projects situated around the Tanjong Pagar district to activate the public space and encourage the people to stay and play.”

18 – 21 July: IFLA World Congress Singapore 2018

The 55th International Federation of Landscape Architects World Congress is the key platform that champions landscape architecture as a major contributor to the development of attractive, livable, equitable, and sustainable environments of the future through. This year’s themes are: Biophilic City, Smart Nation, and Future Resilience. The Congress promises an enriching experience that will feature the most inclusive exhibition showcase involving landscaping solutions, innovations, and products in the Asia Pacific region. See the keynote speakers here.

August: Night Festival

Singapore Night Festival is an annual street festival held over two weekends celebrating the arts and Singapore’s rich cultural heritage. Enjoy acts and performances across sites like the National Museum and National Design Center from 7:30 pm to 12 am. You can even join bike trails to enjoy the special way the different buildings are lit at night. For updates on this year’s Night Festival, visit its official website. 

October: Archifest 2018

Initiated by the Singapore Institute of Architects in 2007, Archifest is an annual public festival for the city to celebrate architecture and the built environment. With a line-up events taking place at various locations island-wide over 2 weeks, the goal is to invite conversations and establish greater collaboration between various institutions and communities for an exciting festival. For more information and the official dates of Archifest 2018, stay tuned to their Facebook page here.

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