Having heard about the annual late night open house arts event countless times from arts aficionados, I finally decided to take a trip down to the ulu Barracks and immerse myself in some art!

All excited and pumped up, my friend and I  had a hearty dinner at The Soup Union at Vivo before heading towards the complimentary shuttle buses that the event organizers had kindly provided.

Alas! It was storming heavily for the longest time. Without brollies and a determination not to slip and fall to our death at the hilly open areas of the Barracks, we went back to Vivo for more shopping. Around 8plus, we decided to give it another go, and thankfully the rain was down to a drizzle and we got on the first shuttle that arrived!

Upon arrival, there’s a map of the entire event space, so we quickly snapped a shot and proceeded along the walkways.

There were several white-washed containers in the car park areas that contained mini art installations. We didn’t manage to visit all of it, but this was definitely one of my favourites!

A very tongue-in-cheek installation piece poking fun at illegitimateness of the graffiti artform in its urban landscape. Accompanied by the artist’s multiple police summons chits, it truly reflects beckons when will such visual expressions truly gain recognition?

Artwork by: ANTZ and ZERO

Looking for shelter amidst the incessant drizzle, we found a three storied building housing several galleries.

The first gallery we visited had loud engaging contemporary Chinese-influenced pop art pieces! Such gorgeous bursts of colors.
This was a much longer art piece but my iPhone could barely squeeze the full length into the frame. People were looking excitedly for their initials and so were we!

A fusion of the symbol of modern consumerism and excesses with the humble backgrounds of Chinese roots.

Exhibition: The Mountain Echoes by Xue Song

The gallery next door, housed some really intriguing pieces too!
Interesting pieces accompanied by almost satirical statements poke fun at the seriousness of the arts scene.

Dreamy circles. I’m always drawn towards circles. Don’t ask why.
  
Artwork by : Christoper Le Brun

A shot of my favourite piece of the event! Not an arts aficionado, I don’t have a million and one artsy intepretations of the piece. Just that it really caught my attention amongst the crowd, with its soothingly color palette and melding of the colors and strokes. In my simple mind, this would look gorgeous on a dress.

And guess what cute little installation (?) I found wandering along the corridors of the galleries! The irony of graffiti questioning the validity of its status as an art form just outside the halls of ‘legit’ and ‘acknowledged’ art galleries.

It was a night not only of enthralling my visual senses but also my sense of smell! There was a reasonably varied set up of food and drink stores that got me all excited! Thankfully we were full from dinner or I can barely imagine how much I would be spending to appease my hunger pangs.

On our way to the other galleries situated further away from the main building, we came across this spectacle of a building and decided to check it out – best decision of the night!

There was a set up selling the most adorable Singapore themed Souvenirs and knick knacks. And guess what I got? Sooooo very happy with my $10 purchase of the night! More motivation to hydrate during the work week now 🙂

With our last visit of the night being this pop up store of Creamier, we decided to call it a night! We found a shuttle heading to queens town mrt and were quickly on our way home!

What an amazing first trip to the Arts After Dark event! Can’t wait to visit again in good weather haha!

Share with me if you have any more exciting events you’re heading to this Singapore Arts Week!

Ciao