Singapore's MRT stations are about to be covered in gorgeous photography

Next station, fine arts.

8 years ago

By Adam Kerr | Aug 20, 2016

Next station, fine arts.

By Adam Kerr
| Aug 20, 2016

As we gear up for the season of all things art—from dance productions, night festivals and theatre work—here’s another one to add to your list. The Singapore International Photography Festival (SIPF) returns for its fifth year to celebrate this widely accessible form of art from now till Nov 13.

© Eiji Ohashi, Roadside Lights. SIPF 2016 | Find it at Bugis MRT Station.

One of the biggest highlights of the festival this year is the recurring Open Call Showcase, which pretty much gives the lesser known photographers a platform to showcase their work to a larger audience. What's so special about it this year? Well, for the first time ever, 240 works by 26 artists (out of the 40 that were picked by an internatinoal jury of curators) will be showcased in six different MRT stations along the Downtown line. You'll have the freedom to hop on and off to check out the photos at stations within the arts, heritage, and design district like Bugis, Rochor and Little India, right through to Newton, Botanic Gardens and Beauty World. Convenient! But if you're more old fashioned, you can still view the works of the other 14 artists at Alliance Française de Singapour and the National Library.

That's just one aspect of the festival. For three months, take your time checking out more than 1,200 photographic works, which will be displayed at across The DECK, The Arts House Singapore and more. Other highlights include A room with a view, which was the winning proposal for the festival's inaugural Curatorial Project Showcase; the Southeast Asian debut of critically acclaimed photographers, Daido Moriyama, Li Zhensheng and Roger Ballen, and whole other bunch of programs and workshops to sign up for.

When you're commuting to and from work in the next couple of months, keep a lookout for some of these images: