The Singapore Night Festival (SNF) is back for its 17th edition — this time with a focus on local legends and myths.
The event will run for three weekends from Aug 21 to Sept 5 in the Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) precinct, featuring various artworks inspired by Singapore’s culture and history.
These include projections at The Cathay, National Museum of Singapore and at the Singapore Management University (SMU) Green, as well as interactive installations and live performances around the precinct.
Speaking at the SNF media preview on Wednesday (Aug 19), festival director Qazim Karim said that the theme — Myths and Legends — came to him as he was walking around Fort Canning and realised it used to be called Bukit Larangan, or Forbidden Hill.
“I started wondering why. There are so many layers of history to unpack, which inspired me to explore the stories behind its different myths and legends,” he said.
“Essentially, it’s about us looking into how we can present our history in different ways.”
What to look out for
AsiaOne got a sneak peek of the displays ahead of the festival’s official opening on Friday — here are some of our favourites.
Our journey started at The Cathay with a projection depicting the building’s rich history as an icon of Singapore’s entertainment industry.
It featured big names such as Gurmit Singh, Xiang Yun, Suhaimi Yusof and Kumar alongside clips from popular films and TV shows.
This is part of a series of works entered into the Malam Projection Mapping Competition, which will determine its top 5 winners on Aug 28.
It was also at The Cathay where we first encountered Birdmen — a roving parade by Netherlands-based Close-Act Theatre which will take place at 7.45pm and 9.15pm daily from Aug 21 to 23.
Standing on stilts bringing them to about six metres tall, the troupe puppeteers giant illuminated flying creatures while strutting across various locations in the BBB precinct.
It is safe to say that the image of these large, fantastical creatures at familiar locations in town was a sight to behold.
A short distance from this display is Tales of Earth and Sea at the National Museum of Singapore, which depicts stories such as how Sang Nila Utama discovered Singapore and The Legend of Bukit Merah.
This projection by Indonesian multimedia artist team The Fox, The Folks was also paired with original music by Singaporean music collective Artusik.
Speaking to media at the preview, co-founder of Artusik, Nabillah Jalal, said seeing the completed work was an “emotional moment” for her and her team, describing the experience as “really magical”.
She shared that the collective had made use of traditional instruments from various cultures to create the soundtrack for the piece in order to reflect Singapore’s diversity.
Another notable work displayed during SNF is an installation titled Stormy Straits by Melting Po(r)t Collective, located along Bugis Street.
The installation features scaffolding holding up cloud-like structures with condensation on them as well as flashing lights and sounds of thunder to mimic a storm.
The creators behind Stormy Straits told members of the media that the work was inspired by the treacherous journey of Bugis seafarers from Indonesia to Singapore.
These sailors then settled in the area now known as Bugis, which was named after the community.
Aside from projections and installations, SNF 2026 will also include live performances and showcases.
One such experience is Between Stories, which will be happening at Chijmes on Sept 3 and 4 at 7.30pm, 8.45pm and 10pm.
The programme combines a liquid light show and live performance to give the audience a glimpse into the daily lives of Singaporeans in the past.
While most displays for SNF 2026 are free of charge, this performance requires tickets to be purchased for $20 at Heritage Singapore’s website.
These works are just some of over 94 programmes happening as part of SNF 2026.
The full list of events and displays can be found at heritage.sg/sgnightfest.
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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
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