Even if the Great Singapore Sale empties your wallet, you can still get a good dose of art therapy at no cost. After all, the Singapore Arts Festival, which also starts on same day, on May 25, offers nearly 400 free exhibitions, performances and events to engage the youth until the curtain falls on June 24.

These include the highly anticipated Singapore Street Festival, the Festival Club, Rock the Sub and Open Stage@Timbre (which will showcase talented bands from all genres), a quirky tour called Walking with Artists, and the Arts Market..

Drawing an average crowd of 4,000 visitors annually and known for its creative, innovative and artistic programmes, the SAF, which turns 30 this year, will be featuring more than 1, 900 talented local and international artists from over 27 countries. Local artists include sound sculptor, Zulkifle Mahmod whose work was featured across Asia and Europe and will soon be featured in the Venice Biennale.

The list of these daring acts and artwork seems unending but we at UrbanWire have filtered out the must-see events of the festival.

Main Events

Catch the free opening act Dreams in Flight at The Padang by La Fura dels Baus and various pyrotechnic displays.

(Spain) at 7pm. For the next 2 days, it will begin at 8 pm. Expect to be captivated by the aerial theatrics of an elevated great wheel made up of moving human bodies (30 of whom are local volunteers

Time Out by Germany’s antagon theatreAKtion is the free closing act at the open field near Jurong East MRT Station. This contemporary performance has mystical creatures that will help you experience the freezing of time, blending past and present and creating a new future. Expect great stilt-walking, imaginative music, projections and illusions.

Theatre

DollHouse (USA) and 3 years, 8 months, 20 days are a must-see.

Director Lee Breuer destroys Henrik Ibsen’s tragedy for Dollhouse as it rebirths into a quirky political comedy. With a stage like that of a toyhouse, the play seems a tad confusing when comparing the dwarf-like male cast compared to the very tall and lanky female cast . The drama centres between Nora, the faithful wife and her midget husband Torvald as they fight about gender and power through passionate periods of opera and dance. The luscious setting, intricate gestures physical intensity, emotional aggression and recognisable pain against humour make it an experience worth watching.

It opens from June 21 to 23, 8 pm at the Drama Centre Theatre. Tickets cost $20, $40, $60, $80 at all Sistic outlets.

3 years, 8 months, 20 days is a silently intensive show done by Cambodian troupe Amrita Performing Arts. Having its world premiere in Singapore for the SAF, it captures the story of 3 dimly-lit women who have survived the Khmer Rouge genocide as they sit around a clay-filled stage. They were children in 1975 as the Khmer Rouge herded thousands of Cambodians out of Phnom Penh. Now they seek comfort in recalling collectively what they had gone through within the 3 years, 8 months and 20 days of the Pol Pot system. This powerful performance is in tribute to the loss of lives and a celebration of change and living.

It will be shown on June 14 and 15, 8 pm at the Esplanade Theatre Studio. Tickets to the hour-long production performed in Khmer with English subtitles, cost $30 at all Sistic outlets.

Free Programmes

The Festival Club will be located at Singapore’s first independent arts centre, The Substation and Timbre Music, Restaurant and Bar. Find out all there is to know about the Singapore art scene in the Substation’s Random Room before you make your way down to Timbre. Groove to the music of our local bands with live music every night and meet local and international artists while enjoying attractive discounts on food and beverage for ticket-holders.

Calling all youths! Rock the Sub, where young local bands of all genres playing live and loud at Timbre from 2 pm to 12 am, is for you. Stay on for the one time only late-night indie disco at The Substation Theatre. Go down and stand a chance to win a guitar sponsored by Gibson.

Happening on Jun 9 from 2 pm to 3 am, admission is $5 (6 pm to midnight) and $15 inclusive of 1 drink after 6 pm.

The Singapore Street Festival is back and is set to be bigger than the last. Themed as Street Revolution-Children of d’Revolut’N, this event will be exploding with fresh, raw and original performances and art by energetic local youths. Join us in witnessing Singapore’s own urban street culture with power-packed dances, music and graffiti art.

Catch them from May 26 to Jun 10 around Cineleisure Orchard, *scape Youth Park and other youth hangouts. For more information and updates, visit the Singapore Street Festival Website.