i Light Marina Bay 2018 will return for its sixth edition next month till 1 April at the bay area. Designed with energy-saving lights and recycled or environmentally-friendly materials, the light art installations are meant to serve as reminders to encourage festival-goers and the public to adopt sustainable habits in their everyday lives. Apart from the artworks, the festival will also see a slew of other fun activities to look forward to. If you’re not sure where to start, we have created a comprehensive guide on what to do and where to go at our city’s biggest sustainable light art festival.
Festival Hubs
Known as the largest experiential inflatable playground in Singapore, this year’s edition will introduce a brand new line-up of larger-than-life inflatable characters (from characters you might have seen around Singapore to mythical creatures from our imaginations) to welcome visitors of all ages.
It will be open from Monday-Friday, 5-10pm at The Float @ Marina Bay.
Presenting an all-new neon playground at the Promontory, urban lifestyle park Gastrobeats will feature everything from delectable food options, music performances, unique game experiences and Gastrobeats’ signature neon installations. Spanning over four weekends, it promises an eclectic line-up of programmes and activities, offering something new for festival goers to look forward to each time they visit.
It will be open daily from 4-10pm at the Promontory.
Illumi Bar is a LED-lit pop-up lifestyle space making its debut at the festival. With “furniture” made with reusable plastic tanks, it aims to increase awareness of the importance of sustainability. Festival-goers will be able to gather at this illuminated lounge for drinks and food, revel in music performances and discover the magic of Spectra, Marina Bay Sands’ free-to-public outdoor light and water show.
It will be open daily from 4-11pm at the Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza.
What more can we say about the biggest carnival in Singapore? Occupying the 25,000 square metres of The Promontory and Bayfront event space, the Prudential Marina Bay Carnival, which is also known as our city’s biggest carnival yet, is a giant wonderland for ardent lovers of thrill rides, carnival games and delicious cuisines.
It will be open daily from 4-11pm at the Promontory @ Marina Bay and Bayfront Event Space.
Artworks from Singapore
This is an interactive light installation that connects people and the colours of their ever-changing emotions. How it works: Festival-goers can touch the clouds to disrupt its lights. These fluctuations are meant to represent the flow and transition of emotions within humans. The accompanying web app extends this experience into a digital interaction to express emotions onto the physical installation.
Inspired by the gentle sways of the cogon grass, affectionately known as the lalang plant, Light Breeze is a tribute to the overlooked and diminishing flora and fauna within Singapore’s ever urbanising landscape. The installation emphasises the gentle swaying motion of the cogon grass through the use of lights. It also pays tribute to the nostalgic nature of the past through the creation of a meditative installation.
Just look around at night – our city is constantly brightly lit and we are always exposed to light pollution, which hides the appearance of stars. This artwork pays homage to the pre-pollution era, when many were easily mesmerised by the sight of stars and clear skies (which is unlikely now that we live in an urban environment).
International Artworks
As a symbol of the hard-working and can-do spirit of Singapore’s workforce, cold brew coffee bottles from Chye Seng Huat were collected to create this installation, which lights up the city after sunset. Not only does it shine brighter when there are more people around it, but it also creates harmonious chime sounds when the breeze blows.
This aims to inspire individuals to be more positively connected by verbal and written conversation. Receiving a letter from a good friend used to be common practice but sadly, many of us have forgotten the importance of written correspondence. Festival-goers can even send a tweet using the hashtag #ilightmarinabay and the message will then be displayed on the MailboX engaging the sender with the audience around the installation.
This is made using plastic panels from vacuum bags. Packed within these bags are all kinds of transparent coloured plastic containers and LED lights. After removing the air with a vacuum cleaner, everything in the interior is reduced to a flat plastic plate containing other pieces of flattened plastic. Each of this panel is attached to the next using pins at the centre, forming rows of rotating strips.
Like this? Check out how you can a staycation at the ultra-cool Andaz Singapore, what you need to know about Singapore Design Week 2018 and the cool shops and cafes to visit in Los Angeles.