Celebrating its 33rd anniversary, The Substation presents, Re-Connect/Centre/Converge: The Arts Festival by The Substation. Coming back this year with a new direction and new branding, the festival will showcase multi-disciplinary programmes featuring both emerging and established artists.

Leading the festival this year is the appointed Festival Director John Tung, an independent curator and exhibition-maker. A former Assistant Curator at the Singapore Art Museum, John has curated and co-curated 9 exhibitions, in addition to serving as a co-curator for the Singapore Biennale 2016 and Singapore Biennale 2019.

The festival will kick off on 16 September till 30 September 2023, and will feature a range of exhibitions, performances, talks, and workshops reflecting this year’s theme.

Curatorial Statement: Re-Connect/Centre/Converge

At the heart of the festival, Re-Connect/Centre/Converge lies a profound exploration of the dynamic relationship between art, space, and human connections. Festival Director John Tung expresses his vision for the festival in his curatorial statement:

Amidst the bewildering multitude of formats that art festivals (and biennales, triennales, and what nots) have embraced in contemporary times, nothing perplexes me further than the compulsion towards “de-centralisation”. The maddening dispersal of artworks across far-flung places perhaps spurred on by the fancy of seeing art in a different environ? Can a painting win a mountain? A soundscape challenge the tumult of the sea? It is with certainty though, that bus fares and boat fares contribute to GDPs.

In this respect, a format that is dated and passé seemingly becomes bold and audacious again. A re-convergence of disparates in a central location is an opportunity to reconnect wandering souls. It checks the box for perhaps the most fundamental criterion in terms of accessibility – just one day, and one bus ticket there and back; you may probably even walk if you choose to.

The introduction of art to the everyday is a fallacy brewed from the comfort of ivory towers. This everyday of blood, sweat, and grime, and now even more of that in those few escapes that could be sacred and sanctified. If the venue still bears the dirt of the mundane, it is only because we are forsaking the forest for the trees. If I were to hazard a proposition, it would be that placemaking has hardly got anything to do with places or making. You give me some people; I will give you a new world.

Mark your calendars for a two-week journey into the world of art, culture, and connection. This year's festival will take place in the raw and singular setting on the top floor of a carpark at Parklane Shopping Mall.

Artists:
Adeline Kueh
Bridget Tay
Ezzam Rahman
Hong Shu-ying
Dennis Tan
Kim Whye Kee
Marvin Tang
Lai Yu Tong
Dylan Chan
Marc Nair
Susie Lingham
Joshua Kon
Amelia Lim
Masuri Mazlan
Ang Kia Yee

Festival Details:
Venue: L8 Carpark, Parklane Shopping Mall, 35 Selegie Rd, Singapore 188307
Dates: 17th – 30th September 2023, 11am to 8pm

Get your full festival pass here

View the festival booklet here