Where To Find Singapore’s Art and Music Scenes on a Quick Stopover

From national performing arts centres to underground music venues, Singapore has a thriving creative scene that visitors can easily miss. Beyond the big-name museums and heritage attractions, there’s a mix of galleries, bookshops, bars and performance spaces showcasing a different side of Singaporean culture.

Whether you’re staying for a week or just stopping over before or after a trip to Europe, Asia or Africa, it’s easy to get a dose of local art, music and culture if you know where to look. Here’s where to start.

Esplanade

Singapore’s national performing arts centre is worth visiting even if you don’t have a ticket. The Esplanade runs free events throughout the week, with a program that moves from indie and alternative music to traditional performances, festivals and experimental work. Visit the Concourse for intimate performances spanning music, dance and theatre, or the Outdoor Theatre for live shows against the Marina Bay skyline. It’s an easy way to experience Singapore’s performance art and culture without committing to a formal theatre visit.

Gillman Barracks

This former military site is now a creative community hub, with galleries housed within conserved colonial buildings and plenty of green space in between. Among the galleries worth seeking out is Yeo Workshop; its program focuses on contemporary Southeast Asian artists and spans everything from painting and sculpture to digital media. There are also restaurants and a brewery on-site, so you can easily make an afternoon of browsing, eating and drinking before flying out.

Bras Basah Precinct

For a more grassroots side of Singapore’s creative culture, head to Bras Basah. The arts and heritage district is home to cultural institutions, schools, galleries and the wonderfully old-school Bras Basah Complex, an art and book-focused retail space that has attracted artists, designers and students for decades. Start at Basheer Graphic Books, an institution for art, architecture, design and photography books, then poke around the complex’s specialist shops, including Zisha Art Gallery, which specialises in traditional Chinese tea-ware.

Artscience Museum

Art, science and technology converge at the Artscience Museum, located within the Marina Bay Sands resort. The permanent Future World installation by Japan-based interdisciplinary artist collective Teamlab uses immersive digital environments to explore themes including nature, technology and perception, while the rotating program means there’s always something new to explore. Right now the Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath exhibition, created with Ocean X, combines works by international artists with research from the National University of Singapore’s coral reef studies.

Rasa Space

This spacious CBD venue is a one-stop shop for art, music, food and drinks. Part cocktail bar, part restaurant and part performance space, Rasa is as suited to dinner and a few drinks as it is to a full night out. Its music program spans house, electronic, UK garage, reggae, funk and more, while talks, performances, comedy and community events round out the calendar. Food is curated by The Meat Men, a local food and cooking media group, adding another local creative thread to the space.

Offtrack

Pan-Asian food and cocktails are a drawcard at Offtrack, but everything revolves around the sound. The bar and restaurant is built around a carefully curated sound system and programming that moves through contemporary sounds from Singapore and the wider region. It’s a good gateway into the city’s independent music culture without requiring you to already know the scene. Get in before 7pm for happy-hour cocktails, then settle in for the music.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Singapore Airlines.