Walking through the streets of Singapore, it’s hard to imagine how our island city was a mere fishing village just over 50 years ago. Since its independence in 1965, Singapore has become a global hub for art and culture—a city where heritage and modernity coexist in perfect harmony. One moment you’re wandering through Chinatown’s old shophouses and the next you’re gazing at a contemporary art installation that speaks to the modern fabric of our cosmo. Beyond its majestic skyline of glass and steel lies a thriving creative landscape that celebrates diversity, expression, and identity that makes and shapes the little red dot we know today.
Yet it is not an unknown fact that the past few months have been a saddening one for much of our beloved creative enclaves. With indie spaces like The Projector shuttering its doors, it’s an important reminder that now, more than ever, we should be looking inwards, and supporting the vibrant creative community which paints our nation in all its technicolour. From our theatre production houses to dynamic spaces for exhibitions as well as musical performances, there’s always more to explore when it comes to the local arts.
And what better way to show your support than with the SG Culture Pass, introduced by the government as part of this year’s SG60 initiative? A commitment to making the arts and heritage more accessible, it’s a surefire means for every Singaporean to meaningfully discover and engage with the cultural fabric of the city they call home. Until December 2028, all eligible citizens over 18 can spend their S$100 in credits across various local arts, culture and heritage programmes. Between exciting theatre productions from Singapore Fringe Festival 2026, workshops that will teach you the ins and outs of bookbinding and DJing alike, and, of course, Singapore Art Week, the list runs the gamut.
Below, a curated list of can’t-miss events that promise to make the most of your SG Culture Pass.
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Singapore Fringe Festival 2026
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival has been a beacon of creativity and entertainment for decades. Our very own Singapore Fringe Festival is part of the same network, so you can expect a similar treatment—a celebration of arts and culture to invigorate the soul. Three shows here are eligible for your Culture Pass credits: A Lesbian Love Story: The Musical, courtesy of multicultural, queer, female-led theatre company Woody Avenue; Celup, a one-Malay-woman show about not feeling Malay enough; and Invisible, a beautiful, intimate portrayal of disability.
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Bookbinding Workshop
A mainstay of the local arts community, Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film is hosting a hands-on workshop that invites you to double down on your creative roots. It doesn’t matter what your background is, the bookbinding techniques taught by artist, educator and curator Ng Hui Hsien are sure to inspire your craft in 2026. All you really need to do is show up, since they’re providing all the materials (and all participants will receive a complete bookbinding toolkit to boot).
Buy tickets to the workshop here.
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ART SG 2026
Where better to spend your Culture Pass credits than at Singapore’s premier (and largest) international art fair, right in the middle of Singapore Art Week? There’s a variety of tickets on sale, from early bird to vernissage to a premium pass that gets you exclusive access to a tour and their VIP lounge. One standout here is Southeast Asia’s leading contemporary art platform, S.E.A. Focus, presented at ART SG for the first time ever.
Buy tickets to ART SG here.
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An introductory workshop to DJing
If you ever had desires to be a disc jockey, now’s the time. Learn how to spin records with the best of them at an immersive workshop run by local legends—DJs Cherish, Jerms and Raw. You can expect the full rundown, from getting your hands on rigs to learning how to navigate sound setups and understanding the core concepts behind beat-making and vibe-setting.
Buy tickets to sessions here.
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STPI Symposium: The Politics of Print
In an analogue mood? Not to worry, because print’s on the rise and you can find out why at The Politics of Print, hosted by the historic Singapore Tyler Print Institute as part of Singapore Art Week. The symposium will explore the slowly, but surely growing landscape of printmaking in contemporary art. Featuring a wide array of publishers, galleries and artworks from around the world, the day will also play host to engaging conversations on print’s history—as an artistic medium and a driver of political movements.
Buy tickets to the symposium here.
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Hawker Tales: From Roadside to Kopitiams to Michelin Stars
There are plenty of common threads tying people together in Singapore, but it’s hard to deny the fact that (perhaps) the biggest one is food. If you’re curious about how hawkers, the beating heart of local food culture, have grown over the years, this walking tour is for you, featuring classic joints like Golden Mile Food Centre, old-school coffee shops like Hup Seng Long and even Hill Street Tai Hwa, Singapore’s only hawker to boast the fabled Michelin Star.
Buy tickets to the tour here.
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Another World Is Possible
Ever wondered what our future might look like? This exhibition at the ArtScience Museum will open your eyes to a world of bright possibilities, harnessing cinema, design, art and human imagination to view tomorrow through a hopeful lens. Grounded in the work of regional creatives from across Southeast Asia, this vision of the future is sure to prompt thoughtful discourse on an epic scale.
Buy tickets to the exhibition here.
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Singapore Biennale 2025: Pure Intention
It’s impossible to deny that Singapore’s always growing. The little red dot that could is making the most of its 60th anniversary with its biennale, a stunning showcase of contemporary art around the island. Central to the affair is the Singapore Art Museum, where you can take a peek at all the layers of the country’s ongoing history to reveal a city constantly evolving—through rich history, architecture and community.
Buy tickets to the museum here.
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Let’s Play! The Art & Design of Asian Games
It’s playtime, but supersized. The Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) is getting serious about their table top affairs—diving deep into the Asian games that have altered cultures and built communities all over the world. Some games have shaped the mainstream; like how chess was developed from the Indian game chaturanga, a sixth-century strategy game. It’s also ACM’s first ‘playable’ exhibition, so visitors can immerse themselves in the interactive games and make their moves too.
Let’s Play! The Art & Design of Asian Games is open from 5 September to 7 June 2026.
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Framed: A Murder Mystery at National Gallery Singapore
The verdict: you’re guilty. Your chance at defending your honour arrives with this murder mystery adventure. Through a self-guided, interactive experience, tap into your detective skills to uncover hidden secrets and obscured details about the artworks and architecture elements of the National Gallery, through a series of intriguing clues and puzzles that will also involve a saunter through City Hall and the Supreme Court buildings.
Register for Framed: A Murder Mystery at National Gallery Singapore here.
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Buy Singapore literature
Unleash the reader within—and hold out for when your Culture Pass credits can be used for SingLit books. Whilst details have yet to be announced, there’s already plenty of stellar reads by Singaporean authors, with only more to come. 2025 alone has seen the release of Amanda Lee Koe’s Sister Snake and Jemimah Wei’s The Original Daughter. Or consider Wen-Yi Lee’s sapphic fantasy When They Burned the Butterfly or Shivram Gopinath’s Dey, as he infuses his flair for the spoken word and poetry to excavate nuance on the life of diasporic desire and migrant identities.
