If you still need proof that Singapore is quietly transforming itself into a regional design and creative dynamo, Singapore Design Week 2024 (26 September to 6 October) is exhibit A.
This year’s theme, ‘People of Design’, presents an insight into what event organiser DesignSingapore Council describes as ‘the everyday visionaries who shape our society through design… and enhance how we experience life’.
The remit is as broad as it is ambitious, but even a cursory scan of the programme shows there is plenty of breathing space for the designers, curators and artists to explore the festival’s three pillars: Design Futures (the future of design and designing that future), Design Marketplace (lifestyle trends viewed through a Southeast Asian lens), and Design Impact (innovative solutions for a better world).
As Aric Chen, the artistic director of Het Nieuwe Institut and one of the speakers at the week’s marquee event, Design Futures Forum, puts it, ‘Singapore has a thriving design [scene], alongside government policies – especially around regenerative practices – that are among the most progressive in the world. And that makes Singapore Design Week a fantastic platform for bringing them together.’
Given that so much is on show over the 11-day event, we sifted through the offerings to present our top picks.
What to see at Singapore Design Week 2024
EMERGE@FIND
‘Peek a Window’ divider by Threadapeutic
Emerge showcases South-East Asian contemporary design under the aegis of satellite event FIND – Design Fair Asia. Curator Suzy Annetta’s focus on 50 emerging and established designers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – with their works up for sale at online art gallery, The Artling – builds on her observation that Asian designers are ‘contemplating the state of the world and thinking about how they can comment, reflect, contribute and bring about change via a wide range of creative approaches. My take is that identity, culture and the environment are top of mind.’
Headlining the crop are Thai designers Saran Yen Panya whose ‘Vanity Collection’ of mirrors dissects identity in an era of social media influencers; and Indonesian collective Threadapeutic, whose ‘Peek a Window’ – room dividers constructed of lace and brocade – wonders what kind of design deserves our attention.
26-28 September at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre.
Future Impact 2: Homecoming Showcase
‘Good Gourd – Hybrid Basketry’ by Gabriel Tan at Future Impact 2, presented by DesignSingapore Council
Fresh from its showing at Milan Design Week 2024, Future Impact 2’s debut on home turf has been much anticipated, not least for its exploration of innovative design solutions to social problems. Gabriel Tan’s ‘Good Gourd – Hybrid Basketry’, for instance, features colourful table lamps handwoven around 3D-printed resin shells as a demonstration of how traditional crafts can be preserved while reducing human labour.
David Lee takes a similar tack, his laser-cut ‘Monolith’ chair and table addressing not just environmental concerns but also the sustainability of resource-intense manufacturing practices.
Asian Civilisations Museum
Marina Design District
Render of design pavilion at Marina Central
Three Singaporean districts – Bras Basah/Bugis, Orchard and Marina Bay – have been picked to spotlight special design commissions and exhibitions that reflect the character of each. At the Marina Design District, curator and designer Nathan Yong’s ‘Neu Folk: Bridging Tradition and Future in Design’ explores the future of Singaporean design in the context of the collective spirit of communities.
Millenia Walk
Design Fair Asia
A blue-chip roll-call of furniture, interiors and design brands, including Hansgrohe and Toyo, descends on Marina Bay Sands for the third edition of Asia’s largest design trade fair. The headliner will be FIND Global Summit, a pow-wow of over 50 property developers, architects and design mavens curated by Wallpaper* China editor Yoko Choy.
Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre
So Plast!c by Studio Karyn Lim
So Plast!c vessels
Industrial designer Karyn Lim’s solution to the endemic problem of single-use plastic is to convert bags into plastic yarn, which she then crochets into skeletal-like string baskets, while bottle caps and food and drink packaging are converted into eco-polymer sheets to make handsome, low-slung tables.
26-28 September at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre
Singapore Design Week 2024 runs from 26 September to 6 October 2024 at various locations across the island. www.sdw.sg
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Tour Xi'an's remarkable new 'human-centred' shopping district with designer Thomas HeatherwickXi'an district by Heatherwick Studio, a 115,000 sq m retail development in the Chinese city, opens this winter. Thomas Heatherwick talks us through its making and ambition
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Nathan Yong's stainless steel designs investigate art, industrial design, and social dysfunction‘A chair becomes inviting and chilling at the same time': Nathan Yong on his stainless steel tubular designs for his showcase at Art Commune Gallery, Singapore
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Urban Fabric design exhibition spotlights new designers from AsiaYoko Choy introduces Urban Fabric, a commissioned series for Dubai’s Gallery Collectional (on view until 31 March 2024), showcasing varying designs of contemporary craftsmanship from artists across China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea
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Singapore Design Week 2023 prioritises sustainability and inclusivitySingapore Design Week 2023 (until 1 October) explores the theme ‘Better By Design’ with exhibitions at the National Design Center and across the city
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Six Singaporean designers look at the impact of design and new technologies on our livesSupported by DesignSingapore Council, ‘Future Impact’ at Milan Design Week 2023 presents Singapore as a design-led hub of innovation and creativity
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Holistic co-working: WeWork Singapore is attentive to culture and lightingWeWork Singapore opens – a 21-storey flagship co-working space and the company’s second-largest globally
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World View: Letter from SingaporeIntroducing our new series, which shines light on the creativity and resilience of designers around the world as they confront the challenges wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic. Working with contributing editors across eleven global territories, we reach out to creative talents to ponder the power of design in difficult times and share messages of hope. Here, on the eve of a monthlong lockdown in the city state, our Singapore editor Daven Wu checked in with architect Charles Wee, artist Dawn Ng, and designers Elyn Wong, Clara Yee and Olivia Lee, discovering tales of self reflection, crisis messaging and mutual assistance.
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