Between trees and a corridor

Join visual artist Marvin Tang in this curated “photo” walk to think about our relationship with the city and nature, through the investigation of the history of greening in Singapore.

Along the walk, participants will be invited to collect materials around them to experiment with cyanotype printing, a camera-less print-making process that use sunlight to “fix” an image onto paper. Playing on the slowness and unpredictability of the cyanotype process, participants actively resist the level of immediacy that we are so used to in the city’s fast-paced environment. Instead, we are forced to practice slowing down in order to truly encounter our surroundings, leaving with an imprint that serves as a documentation of the experience.

Session 1: Between trees 
Sat, 4 Nov 2023, 10–11.30am  
Meet at Block 1 Everton Park (Divaagar’s Everfowl Estate, in front of Ji Xuang Everton Ang Ku Kueh)
Free with registration

This walk will introduce you to the multiple trees planted around the Tanjong Pagar neighbourhood as part of the November Tree Planting Campaign – from the mango sapling at the foot of Everton Park to the chiku tree at Spottiswoode Park. Participants are invited to contemplate the different ways our environment and policies have been shaped by the idea of Singapore as a Garden City. From Singapore’s tree planting campaign – marked by the iconic image of the planting of the mempat tree in 1961, to the emergence of the Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay in 2014, how has the city transformed over the years and influenced our personal relationship with nature?

Session 2: Between a corridor 
Sun, 5 Nov 2023, 10–11.30am 
Meet at 55A Commonwealth Drive
Free with registration

Bookended by Hilmi Johandi’s Stagecraft: Landscaped Grounds and Sookoon Ang’s Moonlight,
participants will traverse the Rail Corridor to examine the history of colonial Singapore and its effects on our environment. From the tree-planting programme in the late 1880s, to understanding the impact of rubber plantations that once covered the Rail Corridor, gain a deeper understanding of the historical transformation of Singapore through the iconic railway line.

Session 1: Comic Encounters with Art
Sat, 4 Nov 2023, 2–3.30pm
Meet at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road, Level 3
Free with registration

Art provokes thought. Sometimes, art provokes absurd thoughts!

In this workshop led by environmental anthropologist V. Chitra and student Li Lin, embrace silliness and absurdity as participants engage with art in the everyday. Dive into the playful possibilities of artistic encounters with The Everyday Museum’s latest public art trail Port/raits of Tanjong Pagar: Encounters with Art in the Neighbourhood, and create captivating narratives in the form of comics. Comics is a type of art that is often considered as “non-serious,” but what would happen if we put contemporary art and comics together? This workshop encourages participants to consider this question through their own interaction with the public artworks, guided by creative exercises that will include drawing and storytelling. Get ready to embark on a journey of playful creativity!

Session 2: Wandering with Memory Maps
Sun, 5 Nov 2023, 2–3.30pm
Meet at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road, Level 3
Free with registration

As we walk through the city, our paths create endless invisible lines. These lines tell us much about the experience of the city and how it has changed through time. They often do not follow the neat lines on a map. When we wander aimlessly, our paths defy plans and repurpose spaces. Inspired by Tan Pin Pin’s latest public artwork walk walk (Singapore Deviation version), which highlights the profound implications on the everyday act of walking, join environmental anthropologist V. Chitra and student Li Lin in this workshop as we retrace the lines we have traversed to tell stories of our city.

A walk and writing workshop in conjunction with our free audio trail series Speaking of which – An Organic Terminus
Sat, 4 Nov, 5–7pm
Meet at Block 4 Tanjong Pagar Plaza, Resident’s Corner (Isabella Teng’s Little Islands)
Free with registration

How do we uncover the stories within buildings, nature, and even ourselves, and share them with respect and lyricism, using the tools of our own heart? 

Join writer and artist Ang Kia Yee on a walk to listen to her fictional piece on Ashkhen Hovakimian (Agnes Joaquim) at Tanjong Pagar, followed by a sharing and writing exercise back at SAM. This relaxed walk-and-write experience takes a leaf from the writer’s process and will guide participants in using empathy, imagination, and research to write their own stories to lend a voice to historical figures, landmarks and other impetus drawn from our everyday sights and sounds. 

Kia Yee’s piece on the origin of Vanda ‘Miss Joaquim’ is part of Speaking of which – An Organic Terminus, a free audio trail series by The Everyday Museum. Participants of this walk-and-write workshop are required to download the app Echoes prior to the session to access the episode. Find out more here.

A talk and tour in conjunction with our free audio trail series Speaking of which – A Living Blueprint
Sun, 5 Nov, 5–6.30pm 
Meet at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road, Level 3
Free with registration

Delve into imaginative realms with writer Nuraliah Norasid and actor Nadya Zaheer in this unique and captivating tour experience. As we traverse and listen to Nuraliah’s latest commissioned fictional piece ‘The Railroad Pathfinder’, physically walk out the process and hear from these two collaborators on how to bring speculative fiction to life for an immersive audio trail experience. 

After a short introduction at SAM, participants will be chartered by bus to the Rail Corridor entrance at Spooner Road to explore this iconic railway line’s past lives and significance as a transitory and liminal space. Guided by Nuraliah and Nadya, discover how to carve out rich stories from historical locales with the power of imagination and the art of storytelling.  

‘The Railroad Pathfinder’, written by Nuraliah Norasid and narrated by Nadya Zaheer, is part of Speaking of which – A Living Blueprint, a free audio trail series by The Everyday Museum that will be launched on Sat, 21 October 2023. Participants of this tour are required to download the app Echoes prior to the session to access the episode. Find out more here.