i Light Singapore is returning to Marina Bay from 1 to 25 June 2023. Organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and presented by DBS, Asia’s leading sustainable light festival will transform the Bay into a visual playground with 14 immersive light art installations and programmes that promise to delight the senses.
This year, i Light Singapore 2023 will expand beyond Marina Bay to two new locations – South Beach and Millenia Walk – to offer festival goers fresh experiences and bring the artworks closer to more people.
i Light Singapore 2023: A New Wave
i Light Singapore 2023 is curated to the theme of A New Wave and anchored on the colour blue – a wavelength on the visible light spectrum that is omnipresent in nature’s blue spaces such as oceans and rivers, and often associated with emotions such as calmness and serenity.
Festival-goers will be invited to reflect on the natural environment by immersing themselves in creative light art installations and interactive programmes, and be inspired to contribute to a more sustainable future.
Artworks at i Light Singapore 2023
Behind this year’s line-up of artworks is a diverse group of local and international artists, along with budding student designers.
One example is Glacier Dreams, a large-scale projection on the façade of ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands by renowned Turkish-American media artist Refik Anadol.
This artwork transforms visual data on the world’s glaciers into Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based multi-sensory narratives to raise awareness of rising sea levels and climate change.
At the Event Square is Tree Man by ENESS, an award-winning Australian art and technology studio. This features a pair of whimsical light sculptures, with each encircling a sapling in his arm and switching colours.
The artwork symbolises the balance that humans try to strike between connecting with the environment and our digital devices.
Symphony 1 at Mist Walk is a light-based architectural entity that looks like masses of twisting vine structures.
Blumiwave by artists from DP Design features ‘crashing’ sculptural waves made with common building materials such as scaffolding and safety nets that were salvaged from construction sites.
This artwork aims to raise awareness of blue energy – an alternative renewable energy source harnessed from the sea and river waters.
the things left unsaid by student artist Brigette Teo from Nanyang Technological University’s School of Art, Design and Media invites festival-goers to appreciate weaved sheets made with upcycled plastic bags that light up periodically.
This artwork was inspired from the phenomenon of bioluminescent algal bloom observed in Singapore in 2022.
Singaporean collective Plug & Play invites festival-goers to dance and let loose in front of Block Party.
This interactive installation at the entrance to the Marina Bay Link Mall reacts by spontaneously blooming gardens over the facades of Singapore’s familiar public housing blocks in response to movement.
Light Anemones seeks to portray the captivating world beyond the water surface, where the mysteries of the deep sea and the wonders of underwater creatures come to life
Sydney-based art collective Amigo & Amigo’s Trumpet Flowers can be viewed at Clifford Square.
The whimsical artwork celebrates the beauty of nature by surrounding festival-goers with towering flower sculptures ranging from two to six metres tall, and inviting them to play with interactive keys to compose a unique sound and light show inspired by their emotions.
Résonances at the Open Plaza at OUE Bayfront is an interactive installation that embodies the inexorable passage of time. It seeks to reveal the limit between present and past.
An interactive artwork is Aquatics by Berlin-based multidisciplinary artist Philipp Artus.
Festival-goers can design their own sea creatures on a tablet and see them come to life in an animation projected before them.
The interactive artworks aims to remind festival-goers of their power to make a difference to the environment.
i Light Singapore at South Beach and Millenia Walk
This year, the Festival will also host artworks at South Beach and Millenia Walk, in partnership with South Beach Consortium and Pontiac Land.
South Beach will host several artworks.
Bleached by students from Nanyang Technological University’s School of Art, Design and Media invites festival-goers to wander across a simulated ocean floor adorned with “seaweed” and “corals” that are either upcycled from single-use plastics or made from seaweed bioplastics developed by the artists themselves.
The ’reefs’ turn white when they sense movement, connoting the fate of marine ecosystems under threat from degradation.
Show III by students from James Cook University and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts makes use of audio-visual effects to simulate a shower experience and provide a space for self-contemplation, including reflections on our water usage habits.
At Millenia Walk, festival-goers can look forward to Prism, an installation by Malaysian artist Jun Ong.
This transforms from a natural light shaft in the day to a glowing beacon of artificial lighting at night, creating an ever-changing interplay of colours that evoke a calming experience for festival-goers.
Map of i Light Singapore 2023 Artworks
Wondering where to find all the i Light Singapore 2023 artworks? Here a map to help you locate them.
1. Glacier Dreams – Facade of ArtScience Museum
2. Tree Man – Event Square
3. Blumiwave – Mist Walk
4. Moooooootion – Bayfront Event Space
5. Symphony 1 – Mist Walk
6. Block Party – Entrance of Marina Bay Link Mall
7. the things left unsaid – Breeze Shelter
8. Light Anemones – Apex of The Promontory
9. Résonances – Open Plaza, OUE Bayfront
10. Trumpet Flowers – Clifford Square
11. Aquatics – Under Esplanade Bridge
12. Bleached – South Beach Avenue, Level B1M
13. Show III – South Beach Main Entrance
14. Prism – Millenia Walk
Lightwave: Turning the Tide
In addition to the artworks, there will be a new immersive light experience at The Promontory, Lightwave: Turning the Tide, presented by Alibaba Cloud.
Here, festival-goers will be invited to embark on a journey to a future where rising sea levels have submerged humans in an underwater world.
Through compelling and thought-provoking light displays across three chapters, festival-goers can contemplate the repercussions of human actions on the environment, and reflect on how they can make a change to turn the tide.
i Light I Pledge
i Light Singapore will continue its partnership with susGain, a local social enterprise championing sustainability, on i Light i Pledge, presented by Alibaba Cloud.
This year, the public can pledge their commitment to eco-conscious practices through two initiatives.
Firstly, the Switch Off, Turn Up (SOTU) pledge calls for all to switch off non-essential lightings and turn up air-conditioning temperatures.
Extended to the public and schools for the first time this year, SOTU has been a key component of i Light Singapore since its inception in 2010, having most recently galvanised over 100 building owners, corporations and businesses to reduce energy consumption in the 2022 edition.
The second pledge, Be a Zero Hero, encourages all to adopt zero waste habits such as reducing usage of single-use items.
For each pledge submitted by participants up to the first 5,000 pledges, All Clear – a sustainability enterprise providing offshore and ocean clean-ups – will remove 100g of waste from Singapore waterways. As such, up to 500 kg of waste will be removed as an outcome of the pledge.
The public can also stand to win attractive prizes by taking part in i Light i Pledge, presented by Alibaba Cloud.
Visiting i Light Singapore 2023
Mr Lim Eng Hwee, Chief Executive Officer, URA said, “We look forward to enlivening Marina Bay once again with the return of i Light Singapore. This year, visitors can immerse themselves in a brand-new line-up of creative artworks. At the same time, I encourage everyone to take a pause to contemplate our relationship with the environment. Through their experiences with the delightful artworks and programmes, we hope that visitors can be inspired to embrace sustainability as part and parcel of our everyday lives.”
i Light Singapore 2023, presented by DBS, will be held from 1 to 25 June 2023, 7.30 pm to 11 pm daily with extended hours to 12.00am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Admission is free, while charges apply for certain programmes. More details are available here.
While you are at the Marina Bay area, you may also be interested in paying a visit to GastroBeats 2023.
