The 10th edition of Light to Night Singapore kicks off 2026 with the theme “The Power in Us” and returning favourites like light projections on the facade of the institutions around the Civic District, a series of interactive art installations and free and ticketed programmes.
This year, Light to Night Singapore is the festival’s longest edition yet and spans four vibrant weekends from 9 to 31 January 2026, this is the, unfolding across.
Light to Night Singapore 2026: The Power in Us
Light to Night Singapore 2026 features outdoor art installations, indoor performances and programmes. Each of these experiences serve as a space for people to reflect, converse, and create.
Here’s a look at what you can expect at this year’s festival at the Civic District.
SANTAI: Art Installations around the Civic District
This is a series of works commissioned specially for Light to Night’s 10th edition.
The interactive art installations are inspired by the Malay word ‘santai’ which means to relax. These transform various Civic District locations – the Padang, Empress Lawn, Front Lawn at The Arts House at the Old Parliament, ACM Green, and Esplanade Park – into spaces for gathering and contemplation.
At the Padang, there are two artworks.
Rumah Laut (Coastal Home) is a three-part installation at the Padang, Art Connector, and ACM Green, by Singaporean artist Firdaus Sani who is a fourth-generation Orang Laut descendant.
The installation brings to life his reimagination of the legacy, displacement, and resilience of Singapore’s indigenous Orang Laut communities, including the Orang Gelam, Orang Kallang, Orang Seletar, and Orang Selat.
Festival-goers can enter a dialogue between past and present as they step foot into this contemporary reimagining of the coastal house, known as “rumah laut” in Malay.
On weekends, the Padang will also be the site of collective participation through Gathering on the Lawn, by Taiwanese artist Michael Lin. Gathering on the Lawn features artist-designed paper lantern bags adorned with batik-inspired motifs. Visitors can walk, create and gather at the space and take home paper lantern bags as part of the collective memory.
There will also be series of facilitated performances at the work by The Artists Village on 16, 17, 23, and 24 January.
Also part of the SANTAI series of art installations is Untitled Gathering, also by Michael Lin. This is presented at the Singapore Courtyard at National Gallery Singapore and features hand-painted wooden furniture featuring batik-inspired motifs that visitors can move and rearrange the pieces as co-creators of the composition.
Over at Empress Lawn, Instar Dreaming (in slow wave) by Singaporean visual artist Weixin Quek Chong features a cluster of four sculptural pods inspired by the bio-organic curves and segmented forms of larval insects at different stages of moulting.
At Esplanade Park, Syahmin Huda’s Batu Ghaib (The Unseen Stone) draws on the discovery of the Singapore Stone to present a split boulder inscribed with the incantatory phrase “timbul tenggelam” (“floating sinking” in Malay), inviting viewers to see natural elements as objects with ancestral spirits and voices of their own.
The Arts House at the Old Parliament, The Looking Glass of Language by multidisciplinary artists Amanda Tan and Irsyad Ishak explores the written word as a shifting medium of communication, using motion-activated anagrams and evolving letterforms.
Art Skins on Monuments Facade Projections
A hallmark of Light to Night Singapore are the light projections on the buildings around the Civic District. These come on from 7.30 pm to midnight during the festival period.
The facade of National Gallery Singapore will be bathed in two projections.
Singapore artist fyerool darma’s Ⱥn§ibℓøm∞ (Ansiblomoo) is a four-minute digital meditation and projection performance where a synthetic thread expands to form entangled fibre-optic ecosystems, in an interrogation of digital resistance.
Memory Gesture by Vietnamese artist Ngoc Nau is inspired by the changing agricultural landscape of her homeland and speaks about the resilience of farmers as they navigate the changes that affect their lives and the nation. This work is accompanied by AR filters accessible at Supreme Court Foyer L1 and L3 within the Gallery, allowing visitors to interact with the work in a more personal way.
At The Arts House at the Old Parliament, Larut’s Tears draws from long-term collaborative research on ecological grief undertaken by Malaysia’s Gerimis Art Project, London-based artist and researcher Youngsook Choi, and the Semai communities in Pahang and Perak. The work reimagines the story of Larut the elephant as a symbolic link to the discovery of tin-rich land in Perak.
stART Here: From Every Vantage Point presents a visual storytelling experience drawn from artworks created by youth beneficiaries of Fei Yue Community Services who participated in the Gallery’s Strength Through Art (stART) programme.
Thai artist Navin Rawanchaikul’s SINGAPORAMA at the Gallery’s Padang Atrium reflects on encounters with the diverse communities that make up Singapore, including migrant workers, artists and cultural producers, indigenous groups, Peranakans, social advocacy groups, and faith organisations to present a colour and a panoramic multiplicity of voices.
Art X Social: Festival Village
This year, Art X Social: Festival Village extends from St Andrew’s Road to Empress Lawn.
Visitors can enjoy an expanded line-up of food and beverage options to enjoy alongside roving performances, games, and DJ sets.
On the final festival weekend, Empress Lawn will also host a special Pets Weekend, curated in collaboration with Good Pet Fair, featuring pet-friendly vendors, activities, and experiences for animal lovers.
Programmes
A variety of free and ticketed programmes have also been lined up for Light to Night 2026.
These range from power card reading sessions and a live prep experience where movement, food, and art come together in a multi-sensory format, to art-filled programmes led by popular cultural icons Sing Song Social Club and Zaki Hussain.
Gallery Gigs x Padang Atrium featuring homegrown voices with the likes of Charlie Lim, Iman Fandi, and Linying; and Sundays: Power in Community which presents a vibrant line-up of performances by community groups, schools, and performing arts collectives.
There will also be outdoor programmes that spotlight the Civic District and its monuments, including guided tours and a mass sketching event.
Self-guided Themed Trails
This year, the festival also introduces four self-guided themed trails designed for visitors of different interest to navigate their festival journey.
These trails are designed for
- the social explorer,
- families,
- art lovers, and
- photography enthusiasts
Each route has been tailored with highlights that cater to the audience.
Extending Beyond the Civic District
Beyond the Civic District, the Void (Deck) The Walls installation by Arterly Obsessed will be presented at CQ @ Clarke Quay, Raffles City Singapore, and Plaza Singapura in partnership with CapitaLand Investment.
The installation transforms mall environments into illuminated void decks through glowing acrylic reconstructions of familiar icons such as game tables, benches, and a mama shop, celebrating shared communal spaces.
At the Funan Underground Pedestrian Link, visitors can also encounter Burrows, a playful and whimsical mural by Tell Your Children.
Light to Night Singapore 2026: 9 to 31 January
Light to Night Singapore 2026 runs from 9 to 31 January across the Civic District and other select locations.
Entry is free, with ticketed programmes available for pre-booking on the festival website.
