Exhibitions, performances and a closer look at the city’s creative side.
Typical spend per person, in Singapore dollars.
The last chapter of SAM's project on forgotten and erased stories, from 27 November: oral histories and memory, not spectacle. Free for citizens and PRs; save it for a slow December afternoon.
Hand-painted brick canvases begun in 2008, duhat-wood towers and four films, at SAM until 22 November. Free for citizens and PRs; go slowly, and go soon.
Trishaw riders, labourers on lunch break and a boat crossing quietly about belonging: the first solo show since the 1960s for a Nanyang pioneer. Free for locals, until October 2027.
Louis XIV's jade cup and a brass ewer shaped like a chicken lead 100 Louvre pieces at ACM until 24 January. Free for citizens and PRs; go on a Friday, when it stays open late.
Four life-size Mogao cave replicas at the Asian Civilisations Museum until 7 March, plus a stamp rally that gets children round. The shortest route to Dunhuang runs through Empress Place.
Warhol, Lichtenstein and Kruger beside Ming Wong and FX Harsono: 200-plus works across the National Gallery from 11 December, with the Guggenheim. Start with the names you don't know.
Paintings, poems, calligraphy and seals by the ink teacher who settled in Singapore in 1956, at the National Gallery from 16 October to 31 January. Free for locals; give it a slow weekday.
Esplanade's Indian arts festival turns 25 with Sachin-Jigar's Singapore debut, two Aakash Odedra works and free shows in the public spaces, 20 to 29 November. Book one night; stroll the rest.
Tan Twan Eng and Jemimah Wei among 300-plus voices across the Civic District, 13 to 22 November. Amitav Ghosh's keynote is sold out; Stephen Witt's was still on sale on 11 November. Pick three or four sessions.
More than 2km of Serangoon Road lit overhead every evening from 3 October to 29 November. Free; the quiet option is a weeknight, or late November once the festival has passed.
One museum given proper attention beats three at a jog. Regional art, natural history or something smaller: pick the subject you care about, then check what's on.
Specialist museums that take an hour rather than a day, and give back more if you arrive with a question and are willing to ask it.
Three small museums, three ways into Singapore: how it was planned, who came and what the war left. Start with the story you know least about.
