Textures 2023 will run from 6 to 15 January 2023, in conjunction with the Light to Night (L2N) Festival and as
part of the Singapore Art Week (SAW).
Photo Credit: Arts House Limited
Venue: The Arts House
Date: 6 to 15 Jan 2023
Fee: Free & Ticketed
Organised by Arts House Limited, Textures, the annual literary festival that celebrates Singapore literature (SingLit) will be making its return.
After two years of bringing local literary arts to the heartlands, Textures 2023 returns home to where it first began, celebrating the nation’s diverse literary scene at the home of Singapore’s literary arts, The Arts House (TAH).
Textures 2023: Arrived Home
For the 2023 edition of Textures, visitors can look forward to a diverse range of
free and ticketed programmes.
Here's taking a closer look at the programme lineup:
Ticketed Programmes
Cherita Hantu...Kembali
Venue: The Arts House, Play Den
Dates & Times:
- 6 Jan 2023 (8pm to 9pm)
- 7 & 8 Jan 2023 (3pm to 4pm & 8pm to 9pm)
Fee: $20 per ticket
Following the success of the 2021 edition of Cherita Hantu, The Arts House collaborates with Hafidz Abdul Rahman once again to present Cherita Hantu...Kembali (Ghost Stories...Return). With an overarching theme of ‘the great return’, Cherita Hantu...Kembali follows the journey of four individuals through five stories, all entwined into one creepy showcase. Are you brave enough to join us?
A Novel Idea: SingLit Edition
Venue: The Arts House, Play Den
Date: 14 to 15 Jan 2023
Time:
- 3pm to 3.40pm: This is Where I Won’t Be Alone by Inez Tan
- 5pm to 5.40pm: Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
- 8pm to 8.40pm: The Java Enigma by Erni Salleh
Fee: $10 per ticket
A Novel Idea is back! Lies and deceit, chasing answers across Asia, searching for one’s roots in an attempt to regain time, is what A Novel Idea: SingLit Edition has in store for its audience! Back again after a two-year Covid hiatus, the much talked about A Novel Idea will feature three popular novels by three Singaporean female writers: Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen, The Java Enigma by Erni Salleh and This Is Where I Won’t Be Alone by Inez Tan. Director Samantha Scott-Blackhall brings these novels to life on stage in a condensed dramatised reading, performed by award-winning actresses Serene Chen and Shafiqhah Efandi, who roll-up their sleeves to play ALL the various roles in the book! A literary treat not to be missed.
Free In-House Programmes
Dwelling
Venue: The Arts House, Front Lawn
Date: 6 to 26 Jan 2023
Fee: Free
One definition of dwelling that architects consider is a home with the hearth at its core. It shelters and nourishes the tired bodies, it comforts and heals the broken hearts, and it warms the souls of many to come. imagine a dwelling that gathers chit & chatter, filled with deep throated mirth, newspaper rustling, giggles and laughs, a soft humming. Dwelling explores the archetype of a house, with core light bringing people together, to feed, to protect and to raise their spirits. The copper rods interact to create a consistent and persistent reverberation of that togetherness. Making aware that we are all but one and one in all in the wave of existence. Dwelling is architect Vince Ong's response to Yeow Kai Chai’s One to the Dark Tower Comes.
The Multifaceted Corners of #05-478
Venue: The Arts House, Gallery II
Date: 6 to 26 Jan 2023
Fee: Free
Multifaceted Corners of #05-478, a solo exhibition by Priscilla Quek is a recreation of the artist’s parental home into an installation constructed of cut-outs, mimicking stage-like props set. Translating her inspirations from family’s old photographs into this immersive installation yet muted neutral colours, the works are placed and displaced among the cornered spaces as the artist contemplates recollecting hazy childhood memories. Tracing back to past experiences through this art-making form is the artist’s method of sentimental mnemonics. The works staged here, explore the dimensionality of the installation presented within the gallery space. This poetic-image installation invites viewers to occupy the space and find resonance in their relationship with their own home and its objects while reminiscing about their daily interactions within their homes.
Cultural Medallion (CM) Literary Pursuits
Venue: The Arts House, Level 1
Date: Ongoing
Fee: Free
This popular onsite digital game designed to guide visitors through the CM showcase and introduce selected CM writers and artists will offer a version suitable for adults and another for young visitors.
Handwriting, The Shadow Box & We Need to Move... Again: Readings by Golden Point Award 2021 English Short Story Prize Winners
Venue: The Arts House, Gallery II
Date: 13 Jan 2023
Time: 7.30pm
Fee: Free
A reading by Sofia Mariah Ma, Dr Aaron Ho and Kurien Kalarickal of the Golden Point Award 2021 English Short Story winning works - Handwriting, The Shadow Box and We Need to Move... Again."
Clan: A Reading by Yeo Wei Wei
Venue: The Arts House, Gallery II
Date: 14 Jan 2023
Time: 7.30pm
Fee: Free
Join Yeo Wei Wei at this session as she reads excerpts from her most recent publication, Clan - a hybrid collection of stories and translations based on Soon Ailing's fiction.
Re-turning: A Multilingual Poetry Reading with Calligraphic Performance
Venue: The Arts House, Chamber
Date: 13 to 14 Jan 2023
Time: 8pm to 9.15pm
Fee: Free
Re-turning is a new and powerful concept for thinking differently. Re-turning, in scholarship, refers to ‘slow scholarship’ and re-deliberating, re-flecting and re-considering. It is a re-turning and re-turning to the ‘same’ information and materials, so as to form, refine and re-create new and deeper understandings, which include multiplicities of realities and multilayers of meanings. Here, we return to, and reflect on, the concept of home again and again, in different languages and through different lenses.
This multilingual and multi-disciplinary poetry recital will portray a Re-turning and journeying back to our physical and psychological home – be it a post-Covid Singapore or our beloved domesticity and belonging. Through multilingual poetry readings of thought-provoking local poems, and with corresponding multilingual calligraphic performances brought to you for the first time on stage locally, this event features four renowned local poets, and will be presented in our four official languages.
Performed by: AP Tan Chee Lay, Dr Azhar Ibrahim, K. Kanagalatha and Eric Tinsay Valles.
TEXTURES Pop-up Book Stores
Venue: The Arts House, Level 1 Corridor
Date: 6 to 7 Jan 2023 | 13 to 14 Jan 2023
Time: 7pm to 10pm
Fee: Free
Come down to The Arts House this January to experience a spread of Singapore writings by our local book retailers! Mahayuyi, Booktique and Dakota Dreams will offer a grand feast of over 100 titles for everyone to enjoy. So dive into the array of new and pre-loved books and bring them home with you!
Dakota Dreams was set up by a group of retirees in 2021 with a social cause - the bookstore also serves as a space for seniors to hang out. Booktique has been around for nearly a decade and sells books at events and via catalogues. Mahayuyi, established in 1969, is a mainstay of local Chinese bookstores.
Read at Home
Venue: The Arts House, Level 1 Corridor
Date: 6 to 26 Jan 2023
Fee: Free
Read At Home is a library of e-books specially selected for Textures 2023, in collaboration with NLB. Read At Home welcomes readers of all ages to sample the richness of Singapore writing and publishing, and to take a little time to explore the different perspectives of home on their daily commute or in their quieter moments.
Outreach Programmes
"YOUR RELATIVES ARE WEIRD! 你的亲戚好奇怪!"
Venue: Woodlands Regional Library, Everest Room (Level 4)
Date: 7 Jan 2023
Time: 11am to 12pm
Fee: Free
A bilingual story & cartooning Session with the DIM SUM WARRIORS 点心侠
Why do we find others "weird" but not ourselves? Creator/Cartoonist Colin Goh reads this very funny story about differences in both English and Mandarin, and guides participants in a simple cartooning session.
This programme will be conducted in Chinese and English.
Recommended age group: 4 to 6 years old
Bukan Biasa-Biasa (Not The Ordinary)
Venue: Woodlands Regional Library, Programme Zone (Level 1)
Date: 7 Jan 2023
Time: 1.30pm to 2.30pm
Fee: Free
How does a writer find the spark of extraordinary ideas from the mundane routine of everyday life? How then is the concept developed into a storyline that can capture the interest of the readers? In this one-hour session, the participants will be invited to go through the incubation process of creative ideas together with Mr. Farihan Bahron, writer of Kepala Kotak, the short stories book that won the Singapore Literature Prize 2022 in the fiction category.
This programme will be conducted in Malay.
Recommended for upper secondary students and adults.
A peek into the world of Mist-Bound
Venue: Woodlands Regional Library, Programme Zone (Level 1)
Date: 8 Jan 2023
Time: 11.45am to 12.30am
Fee: Free
The author of the multi-award winning and best-selling book “Mist-Bound: How to Glue back your Grandpa” will take audiences behind the making of Mist-Bound: its world and its creatures.
Recommended age group: Upper Primary (10 to 12 years old)
What Ants Do on Stormy Days
Venue: Ang Mo Kio Public Library, Programme Zone (Level 1)
Date: 15 Jan 2023
Time: 10.30am to 11.15am
Fee: Free
Join us for an hour of storytelling and fun-filled drawing activities. Listen to the story of "What Ants Do on Stormy Days", learn how to draw yourself as an ant, and create a drawing of your ant family!
Recommended age group: 5 to 9 years old
迎新年贺新岁,享用美食不浪费 (Ushering The New Year with Good Food and No
Waste)
Venue: Ang Mo Kio Public Library, Programme Zone (Level 1)
Date: 15 Jan 2023
Time: 1 pm - 2 pm
Fee: Free
Meet author Xiao Han and hear her talk about《食荒人》(Odds And Ends), her latest novel on food waste. She will also share tips on how to recycle, reduce and reuse food during Chinese New Year.
The programme will be conducted in Mandarin.
Recommended for all age groups.
Read with Storyteller: Beware the Sunda Slow Loris and Other Singaporean Fables
Venue: National Gallery Singapore, Rooftop Studio (Level 5)
Date: 8 & 14 Jan 2023
Time: 2pm to 3pm
Fee: Free
Kickstart your reading sessions with some expressive skills that storytellers use. Discover simple methods that make you more confident and engaging when reading to your child and learn storytelling techniques that get characters leaping out of the pages! Read together with your child and join other families in this introductory session that encourages lively reading. Complete your book reading session with a colouring activity to create your favourite animal character.
Facilitated by The Storytelling Centre Limited.
Recommended for parents with children aged 4 to 7 years.
This is a parent-and-child session based on 'Beware the Sunda Slow Loris & Other Singaporean Fables'. Picture books and simple colouring materials will be provided.
Digital Programmes
CrossTalk
Venue: Digital
Date: 6 Jan 2023 onwards
Fee: Free
CrossTalk continues in its second edition to discuss Singapore writing across generations. Listen to Jason Wee and his guests as they introduce recordings of pioneering writers in their younger voices, and the works and influences of these writers on contemporary writing. This year, Bani Haykal and Ila, Stephanie Chan and Aaron Maniam joins our host Jason Wee to discuss their recent activities alongside older writers drawn from the National Archives Singapore.
Textures 2023 @SAFRA Toa Payoh
Venue: SAFRA Toa Payoh
Date: 10 to 12 Feb 2023
Textures will return to SAFRA Toa Payoh from 10 to 12 February 2023 with a line-up of family-friendly activities.
For more information, visit the Textures 2023 website and/or TAH's Facebook and Instagram pages.
