In My Neighbourhood

Photo by: N/A

Exciting collaborations between UNESCO Creative Cities in Australia and Singapore were unveiled to the world in 2019 at Singapore Design Week, one of Asia’s premier design festivals.

Singapore Design Week is lauded for showcasing Singapore’s thought leadership in design, connecting design talents and businesses and engaging the community through activities that demonstrate the value of design. Australia’s participation in the event aimed to develop and strengthen links between Singapore and Australia.

Adelaide artist Jennifer Greer Holmes and Sydney artist Jane Walrut took street art, soundscapes and storytelling to the festival to represent the talent and potential of Australia’s UNESCO Creative Cities. Both artists responded to a call for community design projects inspired by music, literature and film, after originally taking part in a workshop and public forum during the 2018 Singapore Design Week. In 2019, their projects were further supported and fully realised to premiere at the 2019 event.

Jennifer Greer Holmes’ Move Along was inspired by similarities between the post-colonial cities of Adelaide and Singapore, exploring universal stories of love and loss, urban renewal and dispossession. Using the cultural district of Bras Basah Bugis (BBB) as a backdrop, Holmes designed a soundtrack for the streetscape.

Jane Beeke’s The Community Thread draws on stories of the pre-war Singaporean artistic community to create an immersive literary walk using local street artists and digital designers. She partnered with Singaporean creatives to design an augmented reality walking tour celebrating the heritage of the BBB district.

This project was assisted by the Australian Government. The project was an initiative of Australia-Singapore Arts Group to build upon the relationship between Australia and Singapore that was formalised with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Arts and Culture in June 2015.

Learn more about our projects

Read more about some of the projects that have been created with UNESCO Creative Cities Network.