From Punggol mini-mart to HDB void deck: Five arts groups taking their work into unusual spaces
, The Straits Times
SINGAPORE – 2026 could be the banner year for what can be loosely termed “social arts” or “community arts”, with several groups making major moves. These replace the traditional painting or theatre production with more long-term projects in residential areas or with underprivileged communities.
This changing practice more explicitly tackles community issues like youth mental health and disability.
Singapore artist Woong Soak Teng says: “Art practice can sometimes be very isolated and irrelevant to the average person. With community projects, we can be that active person to break down barriers, introducing art as a disruptor of routine and a way of thinking about life.”
Here are five groups to check out in your neighbourhood.
1. OH! Open House
2. Drama Box
3. Tak Takut Kids Club
4. ART:DIS
ART:DIS, which began as Very Special Arts Singapore in 1993 before its 2021 rebrand, is a non-profit organisation that has worked to increase access to the arts for people with disabilities.
It has three centres – in Bedok, Changi and Bukit Merah – where it holds community programmes. Over three decades, it has also cultivated a pipeline of excellent artists who are now recognised by the mainstream, with aspirations to tackle topics that go beyond their disability.
It is a standard port of call for most high-profile arts platforms, from Singapore Art Week to the Singapore International Festival of Arts. Singer-songwriter Sky Shen, who trained with ART:DIS in its theatre programme and whose first EP ART:DIS helped launch, was a key act at the National Day Parade 2026.
Come end-September, ART:DIS is also organising a solo exhibition for UOL x ART:DIS Art Prize winner Christian Tan Wen Siang, which executive director Angela Tan promises is “going to be the most avant-garde exhibition ever done in Singapore for disabled artists”.
The organisation is working with the National Arts Council on Singapore’s first national grant for artists with disabilities, including mentorship support and residency space.
5. Gateway Arts