Singapore Street Art
Singapore is a very colourful city and so is its street art. On a sunny day (and 33 ºC), I went on a quest for the most beautiful murals. Those of you who have been to Singapore know that the city is very clean and orderly. Therefore, the density of murals is not as high as, for example, in Hong Kong. Furthermore, as some of them were very well integrated in the buildings or even had 3 dimensional items connected to them, I got the impression that they were commissioned by the owners of the buildings. My map below contains all the murals I found to make your treasure hunt for Singapore Street Art easier. I came up with the names of the murals to remember them, so they are not the official names of the artists.
Little India
Tekka Centre
On the entrance of the Tekka Centre facing Buffalo Road, there are six murals by Haha made in 2015. I think it is a great way of introducing visitors to colourful Little India.
In a small street leading to a residential area, this mural gives you a glimpse into Indian daily life.
In a side street of the main Serangoon Road, another colourful mural is waiting for us.
In the courtyard of Kampong Glam Rowell Court, there are three murals. You can enter from Rowell Road.
Just outside of Kampong Glam Rowell Court, a bit further down the road, there is the mural “Working Class Hero”. I cannot help it but it reminds me of Indian movie star Rajinikanth (or maybe this is just because I was traumatized by his film Kabali 😉 ).
On its left, there is this beautiful umbrella park.
Kampong Glam Heritage District (Area around Arab Street and Haji Lane)
Even if you drink your coffee alone, the facade of Artistry Café will give you company. 🙂 (The café is a gallery at the same time. I love the vibe and the coffee is delicious.)
Look, who is lying in the grass here!
This building is a great reminder: always excite, impress and inspire!
At the corner of Beach Road, a girl on a swing is watched by a rooster and a chicken.
Chicken, in the middle of Singapore? This cannot happen, you think? Well, it does. This is a picture of my street and every morning, roosters and chicken great me 🙂
The mural of ARC Coffee immediately draws your attention to the café.
This colourful lady is the first clue of what you can expect from the backyard of Sultan Arts Village.
In the backyard, I found my personal hidden gem: non-permanent walls and multiple murals. I think they might change quickly and, therefore, I tried to capture as many as possible in case they disappear soon.
Arab Street and Haji Lane are well-known for their colourful murals. I actually do not know how many of them were commissioned (I guess definitely those on the walls of bars). The question that should be asked here, is: “Is this still street art if it was commissioned?” I do not have a definite answer to that but I think that many of them are really cool no matter if they are “genuine street art” or commissioned.
As I mentioned in one of my previous articles, the beauty about street art is that it is constantly changing and new murals appear. At the same time, this also means that, unfortunately, some of these murals disappear. The list below is not exhaustive and I will try to constantly update it.
I love street art and also seeing them in Singapore these days is even more a delight! Thiygh most street art is commissioned work, the art and artists who make these murals make Singapore look a bit less cookie cutter. Have you seen the ones around Neil Road by Outram Park? Check that area out too, I was some nice ones there last year.
Thanks so much for your advice, I will check out the area around Neil Road. I do agree that it seems that most of it is commissioned. I will update the post when I find new murals ?
I love street art as well. I love looking for them during my travels. Too bad i only had a short time in Singapore so wasnt able to see these in person. Will use this guide for when i come back!
It really shows a different perspective of a city. If you have more time next time, check it out!
Wow, these are incredible! I love some great street art and I had no idea that Singapore had some stellar works. I guess Singapore has been added to my bucket list now 🙂 haha
That’s great! I was surprised about the variety too. And new murals keep coming up constantly.
How cool! The Umbrella Park looks like a dream. I love exploring public art when we travel. Putting all of the spots you featured on a Google Map was a great idea!
The Umbrella Park is a really cute place indeed. I put the map together because when I started to look for street art myself, it used to be very difficult without a map. I hope I made it easier for others 🙂
These are amazing! I’ve only recently developed a love for street art – thanks to Melbourne City in Australia. In South Africa where I’m from, there’s a lot of graffiti so I think street art had a bit of a bad connotation for me since now. Grateful to have something new on my list to look for when traveling – dying to go to Singapore already and that umbrella park is also showing me we should go!
Yeah I think the view and connotations have changed a lot. I still disagree if people just randomly tag buildings or even destroy historic buildings with it. But if it is curated well and respects the places, I think it is beautiful.
I love street art! We have been to Singapore many times and to be honest I have not seen this wonderful street art!! Thanks for sharing. The shopping cart one was cool!
It takes some time to discover all the murals, because most of them are in less well-known places. But it’s definitely worth the quest!
OMG I’m obsessed! I love street art murals, I could walk around cities for hours looking for them. I’ve only ever been to Singapore for a layover, but if I ever get the chance I’m so excited to go out and look for some of these. Love that you included the map as well, super great idea.
Next time you should try to explore, it is a great city! I’m happy you like the map, I hope it is useful 🙂
I took my dad to Singapore in January (our first trip together!) and we loved it! Have to say, we didn’t see most of these amazing street mural though! Will have to go back…
It is amazing and so nice that you could take your dad. Next time, you need to look for the murals 😉
This is so pretty to look at! Great idea to capture something specific about a city!
I think there are so many generic posts about Singapore out there already, so I thought this gives a totally different view 🙂
LOVE street art. In a place as multicultural as Singapore, it’s great that the street art captures and expresses those different facets of the population.
I think so too, it’s a totally different perspective of a city!
Its so good to see a piece of India in Singapore. And Rajnikanth too!!! ( He is the hero of the movie Kabali – though you mentioned Kibali! 🙂 ). He is almost demigod in some parts of the country!
I am absolutely thrilled.
Ohhh, just realized my mistake! I already changed it, thanks for letting me know! So happy to have somebody here who knows about this movie and the mural does look like him, right?
I never knew Singapore was a place known for its street art.. these are all so beautiful! I love seeing street art as it adds so much character!
It really does at a lot of character. I’m not sure if Singapore is known for its street art but I think it’s definitely not as famous for it as Hong Kong, for example. But it was very nice to discover the works.
I’ve been on whirlwind trips to Singapore like 3 times and so far haven’t been to Little India. The street art you showed are beautiful. Now they’re on my checklist the next time I’m in Singapore!
You should explore Little India next time, there is lots of good food and it has an interesting vibe.
Those street art are amazing! Too bad I haven’t had the opportunity of seeing them when I was in Singapore. Would keep a watchful eye the next time I visit.
There are a couple of areas where you can find street art in Singapore. Even in Downtown there are some murals, I haven’t put them on the map yet, but will keep exploring.
There is nothing I love more than exploring a new city and finding all the street art! It livens up a city for sure.
I totally agree. I started to look for street art specifically about 2 years ago and it overs a completely different perspective of a city.