More performing arts groups move to Tanjong Pagar Distripark, expanding arts cluster
SINGAPORE – Warehouse space Tanjong Pagar Distripark (TPD), where the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) is located, is becoming a hub not just for art, but also theatre and dance presentations.
Shedding its previous identity as a logistics hub servicing Keppel Terminal, the two industrial buildings overlooking the Singapore Strait have in three years more than doubled the space's number of arts tenants, from seven in 2022 to 16 now .
The latest openings are in Block 37, next to Block 39, where SAM anchors a cluster of independent galleries and auction houses. Landlord Mapletree has been sprucing up Level 4 of this more outdated sister block.
Dance collective Sigma Contemporary Dance, relocating from nearby Raeburn Park, will open its new home in Block 37 in October. It will be the second performing arts company to open at TPD in recent months, with Tamil theatre company Agam Theatre Lab in April raising $450,000 for the community's first 110-seat black box theatre.
Sigma Contemporary Dance artistic director Guofeng Hong was appraising his new 1,680 sq ft unit on June 17 – still to be fitted with sprung floor, mirrors and light trusses – and told The Straits Times: 'Space is so precious in Singapore.'
Pointing out the 6m-high ceiling, he added: 'There are not a lot of spaces with such heigh t, with so much room without pillars for our floor work.'
Hong envisions the unit as a combined rehearsal studio, black box performance space, dance school and lab for interdisciplinary experimentation. The 14-year-old group has more than 200 active students, who are bound to revivify the block.
Dance collective Sigma Contemporary Dance, relocating from nearby Raeburn Park, will open its new home in Block 37 in October.
PHOTO: SIGMA CONTEMPORARY DANCE
The company also regularly holds jam sessions with other movement enthusiasts, painters and musicians – a process of 'cross-pollination' that it incorporates into its work.
The first question Hong put to Mapletree was of the uncertain longer-term fate of TPD , which, with Keppel Terminal shifting to Tuas, now sits on prime land. Areas around it have already been zoned for housing for the Greater Southern Waterfront development.
'Mapletree has shown itself committed to the arts. Leasing to us is not the best use of space if it cared only about profits, so we felt supported that it is also on this journey together with us ,' Hong says. 'We, of course, hope there will be an extension. This could be an artist village, and we want to help build that community.'
Though TPD could be rezoned for other uses by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) in two to three years' time, Mapletree says of the property's newfound purpose in an e-mail: 'TPD has been transformed into an arts destination for the community. Mapletree will continue to explore ways to enhance its spaces and offerings, and elevate its position as a vibrant hub for arts and culture.'
Fine arts conservation studio BARC Labs was the first arts tenant in Block 37. Founder Diana Tay took up the 1,300 sq ft office-style unit in August 2024 at the recommendation of TPD stalwart Gajah Gallery.
She says the rise in arts tenants has already meant better amenities in the block. 'We work till dark, so it can be quite scary when it's just us. Mapletree has already improved the toilets and put in wayfinders like maps, which are very helpful for visitors.'
BARC Labs members (from left) Siew Jia Qi, Keziah Lim and Diana Tay at their Tanjong Pagar Distripark space.
PHOTO: BARC LABS
Many of her clients are within walking distance in Block 39, but close friend Christiaan Haridas, founder of art gallery Haridas Contemporary, will soon be closer.
The gallery, representing artists like Melissa Tan, has announced an imminent move from Lavender Street to Block 37 on its socials. Its opening date is set for Aug 2.
TPD's rebirth as an interdisciplinary arts hub is closely watched, with official arts housing spaces either occupied by long-term tenants or, like several blocks in Waterloo Street, being redeveloped by the National Arts Council.
Similar congregations can be found at 195 Pearl's Hill Terrace – recently granted a longer stay by the SLA till March 2028 – and Gillman Barracks, being studied as a site for future housing.
There is more good news for visitors to TPD : SAM has opened new cafe SIP At SAM on its premises. The lone food and beverage option at TPD sells coffee, sandwiches and pastries, taking over what used to be Epigram Bookstore.
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