The Arts House at the Old Parliament of Singapore will once again become a hub for literature, art and performance from 9 to 31 January, as the annual literary festival returns with multi-sensory experiences that blur the lines between text, sound, movement and visual art.

This year’s edition features more than 15 programs, including two original commissions and partners with over 18 organizations to present events across fully accessible venues. The festival champions independent producers, emerging writers and community groups, ensuring audiences of all ages and backgrounds can participate.

Celebrating community and collective creativity

The festival highlights the collective strength of individuals, communities and artists. Visitors can explore interactive installations, immersive performances and hands-on activities designed to spark dialogue and strengthen connections.

Two standout commissions set the tone for the festival. Larut’s Tears, by Gerimis Art Project and Youngsook Choi, turns the Arts House façade into a storytelling canvas, reflecting on ecological grief through the perspective of an elephant and contrasting ancestral harmony with modern exploitation of nature. Start Here: From Every Vantage Point, by Fei Yue Community Services, amplifies the voices of NEET youth, transforming their unseen struggles into vibrant, animated patterns.

Innovative performances and installations

The festival continues to challenge traditional literary experiences with bold, participatory works. Brumblings, created by Aida Sa’ad and poet Wahidah Tambee, transforms the lawn into a tactile playground of oversized alphabet blocks, inviting audiences to explore language in playful, unexpected ways.

Pass the Mic, a series by Books&, pairs emerging writers with musicians for intimate conversations that blend text and sound. A digital strand extends this concept online, offering audiences fresh ways to experience literature through video and music.

Ticketed events include the fifth edition of the theater series Cherita Hantu: Quwwa, presenting haunting multi-sensory stories inspired by Southeast Asian folklore, and Neural Echoes: Enter the Sleep Lab, an interactive tech-driven performance adapted from Victor Fernando R. Ocampo’s Book of Red Shadows, where participants solve puzzles in an immersive narrative.

Cross-disciplinary exhibitions

Read on the Go, in collaboration with the National Library Board, presents 16 hidden stories across languages, celebrating the transformative power of literature. A View of Things to Come, developed with CANVAS, combines visual art and poetry from ex-offender artists and senior poets to explore change and possibility. Turning Points 3, by ART:DIS, highlights neurodiverse artists’ journeys of resilience and creativity.