Another beloved site is closing its doors in Singapore—a familiar story in a city that prizes forward motion. From the lively Punggol East Container Park to the iconic labyrinth of shops at Tan Boon Liat, the map of local heritage is constantly being redrawn. But a new programme from arts collective OH! Open House argues that demolition doesn’t have to mean erasure. Departures sends artists into spaces facing closure or redevelopment to capture what lingers after the furniture is cleared: the stories, skills, and human relationships that gave a place its meaning.
Capturing the Intangible Before It’s Lost
Departures sidesteps the typical preservation playbook. Instead of fighting to save a facade, it excavates the intangibles that make a site irreplaceable. Through art, archival material, shared meals, and conversations with the people who kept these places running, the programme asks a poignant question: when a landscape transforms, what is actually worth carrying forward? It’s a quiet, human-centred intervention in a national narrative of constant evolution.
From Open Sea to the Last Sawmill
The first two editions tackle contrasting worlds, but both spotlight vanishing trades.
Anchoring the programme offshore is Kelong E63 (October 23–25), one of Singapore’s last working kelongs. In the 1940s, over 250 such platforms dotted the waters. This particular structure was managed by the late “Uncle Timothy” Ng and his wife Maureen for more than 20 years until operations ceased in 2025. Here, artist-curator Daniel Chong will transform salvaged fishing nets and floorboards into installations. Guests will also dine with Kenny Lek of Pasarfish, who will explore Singapore’s shifting relationship with seafood, from wild kelong catch to modern aquaculture.
On November 7, the project moves ashore to Sin Siong Lim Sawmill, the nation’s last operating sawmill. Its lineage traces back to 1912, evolving alongside Singapore’s timber industry as it shifted from imported logs to locally sourced trees removed from urban estates. Artists Robert Zhao Renhui and Lewis Choo will interpret the century-old machinery, reclaimed wood, and the Lim family’s generational knowledge through photography, sculpture, and ceramics.
What’s Next for Departures
The programme is already looking ahead. A third edition is confirmed for 2027, focusing on a vinyl record business in Golden Mile Tower—a complex that perfectly embodies Singapore’s transient, adaptive spirit. This long-term vision suggests Departures is more than a one-off event series: it’s a prototype for how the city documents its own history in real-time.
How to Participate
Attendance is intentionally limited to preserve intimacy.
- Departures: Kelong E63 | Oct 23–25, sessions at Golden Mile Tower | $108
- Departures: Sin Siong Lim Sawmill | Nov 7, three sessions (9am, 1pm, 4pm) | $68
Tickets are available via the OH! Open House page on GlobalTix.
As Singapore continues to grow upward and outward, Departures offers a meaningful alternative to mourning what’s lost. It treats heritage not as a building to be frozen in time, but as a story to be passed on—proving that even when a place disappears, the soul of a community is worth carrying forward.