Artists Infuse Life And Creativity Into Peace Centre's Final Act
Its shutters come down for good on Jan 27, but Peace Centre has lived out some of its best days in the past few months as a haven for independent creatives and everyday art-goers, thanks to the unconventional community project known as PlayPan. We meet some of the folks who have found a home, hope and inspiration in a doomed mall.
Compared to Golden Mile Complex, which shut down for redevelopment in May last year, Peace Centre – which popped up in the same era (the ’70s) as one of Singapore’s pioneer shopping centres – hasn’t quite gotten the same fanfare with the news of its imminent closure. That is, until pals Gary Hong and Yvonne Siow stepped in.
Peace Centre has undergone a radical transformation into a creative hub just months before its shutters close on January 27. The street art on its glass entrance is by DLPMT, one of the art collectives that has taken residency in the building.
The former is the art-enthusiastic owner of Autobahn Motors and TenSquare, Landmark of Good – a car-vending building across the road on Short Street. The latter leads OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation – the philanthropic arm of European eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica – in the ASEAN region and has over a decade of experience in the CSR and philanthropy sectors. Together, they came up with a grand if daring plan to repurpose 400,000 sq ft of space across the vacated mall’s first four storeys before the wrecking ball comes in: Open it up to social enterprises and creatives – particularly students from the neighbouring art schools – and transform it into a hub for businesses, events and collaborations that drive positive social change with an element of play.
Since August last year – alongside the likes of thrift stores, a barber and community‐building enterprises – many units in Peace Centre have been taken over by the creative class and transformed into artist studios and galleries for the public to visit.
Christened PlayPan, the idea was so well-received by the new owners of the building – property players CEL Development, Sing-Haiyi Crystal, and Ultra Infinity – that the demolition date of the site was postponed from August 2023 to end-January 2024. Now into its final days, Peace Center – previously known for its sleepy printing shops and seedy KTV lounges – has become rejuvenated into one of the buzziest spots in town to see, experience and create art.
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Since August, local artists have been given permission to use the mall’s interior as a canvas, resulting in murals all over its walls, ceilings, staircase landings and even toilets. Meanwhile many of the units have been rented out to independent artists to use as studios and exhibition spaces at highly subsidised rates.
Weave artist Natalia Tan's installation, Ties That Bind, is a massive curtain that cascades down the atrium of Peace Centre from the second floor.
There are no official figures on the number of creatives who have taken up residence or whose works can be found at PlayPan (there are also the likes of thrift stores, ad hoc social service events and the hit, now-defunct Rest.In.Peace Centre Horror Experience, which roped in everyone from student writers to a recycling company that donated furniture to turn the mall into a horror house for Halloween). However Siow estimates that the project has drawn a total of between 80 to 100 participants, all of whom were curated and invited by her and Hong with many recommended by friends and players in the creative industry.
The one requisite for the participants of Play Pan at Peace Centre: Everything they do on site must incorporate an element of play and contribute to the greater good in some way.
They range from the legendary Singapore calligraphy artist Simon Wee – known for his skill in executing thick strokes in a single breath – to emerging names such as the 3D, A.I. and new media studio Sangreal. While details are kept under wraps, the low overheads offer great relief in a city increasingly tagged as the most expensive to live in, allowing them to focus on and hone their practices at least for the short time that the building remains standing.
Since August, local artists have been given permission to use the mall’s interior as a canvas, resulting in murals all over its walls, ceilings, staircase landings and even toilets.
Then there are fledglings who have been given the space and – in many cases – a first chance to bring their ideas to life and let the public experience them. Take Heard In Win Printing Shop, which is run by three Lasalle College of the Arts undergraduates. Coining its name partly in tribute to the former occupant of its ground-floor space, the trio have in fact staged a series of interactive installations that recreate and reinterpret the past of Peace Centre for those who might not have known it during its heyday (makeshift KTV lounge where passersby can belt out a tune or two, anyone?).
Many of the units at Peace Centre have been rented out to independent artists to use as studios and exhibition spaces at highly subsidised rates.
Says PlayPan’s co-founder Yvonne Siow: “In a way, PlayPan serves as an enabler and catalyst for many artists who possess talent but haven’t explored and fostered it due to other circumstances or social biases against artists. In providing them the space to showcase their talents and empowering them to produce exceptional works of art, we awaken their passions and level the playing field.
A scene from an art market held in December at the pop-up art space Cereal Bowl (#01-36).
“And since all this creativity happens in what we call a mall of good, the public can simply walk in and enjoy everything. These works are not housed and ring-fenced in museums and art houses, thus democratising accessibility for all.”
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Or as her more media-shy, but equally bighearted co-founder Gary Hong puts it: “Art should be for the masses and not reserved only for the famous and rich.”
Find her at: #01-14
What she does: Using primarily the Japanese craft of Saori weaving, which is celebrated for its irregularity and “unprogrammed beauty”, this 32-year-old transforms salvaged textiles and unwanted fabrics into colourful, large-scale installations that have earned her commissions from the likes of Diptyque. During her stint at Peace Centre, where she’s takenover a space that was formerly the office of a licensed moneylender, she’s handcrafted a thousand knots for peace – a series of braids measuring a total of one kilometre – that now drapes across the ceiling of the luxury fragrance maker’s Ion Orchard boutique. She also describes herself as a “community artist” as she often invites others to join her in the weaving process, giving others the chance to play artist too. Clock ties that bind, a massive curtain that cascades down the atrium of Peace Centre from the second floor – a work she co-created with the attendees of the community event Groundup Day 2023 held on site last August using discarded fabrics from eco-fashion operations Cloop, The Fashion Pulpit and Re-Store.
Find it at: #02-15
What it does: DPLMT (pronounced “diplomat”) is a nine-person street art crew exploring illustration, murals, digital art, tufting and even toy-making, and Chop Shop – their outpost at Peace Centre that formerly housed a bridal salon – is where visitors can snag their merch. Think vibrantly coloured graphic tees, yarn sculptures and tufted rugs. Founding members Katherine Kirana (left), Raihana Abdul Rahman (middle) and Mohamed Iqbal Mohamed Noordin (right) also lead spray-painting workshops – the hyper-cool glow-in-the-dark restroom and UV spray-painted escape room that have popped up on level one and three of Peace Centre respectively are all by them.
Find her at: She doesn’t have a unit, but you can find her work all over the mall
What she does: Currently a mechanical engineering student, this 21-year-old delved into art in 2016 and now moonlights as a multimedia artist. Her forte? Works featuring creepy yet fantastical characters and creatures. More recently, she ventured into spray-painting and is behind – as of press time – six murals in various corners of Peace Centre, including this one of a monster rat found on level three.
Find it at: #01-10
What it does: This art residency was started by three undergraduates from Lasalle College of the Arts – Reihan Tan (left), Fong Wei Han (right), and Hendra Selamat (not pictured) – who aim “to take stock and capture one frame” of Peace Centre’s history. The trio kicked off their project by recreating a printing shop – what used to operate out of its space – adorned with printers, found objects, and artifacts, and have been encouraging visitors to photocopy the posters and zines they created as part of an interactive experience. In the second half of January leading up to the mall’s demolition, the unit will be transformed into a KTV lounge, complete with mics and speakers for anyone daring enough to belt out a tune or two.
Find her at: #03-26
What she does: This self-taught, Malaysian-born abstract painter and part-time accountant began her art career in 2020 right smack during the pandemic. Her style might be best described as soothing and minimalist – she favours a monochromatic or analogous colour palette and tends to incorporate elements of movement and somatic healing. Her 1,500 sq ft unit at Peace Centre – once the storeroom of a music store – provides her with the space and opportunity to explore larger scale paintings and installations such as the one on the floor pictured here in portrait. It’s just one in a series of large canvas paintings she’s titled A Walk with the Sun and her goal is to have the entire set ready before the Peace Centre calls it a day at the end of January.
Find it at: #01-36
What it does: This is the brainchild of the creative technology studio SERIAL CO_, which was founded by Singaporeans Jake Tan and Ernest Wu (far left and second from right in the background respectively, accompanied by – clockwise from far right – intern Siti Syahinda, graphic designer Sunny Vo and intern Andromeda Pontianus) and lauded for the seamless way it blends art and technology in its projects. Situated within a former printing shop at Peace Centre, the pop-up concept is meant to serve as a community hub supporting local artists and small businesses, and fostering discussions on art, technology and networking. This means a diverse range of guests and programmes that have spanned live drawing sessions to a local artist market. Up next: a performance by local multimedia artist Yen Phang – known for his exploration of the connections between living entities in urban environments – on Jan 14.
Find it at: #03-17 & #03-27
What it does: The goal in this studio, which formerly housed a music school, is to offer young artists not only space to exhibit their works, but also gain firsthand experience in managing an art gallery. The intrepid minds behind it are equally young: recent School of the Arts Singapore, or SOTA, graduates Robyjnn Lui (far right, standing) and Natasha Ng (far left, standing), who roped in more of their pals so much so that the entire Blueprint collective spans as of press time 16 names. All are aged between 17 and 19, and SOTA alumni save for two who are in year five of the arts school. (They include – seated, from left – Di Zhu and Allison Chan, and – standing, from second left – Stella Lau, Michelle Wang and Ariel Rantung. The other Blueprint members were unable to make the shoot.) The group’s inaugural show was curated by Lui and Ng, and cheekily named Ponteng – malay for “skip” and used colloquially to refer to playing truant. Opened in December 2023 and running till the lights at Peace Centre go out on Jan 27, it features the eclectic works of the Blueprint members and range from mixed media paintings to a mahjong table installation to sculpture of a rib cage made from mesh. Fun stuff indeed and – get this – 10 per cent of profits from the sale of the works will go to two charities: Infant Jesus Homes and Children’s Centres, and Beyond Social Services.
Find her at: #02-26
What she does: This former interior designer from Russia who’s called Singapore home for the past eight years made the transition to a full-time professional artist in November 2022. Her specialty: tranquil watercolour paintings of scenic locations created mostly en plein air (read: on location). Her Peace Centre residency – taking over a space that was formerly a massage parlour – marks her first studio outside of home, offering the public a glimpse of what’s usually a private, closed-door affair. Thanks to PlayPan, she’s also embarked on her first mural.