5 things to do this week: Dec 6 to 12, 2021

If you find yourself with more time on your hands during this year-end season , there’s good news. From art exhibitions to dance concerts, improve dramas and more, here are five things to fill your calendar with this week.

Absent But Present by Art Seasons Gallery

The exhibition Absent But Present comes at the right time. Just when things were looking up, the surfacing of a new variant has prompted us to, again, look back and see how our lives have changed.

Established artists Luo Qing and Yeo Tze Yang’s works featured in this exhibition help us navigate this self-dialogue. Each piece breaks down how socialisation and human connection has evolved – physically, mentally and psychologically.

Covid-19 may not be loosening its hold over our lives anytime soon, but art may help us makes sense of this reality better.

Absent But Present runs till Dec 30, 2021 at #03-02, Cideco Industrial Complex, 50 Genting Lane, Singapore 349558. Opens Tues-Fri 11am-7pm; Sat 11.30am-5.30pm.

Bask in the beauty of dance

This year’s Singapore Ballet Festival is dedicated to world-renowned international Singaporean choreographer Choo-San Goh , the ballet dancer and choreographer with a decade-long association with the prestigious Washington Ballet.

Audience attending his recitals leave with the satisfaction of having witnessed brilliant storytelling through contemporary classics.

Experience six of his exquisite works – Variations Sérieuses, Double Contrasts, Configurations pas de deux, Fives, Momentum and Schubert Symphony – this year.

Singapore Ballet Festival runs Dec 10 – 12, 2021 at Esplanade Theatre, 1 Esplanade Drive, Singapore 038981, p. +65 6828 8377. Tickets start from $40++, available here.

Nam June Paik: The Future is Now

National Gallery Singapore takes you on a journey through over five decades of Seoul-born artist Nam June Paik ‘s best works.

The immersive and multi-sensory international show is a successful travelling exhibition that makes its final stop in Singapore (and only stop in Asia throughout the tour). Each electrifying piece featured, invites visitors to reflect upon their own relationship with technology.

Nam June Paik: The Future is Now runs Dec 10 2021 – March 27, 2022 at National Gallery Singapore, #01 – 01, 1 St Andrew’s Road,  Singapore 178957, p. +65 6271 7000. Tickets are priced from $15 for Singaporeans/PRs, available here.

Big Brown Girl: A laugh-inducing improv for the holidays

Do you ever get frustrated when your gal pal just went back to that guy whom you deem just isn’t right for her? What if we told you, you could actually stop her this time? Flipside 2021 presents How Drama’s Big Brown Girl.

Available in both live and digital formats, the narrative of the hillarious improv piece is entirely in the hands of audience who decide who Ruby — the titular big brown girl — dates and the fate of each relationship, or whether Ruby actually finds that special someone in the end.

Big Brown Girl is runs Fri-Sun between Dec 10 – 19, 2021 at Esplanade Theatre Studio, 1 Esplanade Drive, Singapore 038981, p. +65 6828 8377. Tickets are priced at $10 for the online show and $30 for the in-venue show, available here.

Footprint – A solution for the people by the people

A photography exhibition that essays efforts part of the fight against climate change, this showcase of innovative ecological solutions is curated by Argos, a collective of journalists. 

 An eye-opening opportunity to learn from different communities and individuals around the world to reduce environmental footprint, thus allowing for more sustainable living on planet Earth.

Footprint runs till Dec 10, 2021 at Colonnade, Gardens By The Bay located at 18 Marina Gardens Drive, Singapore 018953, p. +65 6420 6848. Open daily 5am-2am. Admission is free.

This article was first published in City Nomads.