Out & About: Canvas
Countless of nightlife establishments open every year in Singapore. But whether they change our cultural landscape is a whole different matter altogether.
Enter Canvas, a new venue that is an art gallery by day, a chic lounge by evening and then transforms into a nightclub when the night falls. Created by Bed Concepts, It was done in collaboration with the now defunct Home Club which was in the forefront of bringing in genre defying acts and very much the darling of the independent music and creative scene in Singapore.
Canvas seeks to be a place for like-minded and discerning crowd to convene and celebrate both homegrown and international artists that span across fields like digital art, music, installations, street art, photography, fashion and film.
As its name suggests, Canvas acts as a fresh page for artists to work on with their various fields of work. THE FIFTHCOLLECTION has been fortunate enough to be invited to both the preview and official launch of the club and experienced how they stay true to their concept.
With their bare concrete walls and use of space, Canvas may draw away from the concept of raw minimalism but it's easy to see why. Case in point: Stunning visuals, created by their in house visual artists, that perpetuate throughout the walls. For its recent media preview, the venue also collaborated with acclaimed local artists like Alvin Tan of Phunkstudio, photographer Russell Wong and acclaimed filmmaker Mikael Teo.
Musically, Canvas also injects some excitement into our shores with their artist roster. Their resident DJs, who also serve as the tastemakers of the venue, have created a sound that is easy enough to listen to without deterring a more mainstream crowd from coming in. In fact, it further encourages them to engage with the music. Bringing in future sensations Eton Messy was the icing on the cake, cementing the venue's stance in the nightlife landscape in Singapore.
Their August/September calendar is tantalising all the same. It features the upcoming Jessie Andrews and Shiba-San (whose breakout song 'OK' has been permeating our minds). Also sticking to their strong belief in the UK drum and bass and garage scene, the gods of D&B come to our humble shores. Familiar names like dBridge, DJ Marky and Stamina MC lend their presence to the space in September.
With the rise of generic bottle table service venues in Singapore, we're honestly glad that there is another space to go to where you can still get a table without damaging your ears to 'bangin' tunes. The use of the space as a gallery, and the promotion of Canvas as a culturally inclined venue, gets a thumbs up in our books.