Local legends flow between land and water as Tales of Earth and Sea transforms the National Museum of Singapore with spectacular projection mapping during Singapore Night Festival 2026.
The façade of the National Museum of Singapore becomes an enormous illuminated canvas for Tales of Earth and Sea, the flagship projection-mapping artwork of Singapore Night Festival 2026.
Running nightly from 21 August to 5 September 2026, the free outdoor presentation reinterprets local folklore through an evolving conversation between the earth and sea. Its collection of legends explores how myth, history and shared cultural values continue to travel across generations.
The artwork was created by Indonesian multimedia collective The Fox, The Folks, with an original soundtrack produced by Singapore creative music collective Artusik in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia.
Image credit: Singapore Night Festival
Highlights of Tales of Earth and Sea
Projection Mapping on a National Landmark: Watch the National Museum’s stately façade come alive with animated imagery, changing landscapes and characters drawn from regional folklore.
Legends Between Land and Water: The artwork treats folklore as something still alive rather than a collection of fixed stories from the past. Its legends are carried by waves, grounded in the earth and renewed by the communities that preserve them.
A Cross-Border Collaboration: The Fox, The Folks brings its internationally recognised animation and motion-graphics practice to Singapore, while Artusik and UiTM Malaysia provide the presentation with an original musical identity.
A Multicultural Soundscape: Artusik draws from Singapore’s multicultural musical traditions, incorporating Asian instruments and contemporary performance practices to complement the movement of the projected visuals.
Free Night-Time Entertainment: No admission ticket or advance registration is required, making this an accessible evening activity for families, couples, photographers and visitors exploring the Bras Basah–Bugis precinct.
Our Take
Tales of Earth and Sea is precisely the kind of large-scale public artwork that gives Singapore Night Festival its distinctive identity. Instead of placing an installation inside a conventional gallery, the work turns one of Singapore’s most recognisable cultural landmarks into part of the storytelling.
The combination of Southeast Asian folklore, contemporary animation and music created across Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia also gives the presentation more substance than a purely decorative light show. Its central idea—that legends remain alive whenever people continue to embody their values—offers visitors something to contemplate after the final projection fades.
As the programme is free and presented repeatedly throughout the evening, it is an easy centrepiece around which to build a wider Singapore Night Festival itinerary. Visitors can watch the museum façade illuminate after sunset before exploring nearby installations and performances across the festival precinct.
Service Information
- Event: Tales of Earth and Sea
- Dates: 21 August to 5 September 2026
- Friday and Saturday: 7.30pm to midnight
- Sunday to Thursday: 7.30pm to 11pm
- Venue: National Museum of Singapore façade
- Address: 93 Stamford Road, Singapore 178897
- Admission: Free; no registration required
- Artists: The Fox, The Folks and Artusik
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