Day Of The Dead
To mark Mexico’s annual festival of the dead, the Embassy of Mexico is organising this exhibition in the National Museum of Singapore’s salon.
The exhibition, which centres a pyramid of 4m by 4m by 4m, is inspired by the Aztec empire and marks both the 700th anniversary of the foundation of the Aztec capital Mexico-Tenochtitlan and the 500th anniversary of its fall in 1521.
The Day of the Dead is usually celebrated on Nov 1 and 2 each year to remember and honour deceased family, friends and ancestors.
Before Spanish colonisation in the 16th century, the Aztecs celebrated a similar ritual for the dead at the end of the harvest, offering beans, chickpea, corn and pumpkin to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The subsequent combination of the Mesoamerican and European traditions resulted in today’s syncretic festival.
Where: National Museum of Singapore, Level 1 The Salon, 93 Stamford Road
MRT: Dhoby Ghaut, Bras Basah
When: Till Nov 2, 10am to 7pm daily (last admission at 6.30pm)
Admission: Free
Info: Visit the National Museum of Singapore website
Wong Chiyan and Zlata Chochieva
As the gradual relaxing of pandemic restrictions allows overseas performers to travel here for concerts, presenter Altenburg Arts caps off this year with a duo of acclaimed pianists: Hong Kong-born, Berlin-based Wong Chiyan and Moscow-born Zlata Chochieva.
Wong will be performing his own combination of J.S. Bach’s celebrated Goldberg Variations with Ferruccio Busoni’s edition of the same work, while Chochieva’s two overlapping programmes will move through the works of pianist-composers Franz Liszt, Sergei Rachmaninov and Ignaz Friedman.
Where: Esplanade Concert Hall, 1 Esplanade Drive (Wong); Victoria Concert Hall, 11 Empress Place (Chochieva)
MRT: City Hall
When: Oct 31, 7.30pm (Wong); Nov 5, 9pm and Nov 6, 7pm (Chochieva)
Admission: $25 to $98 (Wong); $38 to $98 (Chochieva) via Sistic (call 6348-5555 or go to the Sistic website)
Info: Visit the Altenburg Arts website
With Time
Drama Box’s Chng Yi Kai makes his playwriting and directorial debut with this verbatim theatre piece for youth on mental health and what it means to overcome suicidal thoughts and attempts.
With Time, which stars Jodi Chan, Ching Shu Yi, Mitchell Fang and Suhaili Safari, is based on real stories of people who tried to commit suicide between the ages of 10 and 29.
Chng, 29, says that while discourse on mental health has gained more attention recently, there remains much to be discussed about the day-to-day experience of coping with a difficult mental health condition.
“When we talk to someone going through a difficult time, we often like to say, ‘No worries, it gets better with time’, but what does that really mean? What happens with time?”
The play is presented as part of Esplanade’s Feed Your Imagination Series in consultation with the Samaritans of Singapore.
Where: Esplanade Theatre Studio, 1 Esplanade Drive
MRT: City Hall
When: Oct 27 to Oct 29, 4 and 8pm
Admission: $23 from the Esplanade website
Info: For ages 17 and above
