Swing Singapore, Tower Records, Far East Kids, Breakdancing, Tea dances, Fire Disco, Youth Park. Planned as Singapore’s shopping belt in the 1970s to boost retail and tourism, the glittery shopping complexes that emerged from the area became a magnet of activities for a new generation of youths growing up in Singapore. Born and raised increasingly in public housing apartments, Orchard Road’s air-conditioned and  escalator-linked malls with the latest consumer and lifestyle trends offered an exciting modern and urban setting. Orchard Road became a converging site for this generation to explore new trends in popular culture and socialize with fellow Singaporeans outside their traditional ethnic and geographical confines. The area is therefore not just a stretch of retail outlets. For Singaporeans growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, Orchard Road became integral to the country’s rhythmic and urban heritage where collective memories are formed. As part of the Singapore Heritage Festival 2024, several Singaporeans from academic and creative backgrounds will take you down the memory lane of Orchard Road’s rhythmic memories.

[Tour] Explore Far East Plaza with Shaiful Risan and Li Lin Wee
Meeting Point: Far East Plaza Atrium
Time: 1pm – 2.30pm
Fee: Free with Registration
Registration link: https://shf24fareastplazatour.peatix.com

Independent arts curator and music festival organizer Shaiful Risan, and filmmaker Li Lin Wee, the director of Gone Shopping (2007) and CP Kidz (2015), will bring the public for the tour within Far East Plaza to retrace the days of the premise as a popular youth hangout as well as to visit the retail outlets that are still operating in the mall since the 1980s.