3 Best Performing Arts Venues in Civic District, Singapore

The respected Singapore Film Society, founded in 1958, holds regular screenings of art-house and foreign films. You have to be a member to participate, but membership starts at a reasonable S$15 per month, barely the price of two movie tickets. Everything in Singapore goes through the censors, but they usually let Film Society films go uncut as a gesture to the nation's small but serious film-buff community. (Generally, sexual themes, especially homosexuality, and certain political topics are the first to be cut.)

The nearly 100 members of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore's flagship orchestra, regularly deliver a mix of Western classical music and new Asian compositions. Performances are usually held at the Esplanade Concert Hall or Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall.

After 30 years at the forefront of Singapore's independent art community, this independent establishment closed its former space on Armenian Street, which had its own theater, art gallery, and dance studio, in 2021. The collective still aims to nurture the city's up-and-coming artists by continuing without a physical space. Check their website to keep abreast of scheduled events, which include short film festivals, art exhibits, experimental theater, and poetry readings.