2 Cavan Road shall not go gently into the night

A tourist once told me, “nobody visits Singapore for its old buildings”. Fair enough, that’s what our neighbors are known for; the Old Quarter of Hanoi, the heritage trail of George Town, Penang, the magnificent temples of Bangkok, and many others. Singapore, on the other hand, earned its global recognition in the tourism industry with the grand premise of a “futuristic city”, a highly curated specimen of effective city planning with its impressive assortment of contemporary architecture. Yet what is a city without its history? Without the powerful, at times tragic yet triumphant stories of how its people came to be? Without indelible marks and scratches on the walls that indicate “someone once lived here”?

We have watched as the list of en bloc developments have grown at an unprecedented rate. We have watched as significant landmarks like Pearl Bank Apartments and Rochor Centre have ended in demolition. Even post-independent icons like Golden Mile Complex and People’s Park Complex are in danger of massive redevelopment. Yet something truly interesting has emerged from this streak of destruction. Singapore’s wide network of artists, academics and creatives have taken it upon themselves to occupy the gaps in between the preservation of history and brash modernization. The transitions between the old and the new are celebrated in a way that pays respect to history, preserving the buildings’ memories through collective art and community bonding. Often referred to as “Demolition Art”, creative events and art exhibitions proliferate in old, abandoned spaces moments before their impending transformation. In 2013, WeJungle hosted pre-demolition parties and created a platform to exhibit young up-and-coming artists in now-defunct Telok Ayer Performing Arts Centre. In 2015, WeJungle once again turned The Mill, a former rice mill, into a makeshift creative space over the course of 3 weeks. In 2016, while awaiting its reconstruction into a Circle Line extension, Tanjong Pagar Railway Station hosted several open houses, exhibiting works of such prominent artists as Annie Leibovitz, as well as local creative businesses.

Onwards to 2019, Kheng Leong has purchased a property at the historic district of Jalan Besar, specifically No. 2 Cavan Road, with plans of commercial redevelopment. Once a key industrial unit in the ship repairs industry, 2 Cavan Road was set up in 1937 as the first ever foundry of Kwong Soon Engineering, barely escaping the wreckage of the Japanese Occupation that came after. Soon enough, we may witness the transformation of this imposing pre-war foundry into your new favourite industrial-chic hotel, contemporary art space, café or the likes. Meanwhile, occupying the spaces in between, Singapore Arts Club has taken up the challenge of conserving this building’s memories in its state of transition through a series of arts-related events, exhibits and workshops. Preserving its raw and unvarnished state, 2 Cavan Road will be the staggering site of iconic and site-specific art interventions, sculptures and installations by Dawn Ng, Santi Wangchuan, Merryn Trevethan and many others. No longer an abandoned and derelict edifice, 2020 will be the year that breathes new life into 2 Cavan Road, shining a spotlight on its lofty structure, rich history and ongoing transformation.

The bustling backdrop of Jalan Besar also plays a significant role in this new initiative. Following the trend of culturally sensitive gentrification, as exemplified by Tiong Bahru and Joo Chiat, Jalan Besar is steadfast on its way to become one of the main destinations for Singapore’s young and trendy crowd. This is readily reinforced by cult-favorite café Chye Seng Huat Hardware and patisserie Antoinette, followed by an assortment of restaurants, coffee roasters, artisanal bakeries, and craft beers. Yet while we embrace its bright future, it is important to pay tribute to its overlooked past. As a reclaimed swamp once dominated by vegetable farmers, rickshaw coolies and more recently, shipbuilders, mechanics and carpenters, Jalan Besar once held the key to Singapore’s rapid urbanization. In an effort to highlight this rich history while also reaching out to the wider Jalan Besar community, Singapore Arts Club is collaborating with neighboring restaurant, Red Eye Smokehouse to exhibit photographer Loke Hong Seng’s sensitive portraits of the old Singapore in its critical years. This is merely a beginning, as we reach the grand opening on the 10th of January, 2020, we shall see even more programs and collaborations to come.

Singapore’s ongoing modernization is a constant trigger for creative discourse, questioning what should be preserved and what should be forgotten. Our local art community must now straddle an appreciation for the past and an unfettered vision for the future. There is no merit in romanticising the past while inhibiting progress. Yet we must carefully navigate through our history to find meaning and purpose behind the endless streak of destruction and redevelopment. A city without stories is simply a generic and hollow shell. This is our attempt to uncover forgotten stories, while creating new ones of our own. Soon enough, these old edifices will meet their inevitable decay, but we are here to ensure that they won’t go gently into the night.

Photos courtesy of Ahmad Iskandar