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Murals, plays and more at Artwalk Little India

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Visitors heading to Little India this weekend can look forward to art performances, workshops and murals as part of an annual public art project.

Now in its sixth edition, Artwalk Little India will be held tomorrow and on Saturday, as well as Jan 17 and 18, as part of Singapore Art Week.

It is meant to bring to life the history and traditions of Little India, as well as the personal stories of the community.

The yearly event is organised by a committee of students from Lasalle College of the Arts and the Singapore Tourism Board, with the support of the Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association.

Highlights of the festival, which were shared with the media yesterday, include Nakshatra: The Lunar Mansions, an experiential storytelling session combined with music and folk art painting.

A total of 17 art pieces were showcased last year, and visitors can expect 19 new works in total for this year's festival. There will be four additional murals, including Mayura, a 70m-long mural created by street artist Boon.

An impromptu dance performance will be held at various traffic junctions in Little India during the next two weekends.

Artwalk Little India has grown in popularity, with 260,000 visitors last year compared with 74,000 during its first edition in 2015.

This year's edition, themed Passage of Time, was conceptualised by the Lasalle artist and senior fellow Milenko Prvacki.

He hopes this project will help enhance visitors' understanding and perception of Little India as a cultural precinct.

Another highlight is Three Courses, a dining experience in two restaurants, Chimichanga and Meatsmith Little India. Diners can enjoy their meal while watching short plays titled Starter, Main Course and Dessert. The menus were curated in collaboration with Artwalk Little India.

The plays were written by Lasalle's creative writing students, who wanted to convey concerns of millennials through the theme of dining.

Said creative writing student Chen Cuifen, 34: "We chose the dining scene as the main setting of our performance as food is a good unifier for Singaporeans.

"There's often rich human drama contained within these mealtime conversations."

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