WHERE WE BELONG

AS A FAST-DEVELOPING NATION, SINGAPORE HAS UNDERGONE A SIGNIFICANT TRANSFORMATION IN ITS LANDSCAPE SINCE THE 1960S. HOWEVER, THIS CONSTANT EVOLUTION ALSO MEANS THAT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BUILDINGS AND COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BECOME PART OF OUR LOCAL IDENTITY IS ALWAYS SHIFTING. IN THIS SPECIAL FEATURE, WE EXPLORE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PART OF THIS CULTURAL FABRIC FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT KEEPS THE GRASSROOTS ARTS ENCLAVE AT 195 PEARL'S HILL TERRACE ALIVE, TO THE SHOP OWNERS PRESERVING THEIR HERITAGE BUSINESSES IN CONSERVATION AREAS AND WHY THESE CULTURAL SPACES MATTER.

- Chelsia Tan & Saw Yone Yone

195 PEARL’S HILL TERRACE: A THRIVING ARTS ENCLAVE

This tranquil hilltop building is more than just a hidden gem – it houses a vibrant and eclectic community. However, plans to redevelop this enclave into a housing estate mean it could all disappear by 2026. Here, we spotlight the unique businesses and people that make Pearl’s Hill Terrace special.

An eccentric array of statues and sculptures are placed randomly at various corners and in the courtyard of a conservation building (which used to house the Sikh Contingent of the Straits Settlement Police). Posters and cheery graffiti art cover its walls, and a DIY zen garden sits in front of a cosy Japanese-inspired cafe.

Welcome to 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace (195 PHT), a ground-up arts enclave situated at the foot of the former Pearl Bank Apartments in Chinatown.

Visitors wander its quaint halls: on the first floor are creative, retail, and lifestyle spaces, such as art, music and dance studios, boutiques selling jewellery and ceramics, and even a table-tennis gym. Offices, tattoo studios and a hair salon occupy its second and third floors. On Wednesday evenings, musicians come together for live jamming session Akoustikult at Kult Yard, an outdoor watering hole on the ground floor.

“We support local and international artistes here,” says Zac Mirza, co-owner of Kult Yard. “We have beat poetry coming in every Wednesday as well. We want to merge rap artistes with beat poetry, and free jamming... It might be wishful thinking, but I hope to keep that ‘void deck’ spirit alive.”

Perhaps what makes 195 PHT a rarity in fast-paced Singapore is this “void deck spirit”. Ask its tenants what they love about the independent arts cluster, and the close knit, open-door culture comes up.