SMU helped to organise Singapore’s first Armenian Street Party on 11–12 March 2016. Our students staged several performances and SMU Labs was the venue of Singapore Writers Festival POP. Swelling the crowds and contributing to the lively carnival atmosphere on both nights were many SMU students, faculty, staff, revellers and tourists.

Co-organised with the Peranakan Museum, and supported by Streets for People (Urban Redevelopment Authority) and National Parks Board, the event had a Peranakan theme. Many visitors wore kebayas and batik shirts to watch Peranakan-inspired song-and-dance performances, and skits based on Peranakan plays, such as a musical version of Emily of Emerald Hill.

SMU’s Music Interactive Club, and Kenneth Qua of Doves & Ravens performed outdoors to raucous applause. At SMU Labs, “My Literary Heroes”, organised by SMU and Singapore Writers Festival, six well-known writers shared and discussed the writers they most admired and how they had influenced them in their own writing.

Among the six writers appearing in “My Literary Heroes” at SMU Labs were (left to right) Nirrosette, Robert Yeo, Clara Chow, and Tan Kee Yun. (Photo: National Heritage Board)

SMU undergraduate Kenneth Qua of Doves & Ravens helping to get the party started. (Photo: National Heritage Board)

“The community-focused Street Party emulates a festival-like atmosphere to reclaim the street for the people, aligned with Bras Basah-Bugis (BBB) precinct’s vision to create a vibrant lifestyle destination for locals and visitors alike,” Senior Assistant Director for Audience at Peranakan Museum, Mr Bernard Tan told Channel NewsAsia.

Crowds thronged to enjoy the inaugural Armenian Street Party, stretching from SMU Labs to the Peranakan museum. (Photo: National Heritage Board)

The alley between the Peranakan Museum and the Substation was turfed and converted into a play and chill-out area. (Photo: National Heritage Board)

Main photo: SMU Music Interactive Club's Syafiq Bustamam, Matthew Kwong Pak Cheng, Perry Wong Wei Liang and Jereld Sze Jia An performing live at the inaugural Armenian Street Party. (Photo: National Heritage Board)