New amphitheatre among slew of changes in Bras Basah-Bugis area

Sited beside Prinsep St, it will be opened later this year by Indian fine arts group

- Ng Keng Gene

A new outdoor amphitheatre where the public can gather to enjoy traditional Indian fine arts performances will open beside Prinsep Street in the second half of 2025.

The amphitheatre is part of the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society's (Sifas) new home at 250 Middle Road – a conserved building built during the Japanese Occupation to house the Doh-Jin Hospital, which was later renamed Middle Road Hospital.

Sifas is the latest arts group to move into Bras Basah-Bugis – Singapore's arts and heritage district. The 75-year-old group's move is among a slew of recent and upcoming changes in the area, in addition to major government announcements for the area during the recent Budget debate.

Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong announced on March 10 that the old St Joseph's Institution building – home to the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) from 1996 to 2019 – is being assessed for a new Singapore Design Museum.

He said the new museum "could become a centre of gravity for designers, practitioners and creatives in the district".

The Singapore University of Social Sciences will also have a new campus just outside Bras Basah-Bugis by the mid-2030s at the site of the former Rochor Centre, which was demolished in 2019.

In 1988, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) published the Master Plan for the Civic and Cultural District, laying the foundation for the 95ha Bras Basah-Bugis area to be turned into an arts, culture and education district.

The district's identity has been reinforced in recent decades, with arts schools such as the School of the Arts, Singapore (2010), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (2004) and Lasalle College of the Arts (2007) establishing campuses alongside other cultural institutions such as the National Library Building (2005) and the National Design Centre (2013), which now houses the University of the Arts Singapore.