Paint sculptures and learn about Punggol's history at heritage festival

Within the Waterway Point mall in Punggol is a cluster of boulder-like sculptures sporting paint-splattered handprints and brushstrokes.

- Savanna Tai

Made of canvas, the sculptures are part of an interactive art installation meant to represent Punggol's rocky shoreline.

Punggol residents and their children can draw and paint on them as part of an experience to reimagine what is a central part of their neighbourhood.

The installation, titled Colours on Shore, is part of a new heritage initiative that is running from June 6 to 15 in the town.

It is being launched under the National Heritage Board's (NHB) Heritage Activation Nodes (HAN) initiative, which aims to involve the public and local communities in celebrating the heritage of Singapore's neighbourhoods and organising their own heritage programmes.

Punggol is the third town where this initiative has been launched, after similar runs in Katong-Joo Chiat and Clementi in 2024.

The Punggol initiative's curator John Tung said the Punggol area was once known for its pig farms and for housing Singapore's first zoo, although the town's identity has evolved, and residents have different interpretations of the town now.