#MarketingEventsAwards 2021 highlight: Hustle and Bustle merges art with nature

Today, we see a difference in the visual arts scene in Singapore, as compared to before. In fact, the visual arts scene has grown steadily over the past few decades. 

According to the National Arts Council, Singapore has developed into a vibrant art scene anchored by strong institutions, a growing community of practitioners, audiences, and the emergence of an art market. 

Tapping into the increased awareness of the arts scene, Hustle and Bustle (H&B) decided to bring art and nature into one with its latest campaign, “Dale Chihuly: Glass in Bloom”. With its bold move, H&B impressed the judges and clinched the award for Best Venue Experience at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s Marketing Events Awards 2021.

Challenge 

Aiming to drive tourism, H&B arranged an exhibition on American glass artist and entrepreneur, Dale Chihuly, featuring his glass art sculptures. The show – Dale Chihuly: Glass in Bloom – was to be the first major garden exhibition in Asia to showcase the experience that arts can bring. 

Through this exhibition, H&B aimed to not only make art accessible to all, but also to promote comfort and hope through the exposure of the gardens and vibrancy of the domes at Gardens by the Bay. According to H&B, this exhibition hoped to become a symbol of strength for all visitors, reflective of how the fragility of glass can also be seen as a solid structure in the right environment.

Unfortunately, the show could only be launched after the pandemic hit, and this caused several challenges for the team at H&B. Coupled with quarantine orders and capacity restrictions during the event, the team faced issues such as travel approvals and controlled itineraries. 

Due to the changes to Singapore’s safe management measures, the execution also posed a challenge throughout the exhibition period. As a result, many additional arrangements had to be made with visitors to ensure the event adhered to the safe management measures. 

First, the team had to adapt and make sure the timings were appropriate for all the guests to ensure the manpower allocated that day would not be wasted. Next, was to ensure the event could run normally. 

Strategy 

According to H&B, an art form such as glass art is usually only limited to a museum display. However, with Dale Chihuly: Glass in Bloom, H&B decided to go against the norm and have an outdoor exhibition. To showcase the beauty of glass art, H&B decided it had to be one that could complement the art piece. 

By having an outdoor exhibition, the glass sculptures also accentuate different elements of the environment, appropriately blending in with its surroundings. Through the merger of glass art and horticulture found within Singapore, H&B sought to amplify the exceptional experience brought to visitors.

Leveraging on an exhibition of this scale, H&B also invited local artists to showcase their artworks and hold small workshops for event participants. This not only brought more awareness to glass art as a whole, but also encouraged support for Singapore’s local artists, increasing attention and appreciation to art styles that are less seen in Singapore. 

To curb the issues brought about by the pandemic, H&B created a virtual exhibition alongside the physical installation to ensure the exhibition retained its accessibility. Seeking to encourage visitors to experience the physical event, the virtual exhibition was coupled with an audio guide that served to highlight the beauty of the event. 

This was to draw Singaporeans to head down to the event and experience the grandeur of the physical exhibition space. As an event conceptualised to bring in visitor-ship to the venue and raise awareness of glass art, this event aimed to showcase a spectacular change to the art scene in Singapore. This was to reflect the unlimited potential of art and space which was in line with Chihuly’s art style – challenging and overcoming the limitations thought to be associated with glass art.

Now complete with a strategy, H&B sought to create a one-of-a-kind exhibition that had never been done before across Asia. Strategising to display larger-than-life glass art pieces with the scenic backdrop of Gardens by the Bay, H&B wanted to create a completely new and exclusive form of art that had never been seen in Singapore. Working with the Chihuly Studio team, H&B came up with various artistic views to exhibit the creative and thematic glass pieces. 

Execution 

Each artwork installed at the exhibition went through considerable thought and conceptualisation. Despite the restrictions from the pandemic, the Chihuly Studio team of professionals flew down from Seattle to ensure that every single piece was installed based on the suitability of the sculpture. 

For example, some sculptures were installed in the Japanese Zen Garden which had several rock pieces that complemented the glassworks. Leveraging on the natural environment the exhibition provided, H&B had a series of workshops that allowed visitors to immerse themselves in nature while admiring the beauty of the glassworks. 

While most of the artworks were placed in the outdoor gardens at Gardens by the Bay, some of the artworks were also installed atop waters, and placed in a gallery made specifically for this exhibition. This enabled the audience to experience glass art in different environments, viewing it in a different light each time.

One of the hanging pieces – “End of the Day Persians” – was installed as a free exhibit which was a piece that was made with the leftover pieces at the end of each day’s work. Interestingly, visitors were able to view this artwork at the beginning of the end of the exhibition, which aptly portrayed the deeper meaning behind this piece.

The gallery itself was not only limited to Chihuly’s glass sculptures, but also his ideation process which included paintings and sketches that helped him convey his thoughts to his team.

Furthermore, some of the pieces only had a brief description attached to their signboards. This enabled visitors to form their own interpretations of the installed pieces, deriving different meanings from the same art piece as a result of different perspectives.

The indoor pieces also played with light and shadows, giving the art pieces a different level of depth when viewed at different angles. 

Results 

Despite the pandemic, the campaign turned out to be a success, with a reported number of more than a million visitors for both ticketed and public experience. H&B also had the honour of hosting VIPs such as the vice-president of the United States, Kamala Harris, during her visit to Singapore, as well as several Singapore ministers, such as PM Lee Hsien Loong, and minister of education, Chan Chun Sing.

Furthermore, H&B also attained an estimated PR value of more than SG$25 million across 15 countries, including Singapore, from the start of the exhibition.