The National Heritage Board (NHB) has made its debut at London Craft Week 2026 with Future Craft — a curated showcase celebrating Singapore’s living heritage through craft and design. Running until 17 May 2026 at the iconic Battersea Power Station in London, the Singapore Pavilion marks a milestone for Singapore’s heritage community on the international stage.
Singapore’s Largest Overseas Craft Showcase
Future Craft features works by 15 Singapore-based heritage craft and design practitioners, with 11 presenting accompanying public programmes. This is the largest collective showcase of Singapore-based living heritage practitioners at an overseas pavilion to date — a testament to the richness and diversity of Singapore’s craft traditions.
The showcase highlights the breadth of Singapore’s craft and design landscape, reflecting both traditional techniques and their contemporary interpretations. From intricate rangoli art to effigy-making, textile design, ceramics, and beyond, Future Craft presents a compelling portrait of how Singapore’s craftspeople are both preserving and reimagining their heritage.
Established Voices, New Perspectives
Alongside established practitioners, Future Craft brings together a compelling mix of artists whose work embodies the living quality of Singapore’s heritage. Vijayalakshmi Mohan, one of Singapore’s foremost rangoli artists, presents the meditative art of coloured powder designs rooted in Indian tradition. Andy Yeo, a third-generation effigy-maker, brings the intricate craft of paper effigies used in Taoist funerary rites — a practice requiring extraordinary skill and cultural knowledge. Designer Oniatta Effendi weaves together Malay textile heritage and contemporary fashion design in her practice.
New Voices in Singapore’s Heritage Scene
One of the most poignant stories at the showcase belongs to Nicholas Chee, a student at LASALLE College of the Arts. Nicholas debuted his presentation of 3D-printed bird-cage ornaments at London Craft Week — a practice he began through interactions with his late grandfather, and continues in his memory. His work bridges generations, merging traditional craft sensibilities with digital fabrication techniques in a deeply personal way.
Ceramicist Stephanie Zheng draws her practice from one of Singapore’s most treasured cultural sites — Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle, home to Singapore’s last working dragon kiln. Firing her pieces in this historic kiln means that the history, spirit, and community of the place are inseparable from her work. Each piece carries the memory of the kiln itself.
Craft as a Living Tradition
What makes Future Craft distinctive is its emphasis on craft as a living, evolving practice rather than a static relic. The 11 public programmes accompanying the showcase give London audiences an opportunity to engage directly with Singapore’s craftspeople — through demonstrations, workshops, and conversations that bring the work off the wall and into the hands of participants.
By choosing London Craft Week — one of the world’s leading craft and design events — as the platform for this showcase, NHB signals Singapore’s growing confidence in presenting its intangible heritage to global audiences. The Singapore Pavilion at Battersea Power Station is not merely an exhibition; it is an assertion that Singapore’s craft traditions have a rightful place in the international conversation about the future of making.
Visit Future Craft at London Craft Week 2026
Future Craft — the Singapore Pavilion at London Craft Week 2026 — runs until 17 May 2026 at Battersea Power Station, London. For more information about the showcase and public programmes, visit the National Heritage Board website.
All images courtesy of National Heritage Board.
