Ms Amruthaa Kalaiselvan, Mr Dzul and their team from ArtzJohan pose with residents who co-created “Stories of Serangoon” for the PAssionArts Festival 2025. The giant open-book installation features hand-crafted wooden landmarks and upcycled plastic blooms, showcasing the "Our Neighbourhood Gems" that define their community. Photo credit: People’s Association – PAssionArts
If a neighbourhood could tell its own story, how would it begin? In Serangoon, residents answered that question today by creating the “Stories of Serangoon”, a life-sized, open-book art installation that captures the sights and spirit of their community.
Unveiled at the Serangoon PAssionArts Festival 2025, the giant pop-up book showcases the neighbourhood’s cherished history and honours its “Neighbourhood Gems”, which is the theme for this year’s PAssionArts Festival.
Iconic landmarks rise from the “pages” of the giant book: a clocktower, Serangoon Community Club, and Serangoon Stadium. The artwork also features a prominent cat, a nod to what the artists and residents see as a key neighbourhood gem—its vibrant, pet-friendly culture with numerous pet shops and vets. The landscape is flanked by flowers crafted by residents from painted plastic bottles, symbolising shared effort and renewal.
The artwork was produced during a pre-festival workshop where 20-30 residents worked alongside local artist Ms Amruthaa Kalaiselvan, Art Director at Artz Johan and a testament to community co-creation. For Ms Amruthaa, a Serangoon North resident, the project was a meaningful first opportunity to create community art in the neighbourhood she calls home.
When: 19 - 20 Jul 2025,
