After more than two years of blood, sweat, pain and tears, the book Singapore: A Biography, by Mark Ravinder Frost & Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, is going to be launched this October in Singapore.

Explore 400 pages of history from this country like it has never been told before, coupled with over 300 paintings and photography. Expect to hear about the usual suspects (Lee Kuan Yew and David Marshall), and the unusual ones too (prostitutes and secret societies).

Book events  include:

• Sun, 18 Oct 2009, 2pm, National Library: “History as literature: the writing of Singapore: A Biography”
• Tue, 20 Oct 2009, 7.30pm, Polymath & Crust: “Singapore: A Biography – a reading & discussion”
• Sat, 24 Oct 2009, 2pm, National Museum of Singapore: “Heroes, villains and ordinary citizens: a short history of Singaporean dissent”
• Sat, 31 Oct 2009, 11am, Singapore Writers Festival, at Earshot, The Arts House: “Finding the Singapore Story”

The book will be sold at all events and available from mid-October at bookstores in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Australia. It will be distributed in the US and the UK in early 2010.

Please note that registration is required for the National Library and National Museum events.

• National Library
• National Museum

What makes a family? Does it merely mean a group of people who are blood related? Can a family be a group of people who are affiliated by affinity? What makes a home different from a house? The universal idea of the family is considered to be a place filled with love, intimacy and trust, away from the horrors of this world and the ideal home is supposedly a place filled with warmth, comfort and protection..Jia’ will be an exhibition with 10 artists multi disciplinary interpretation on the notion of home and family. Participating Artists: Chan Mei Hsien, Stephanie Cheng, Eudora Rusli, Joey Soh, Long Ying Han, Susan Olij, Ong Xiao Yun, Tan Chui Min, Tai Ten Jun Guo and Nicholas Tan. 23 Oct-4 Nov at Post Museum – Free admission. Opening Recption: 22 Oct at 6.30pm.

A Photo Essay by Anu Selva and a showcase of beautiful travel photographs that explore and challenge cultural perceptions and traditional narratives. All sales of photos on opening night will go to Riverkids Project. 15 Oct – 29 Oct, Bette Davis Room at House, 8D Dempsey Rd. Opening Night is on 15 Oct  at 7pm with DJ Kaye. RSVP: felicia.wong@barracks.com.sg

Click images for more views.

The pictured office murals from the talented Andy Yang look nothing short of amazing, as we have come to expect from the man. Andy hand painted the murals using acrylic/oil paints, spray paints and collage. “The brief for the mural was to awaken the creative curiosity within the dwellers in the agency,” Andy explains. “An imaginative landscape of the heart and mind that gives life to it’s surroundings with a simple story of ideas in the form of bulbs. The idea was based partially on the advertising agency’s manifesto which celebrate the spirit of being “First”. I used a mix of brushes and palette knives to produce simple, expressive line strokes. Gold and copper mixed with warm colors were used extensively throughout to add warmth and drama.”

Andy has been fiddling with different art mediums for the past ten years. His work was showcased by a number of publications including ‘My Favourite Moleskine Exhibition’ organized by PageOne and the Tiger Translate Book.� He also exhibited at the TRUST Online Museum, had two shows at The Asylum, and participated in the 2007 “Le Monde est A Nous” group exhibition.

Muhammad Khairullah recently graduated with a Diploma in Fine Arts (Painting) from Lasalle College of the Arts and is currently serving his National Service. Interested in the idea of the “second best”, Khai uses mainly animals to convey this idea. In his most recent series of paintings, he compared the idea of the elephant and the rhinoceros to the popular Batman and Robin duo in the context of the animal kingdom. In his opinion, the rhinoceros is usually seen upon as more passive compared to the elephant.

Undeniably, animals have been a regular pick in his choice of subject matter. “Growing up, I have always been awed by images of animals, be it wild or domesticated,” Khai explains. “Varying from geographical documentaries to cartoon series, animals are one of the most prominent subjects that interest me till today. I would question my father every time, to compare which of two animals were stronger. Gradually, my fondness for the “second best” became more apparent.”

The pictured work will be on view at the RED LIGHT exhibition. This group exhibition at the The Post Museum, curated by Anuar Mohd, captures the multiplicity, spirit and local vernacular of the Segangoon/Rowell road. It also aims to address the issue of urban renewal of he Rowell Road and its effect on the populace and businesses of the area. The exhibitions opens on 10 October and continues through 18 October.

Get your portrait drawn in 10 to 15mins at the OIC Portrait Day. 3 Oct, 2pm-7pm at MAAD.

The Modern Nomads by Jean Qingwen Loo.

Curated by Francis Ng, the exhibition “The Unfamiliarity of the Familiar” at the Arts House (1 October till 21 October) shows the photographic works of nine diversely different individuals coming together to present their point of view and their take on the world and issues around them. These individuals – students, homemakers, and young professionals amongst them – use the language of photography to create their narratives on themes ranging from alienation, familial ties, identity to sexuality.

The intention of each artist is to bring a facet of their experience of the unfamiliar in things that are familiar to us. In the process of doing so, a new light is shed on sights and scenes that are commonly seen around us such that they become somewhat less predictable and a little more unfamiliar.

Despite the diversity of the themes and influences found in the works, the exhibition aims to achieve cohesiveness in the overall presentation through strategic investigative motifs and approaches. And in so doing, it is hoped that these approaches will give rise to new insights and spectacles of the modern world.

1 till 21 October, 10 am – 10pm daily. There will be a Guided Tour on Saturday, 10 October from 2.30pm – 3.30pm.

Singapore’s electronic music scene receives a long-overdue jolt, with the pitching up of a brand new afterhours party. One that was always there but never seen. A strictly invite-only party, Midnight Shift opens its doors at 1am with a musical call to the industries of the night.

Built by a team of music creatives determined to change the flaccid local party modus operandi, observe the fundamentals of a new scene in order: It’s the second wave, the encore, the b-side. For those who have just warmed up to get their bedtime fix.  International and local music souls will be playing sounds from as early as the 70s to the present (and future) with the right purpose and service to the transcendent; the Zeitgeist, the Aufhebung.

The first Midnight Shift will happen on October 23rd at sound signature Helipad. Two mysterious guest, revealed only by word-of-mouth from those in-the-know, will collaborate for the first time. Log on to mnshift.com to reserve your seats at the ringside club, and to find out who else is up on the Shift.