The National Heritage Board Photos

(Singapore, 13 May 2026) The National Heritage Board (NHB) debuts the Singapore Pavilion at London Craft Week 2026 with its curated showcase, Future Craft. Featuring the works of 15 heritage craft and design practitioners at the exhibition, 11 of whom will be presenting accompanying public programmes, the Pavilion invites visitors to engage with Singapore’s vibrant living heritage. This milestone marks the largest collective showcase of local living heritage practitioners at an overseas pavilion to date, spotlighting Singapore’s traditions and innovations in heritage on a global stage.

Taking place at London’s Battersea Power Station from now till 17 May, Future Craft celebrates the living heritage of Singaporean craft and design with an international audience, from time-honoured traditions to contemporary interpretations. The showcase brings together Singapore-based practitioners whose works span craft forms such as metalworking, lacquerworking, bird cage-making, woodworking, rangoli, lion dance, beading, embroidery, ceramics and making of the kebaya.  

Future Craft explores how Singapore’s craft practitioners and designers reinterpret traditional techniques, innovate with materials, and engage with themes of heritage, identity and sustainability. The showcase is also a progression of NHB’s Craft X Design initiative, launched in 2021, which paired craft practitioners with local designers to reimagine traditional crafts into innovative and modern products. 

For this international craft and design showcase, an open call was conducted and eight additional craft practitioners were selected to present their artworks along with the Craft X Design series of works. 

Along with established practitioners like rangoli artist Vijayalakshmi Mohan, effigy-maker Andy Yeo and designer Oniatta Effendi, the showcase will also introduce new voices in Singapore’s heritage scene. Nicholas Chee, a LASALLE College of the Arts student, debuts his presentation of 3D-printed bird-cage ornaments on an international stage, a practice he started through interactions with his late grandfather, and continues to do in his memory. Ceramicist Stephanie Zheng fires her pieces at Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle, Singapore's last working dragon kiln, making the history and spirit of the place inseparable from her practice.  

Mr Low Sze Wee, Group Director (Museums), National Heritage Board, said: “The variety of crafts, design disciplines, and heritage on show at Future Craft is an apt representation of Singapore’s rich cultural diversity. NHB is very proud to be able to share this with the world, and  enable our practitioners to be ambassadors of our identity by demonstrating their skills and sharing their ideas to overseas audiences. This melding of heritage and design, and the past, present and future is also a reflection of NHB’s continued efforts to document  a dynamic part of Singapore’s heritage, particularly with our Design Collection Singapore.” 

Complementing the main showcase, the practitioners will lead a series of accompanying programmes, offering opportunities for visitors to engage directly with the makers and gain deeper insights into their craft. Highlights include The Art of Nyonya Beading by kebaya maker Raymond Wong, and Decorative Papercut Lamp Workshop led by lantern maker Jimm Wong. Visitors can get hands-on with fundamental metalworking techniques with Matthias Yong, or join Muhammad Dhiya — whose surfboard-making practice draws on traditional boat-building techniques from coastal communities — in assembling an accessory dish inspired by surfboard rib geometry. Lynn Wong and Muhammad Hairul Latiff meanwhile show how technology can give new life to lion dance and rebana drumming, transforming these beloved traditions into interactive learning experiences accessible to all. 

Through the works and programmes presented, Future Craft highlights the depth and diversity of Singapore’s craft and design landscape, and the ways in which practitioners are carrying inherited skills, materials and cultural knowledge into contemporary practice. Together, their works affirm the continued relevance of Singapore’s living heritage, showing how traditional craft can remain meaningful, adaptive and resonant for audiences today. NHB is also exploring staging the showcase back in Singapore at a later date. 

For more information, please refer to: ● Event information

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