SINGAPORE - The Substation, which moved out of 45 Armenian Street last year, will be exploring the theme of "uproot | rootless" during its upcoming annual festival SeptFest.

"When you pull out a plant, what is left? What is going to happen to the soil, the plant?" asks the independent arts company's artistic director Ezzam Rahman.

"Change is inevitable. As human beings, and as Singaporeans and practising artists, we constantly face change."

SeptFest, which returns from Sept 1 to 30, showcases art, music, theatre and film by emerging and established names in various locations.

Highlights include The Death Of Singapore Theatre As Scripted By The Infocomm Media Development Authority Of Singapore, a performance lecture written by Alfian Sa'at, to be performed by Farah Ong at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road, as well as Across Narrow Waters, an exhibition on the roof of Supper House in Tagore Lane by Anthony Chin and Andrea Rachael Danker.

The Substation was founded in September 1990 by theatre doyen Kuo Pao Kun. It closed its doors in Armenian Street in July last year.

The National Arts Council, which took back the space, plans to convert the building into a multi-tenanted arts centre.

Ezzam, 41, the artistic director of The Substation since last September, says it has been "a very humbling experience".

"The Substation has always been about coming together and building relationships. I hope I can continue that."

There are no immediate plans to rehome The Substation, he says, adding that their main focus will be events such as SeptFest.

During this year's edition, people can also look forward to a programme of films at the Alliance Francaise de Singapour, curated by film director Ghazi Alqudcy, as well as exhibitions at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road and Figment Embassy House in Geylang.

The latter will also be the backdrop to The One At Home, a durational performance by playwright and actor Oliver Chong, who will isolate himself for 14 days in a room and offer live daily updates on The Substation's Instagram account.

Another virtual event is Declutter Me, in which theatre-maker Grace Kalaiselvi will interact with audience members one-on-one via WhatsApp.

In a 20-minute video call, they can select one of several boxes with objects owned by Kalaiselvi in them - from gold jewellery to the pottu, a dot worn on the forehead - that would then serve as starting points for conversation.

"Culture grounds you, but at the same time, it can also weigh you down. It's a personal battle of 'should I get rid of these objects, these memories associated with the objects or should I stick by it and keep it as part of me?'," says Kalaiselvi , 45.

Mixtape vol 32 - Side A & Side B, a two-part online music presentation on The Substation's website and YouTube channel, will bookend the festival with works by Chong Li-Chuan and Andy Yang.

Chong, 47, who gave his first solo music performance at The Substation in 1991, will present a composition made up of sounds recorded around the 45 Armenian Street hoardings - from the rumble of traffic to the rattle of a combination lock.

What Is The Sound Of One Hand Clapping?, as his work is titled, takes its name from a famous Zen koan. It is an invitation to listen.

"Sound is transient. If you weren't there to hear it, then does it exist or not? Was it ever there?" muses Chong.

Its curator Lizzie Wee, 29, says the online exhibition will, in a way, bid farewell to The Substation's past, but also say hello to its future.

"To have that be on something as permanent yet fluid as a webpage is very fitting."

Where: 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road; Supper House, 222 Tagore Lane, 04-03; Figment Embassy House, 11 Lorong 24A Geylang; Alliance Francaise de Singapour, 1 Sarkies Road; online When: Sept 1 to 30, various timings Admission: Free; $16 for The One At Home, $20 for Declutter Me, $30 for The Death Of Singapore Theatre As Scripted By The Infocomm Media Development Authority Of Singapore, $15 per day for A Peek At Time film programme Info: The Substation website

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MCI (P) 031/10/2021, MCI (P) 032/10/2021. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2021 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.