What Do Museums and Zouk Have in Common?

Are museums becoming hip and happening? You bet, if these photos of the inaugural Night Festival (organised by the National Museum of Singapore) are anything to shout about.

From what I hear, the opening weekend featuring the world famous Studio Festi drew more than 20,000 visitors! Visitors were awed by the aerial acrobatic aesthetic displays, which defied gravity and were almost magical. Opening to rave reviews, the festival showed that Singaporeans are essentially creatures of the night (probably because of our blazing tropical Sun).

Last Friday night, I popped over to check out the action at about 11.30 pm. Being a fan of Singapore's number one club Zouk, I also wanted to see how its Beatnik Picnic fared.

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The facade of the National Museum, splendidly decked in shades of brown and yellow with patterns that follow its Palladian style of architecture.

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...Or was it orange, purple and blue instead? Hmmm....

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Inside, crowds thronged the various levels of the museum, checking out its various exhibits and displays.

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CDL's recently launched photo exhibition of young upcoming photographers saw a grand reception that night (or midnight).

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More nocturnal museum action in sleepless Singapore as a "Samsui" woman regaled visitors with tales of yore.

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Naturally, one does get more than a little peckish at the witching hour, and these traditional food stands did a roaring trade.

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Across the road at Bras Basah, the Singapore Art Museum was also gloriously decked in artistic hues and patterns.

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Families and children of all ages were seen admiring the artworks on display, defying the lure of their beds.

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Finally, I popped over to the middle section at SMU Green, drawn by the progressive house beats of Zouk's headlining DJs at the Beatnik Picnic. The crowd there were mostly 20 somethings I believe, and I felt like an uncle!

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Helming the turntable during my visit was DJ Hong, who swayed the crowd with a mixture of progressive house beats.

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Naturally, there were many partygoers that night, both at the museums and out on the lawns.

Who says that museums are boring dull places?

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