Fronting as a Katong shophouse, Hotel Illiterati is an experiential installation that invites Singaporeans to explore the meaning of our multicultural identity and the evolution of culture as a global hub.
Happening from Jan 19 to Feb 26 as part of Singapore Art Week 2022, this site-specific installation will have participants roaming atmospheric rooms, examining antique mementoes left by previous lodgers, and exploring various living spaces in this pre-war-style family-run inn.
Hotel Illiterati is situated in the heart of Katong, a heritage-rich neighbourhood known for its multi-ethnic roots.
This experience by Singapore art collective Vertical Submarine is housed above the Hainanese-style coffee shop, Chin Mee Chin Confectionery, which opened in the 1920s.
Visitors will hunt for clues to decipher the identity of the elusive innkeeper whose ethnicity, cultural affiliation, language, and gender remain a mystery.
Inspired by the shifting outlook of Singaporean and Southeast Asian identity in our increasingly multinational world, Hotel Illiterati questions the complicated, constructed nature of identity and cultural direction.
Beneath the veneer of vintage fun and fiction, Hotel Illiterati aims to immerse visitors into the spaces between cultural-social belonging, re-invention, and transgression.
Location: Chin Mee Chin Confectionery 204 East Coast Rd, (Level 2)
Admissions are by appointment only. For more information, please visit www.artweek.sg/events/hotel-illiterati.