Outside The White Box

Introduce yourself!
Hi, I’m Pearl, and I work as a Client Service Manager a Helutrans, an art logistics and storage company. As for hobbies, honestly, my whole life revolves around the arts. Even in my free time, I’ll do art-related stuff—sometimes I curate film screenings and sometimes I organise art events and fundraisers.

An art lover through and through! So in your time in the arts, what have you observed about our local art scene?
I think from the looks of events like Singapore Art Week 2026, there are a whole ton of events and programming. You just see the increase in the number and diversification of programming every year, so I feel that there’s been a lot of growth in terms of the local art scene, especially the independent arts. There’s a desire too create and there’s more people and audiences who are engaged in these kinds of events and programming. It’s nice to see! I see a lot of youngsters now.

So true! Outside of the arts, what else do you enjoy doing?
Eating and cooking. I love cooking! I cook a lot of Burmese food (since I’m Burmese) and I also like making Southeast Asian food in general. And I like to eat together with my friends and host them.

What’s your signature dish?
I like making Shan noodles—people say it’s great! It’s a dish from an ethnic minority group in Myanmar. They use a lot of pickled and fermented food. The sauces feel heavier and pack a stronger punch.

On the topic of your Burmese heritage, we understand that you’re an artist yourself and that a lot of your works talk about your background as a Burmese individual. Now that you’re working full-time, are you still actively creating art?
Yes, I try to make time to make at least one product or artwork once a year amidst my busy schedule. The most recent one I made was a zine that’s based on Peninsula Plaza. The grocery shops there are such a visual feast! I just love looking at the packaging and vibrant colours and things they stock in their shops. There’s a bit of fengshui elements, and some even put up lime and chili to protect their store. I don’t know the meaning behind this, but I think it’s really interesting. A lot of shops have these actually—it’s a general observation I’ve made.

Interesting! We’ll have to see it for ourselves now. Finally, what are your hopes for the local art scene?
Right now I feel like the art scene is quite open, but there’s always more room for experimentation. And also having the funds to do different things without any KPIs set in stone. I think that would enable artists to do more work outside of their comfort zones.