Publicis Singapore's artistic take on social distancing

Publicis Groupe Singapore has partnered with Raffles Place Alliance and LASALLE College of the Arts to host a first-of-its-kind exhibition, The 1M Exhibition. A total of 177 artworks by 105 design graduates from LASALLE will be exhibited around Raffles Place Park, and will run for three months. The exhibition transforms ‘negative’ social distancing spaces into ‘positive’ spaces for art. The 1M Exhibition arrives as Singapore’s loosens its COVID-19 measures, which includes the removal of safe distancing measures. Singaporeans will be able to view the artworks from 5 April onwards.  

By transforming empty spaces on benches into places for art and discovery, the exhibition utilises the unexpected medium of social distancing stickers. Each artwork showcased in The 1M Exhibition measures exactly 1-metre across – the distance encouraged for safe distancing in public spaces and mask-off settings. The exhibition aims to reach around 180,000 people per day.

Additionally, this initiative will bridge the gap between the next generation of artists and potential employers, said a press release from Publicis Groupe.

“Social distancing stickers have become commonplace in our lives. It's also a stark reminder of the struggles the pandemic has brought on us, and in particular, for our young artists. They haven’t had a public forum to exhibit their work in almost two years, so as part of the creative community, it felt right to create this platform for them and their work,” explains Adrian Yeap, ECD at Publicis Singapore.

The exhibition will showcase the works of LASALLE students from the School of Design Communication, the School of Fashion and the School of Product Design. Visitors to the exhibition can also scan the QR code located on each artwork to find out more about each contributing artist, and contact them for job opportunities.

Design faculty dean at LASALLE, Nur Hidayah, said that the pandemic has brought on many challenges, but has also given the art school an opportunity to try something new. “We loved the idea of taking our students’ works to an unexpected location. This collaboration with Raffles Place Alliance comes at a perfect time as people return to in-person experiences, and it gives our graduates and students greater exposure and a more tangible connection with audiences,” adds Nur.  

More information about the exhibition and the artists can be found on the exhibition's official website. 

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