Community initiative in Yishun encourages artists, public to showcase creative works at 8 bus stops

The creative works are part of an initiative launched in July to encourage community participation in public spaces.

Published Sep 30, 2026, 04:30 PM

Updated Sep 30, 2026, 04:30 PM

A community project in Yishun displays artwork and photos on eight bus stop noticeboards to brighten daily commutes and encourage local participation in public spaces.

The initiative by nonprofit Playces, supported by the Land Transport Authority and a $5,000 government fund, faces challenges like premature removal of artworks by contractors.

Artists and residents value the project for bringing art to everyday places, fostering community spirit, and Playces plans to expand it to other towns after improving operations.

SINGAPORE – In Yishun , artwork and photographs have popped up at eight bus stops around the town, hoping to spruce up the daily commute of residents.

They are part of an initiative launched in July to encourage community participation in public spaces, as the pieces are contributions from people with ties to the neighbourhood.

The project by community building non-profit Playces taps an existing provision by the Land Transport Authority for members of the public to freely display advertisements on noticeboards across 40 bus stops in towns such as Yishun, Boon Lay, Tampines and Jurong East .

There were several setbacks along the way when contractors cleared the creative works earlier than planned, but Playces plans to continue the project, said its founder Gena Soh .

Volunteers refresh the noticeboards at eight bus stops in Yishun at the start of each month with contributions spanning artwork to memes, she added.

The six-month pilot initiative is supported by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). Playces also received a $5,000 seed fund through the Singapore Government Partnerships Office , which goes towards material and printing costs, volunteer honorariums and marketing and public education around the project, said Soh.

Playces started the project as it felt the boards at bus stops were an overlooked opportunity. “There was a possibility of opening them up for community use without having to build an entirely new piece of infrastructure from scratch,” said Soh.

“The bus stop itself is also important to us because it is a surprisingly multi-stakeholder environment… That complexity can make public space feel difficult for ordinary citizens to affect. But we also see it as an opportunity.”

She said this project aims to build on existing systems to make room for public participation and enable public expression of art.

An LTA spokesperson said this is the first pilot where members of the public can put up artwork on designated bus stop noticeboards.

“It is an experiment to encourage community creativity to enliven the commuting experience,” she said.

The free advertising noticeboards were introduced in 2011 to provide the public with a free and legitimate avenue to display ads and to reduce the indiscriminate posting of ads around bus stops, she added.

When The Straits Times visited the eight Yishun bus stops on Sept 23 , noticeboards at six of the eight bus stops featured a mini exhibition by artist Jun Zuan Ang .

On the noticeboards were photographs taken in Yishun that explore the different states of waiting – for example, clothes hung out to dry, road signs near the Yishun Columbarium and senior citizens resting at void decks.

The noticeboards at the other two bus stops had an eclectic mix of posters and artwork.

Volunteers refresh the noticeboards at eight bus stops in Yishun at the start of each month. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

Volunteers refresh the noticeboards at eight bus stops in Yishun at the start of each month.

Yishun resident Muhammad Aqil Azhad , who has lived in the town since he was born, said he contributed two artworks to add a “touch of playfulness” to his neighbourhood as sometimes the environment can feel “too standardised”.

The design communication undergraduate in Lasalle College of the Arts added that he wanted to push back against people who say that art is difficult to find in the heartlands.

Freelance illustrator Siti Nurani, 39 , also saw the value of infusing art into public spaces and adding colour to commutes.

She said: “(The project) is a great idea to help create some kind of community around spaces we normally take for granted. And it shows that art can be anywhere and everywhere, even in the most mundane places.”

Nurani, who lives in Woodlands but was an Yishun resident for 14 years , said the town is still special to her. She plans to not just contribute artwork but also help to put up the pieces.

Despite the green light from LTA for the project, the number of moving parts and stakeholders proved tricky in ensuring the artwork stayed up on the noticeboards.

Soh said that on Aug 9 and Sept 15 , the artwork on the noticeboards were removed as part of routine cleaning and that Playces sought clarification from LTA.

LTA told ST that it had instructed the contractors to clean the eight bus stops only on the first of each month from July to December to allow the artwork to be displayed for a month. The noticeboards are usually cleared on the first and 15th of each month.

The contractors had inadvertently removed the posters, said the spokesperson.

“It was regrettable, given the effort and care that artists and community participants put into their artwork,” she said, adding that the authority had issued a stern warning to the contractors.

The authority said there were no plans to expand the number of free advertisement noticeboards but that it was open to exploring similar opportunities.

Soh said Playces is keen to explore bringing the model to other neighbourhoods once it has developed a more reliable operational process. This includes areas under the free advertisement scheme in Jurong West and Tampines.

Photographs displayed on a community noticeboard at a bus stop along Yishun Avenue 2 on Sept 23. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

Photographs displayed on a community noticeboard at a bus stop along Yishun Avenue 2 on Sept 23.

The noticeboards in Yishun have turned several heads, with some passers-by reacting with confusion, while others felt it brightened up their day.

Wong, 64 , who declined to give her full name, was confused when she saw the pieces and said it would be helpful if the explanatory notices came in the mother tongue languages.

The noticeboard at the bus stop near the Darul Makmur Mosque also caught the attention of Nur Quraisha, 35, and her husband Muhammad Muhaimin, also 35.

They shared a chuckle when Muhaimin wrongly interpreted one of the photographs, before they left the bus stop to pick up their children.

这些创意作品是七月份启动的一项旨在鼓励社区参与公共空间活动的计划的一部分。

发布于2026年9月30日下午4:30

更新于2026年9月30日下午4:30

义顺的一个社区项目在八个公交车站的公告板上展示艺术作品和照片，以美化日常通勤，并鼓励当地居民参与公共空间活动。

由非营利组织 Playces 发起的这项倡议，得到了陆路交通管理局和 5000 美元政府基金的支持，但面临着承包商过早拆除艺术品等挑战。

艺术家和居民都认为该项目将艺术带入日常生活，促进了社区精神，Playces 计划在改进运营后将其推广到其他城镇。

新加坡——在义顺，镇上八个公交车站出现了艺术作品和照片，希望能美化居民的日常通勤。

这些作品是七月份启动的一项旨在鼓励社区参与公共空间的倡议的一部分，因为它们都是与社区有联系的人们的贡献。

社区建设非营利组织 Playces 发起的这个项目利用了陆路交通管理局现有的规定，允许公众在义顺、文礼、淡滨尼和裕廊东等城镇的 40 个巴士站的公告栏上免费展示广告。

Playces 的创始人 Gena Soh 表示，项目进行过程中曾出现过几次挫折，例如承包商提前拆除了创意作品，但 Playces 计划继续推进该项目。

她补充说，志愿者们每个月初都会更新义顺八个巴士站的公告栏，内容包括艺术作品和表情包等。

这项为期六个月的试点计划得到了陆路交通管理局（LTA）的支持。Soh表示，Playces还通过新加坡政府合作办公室获得了5000美元的启动资金，用于支付材料和印刷费用、志愿者酬金以及围绕该项目的市场推广和公众教育。

Playces 发起这个项目是因为他们认为公交车站的电子显示屏是一个被忽视的利用机会。“我们有机会将这些显示屏开放给社区使用，而无需从头开始建造全新的基础设施，”Soh 说。

“公交车站本身对我们来说也很重要，因为它涉及的利益相关者众多，令人惊讶……这种复杂性会让普通市民觉得难以对公共空间产生影响。但我们也将其视为一个机遇。”

她说，该项目旨在利用现有系统，为公众参与创造空间，并使公众能够表达艺术。

陆路交通管理局发言人表示，这是首次试点允许公众在指定的巴士站公告板上张贴艺术作品。

“这是一项旨在鼓励社区创造力，从而丰富通勤体验的实验，”她说。

她补充说，2011年引入免费广告公告栏是为了向公众提供免费合法的广告展示途径，并减少公交车站周围随意张贴广告的现象。

9月23日，《海峡时报》记者走访了义顺的八个巴士站，发现其中六个巴士站的公告板上都展示了艺术家Jun Zuan Ang的小型展览。

公告板上贴着在义顺拍摄的照片，探索了等待的不同状态——例如晾晒的衣服、义顺骨灰安置所附近的道路标志以及在组屋底层休息的老年人。

另外两个公交车站的公告栏上贴满了各种各样的海报和艺术作品。

每月初，义工们都会在义顺的八个巴士站更新公告栏。海峡时报摄影：Gavin Foo

每个月初，志愿者们都会更新义顺八个公交车站的公告栏。

义顺居民穆罕默德·阿基尔·阿扎德（Muhammad Aqil Azhad）自出生以来就一直居住在该镇，他说他贡献了两件艺术作品，为他的社区增添“一丝趣味”，因为有时环境会让人感觉“太标准化了”。

这位就读于拉萨尔艺术学院设计传播专业的本科生补充说，他想反驳那些认为艺术在偏远地区很难找到的人。

39 岁的自由插画师 Siti Nurani 也看到了将艺术融入公共空间、为通勤增添色彩的价值。

她说：“（这个项目）是一个很棒的想法，它有助于在我们通常习以为常的空间周围建立某种社区。它也表明，艺术可以无处不在，即使在最平凡的地方。”

努拉妮住在兀兰，但她曾在义顺居住了14年。她说，义顺对她来说仍然意义非凡。她计划不仅捐赠艺术作品，还会帮忙布置这些作品。

尽管陆路交通管理局已批准该项目，但由于涉及的环节和利益相关者众多，确保艺术作品能够继续在公告栏上展示并非易事。

Soh表示，8月9日和9月15日，公告栏上的艺术作品被移除，作为例行清洁的一部分，Playces已向陆路交通管理局寻求澄清。

陆路交通管理局告诉《海峡时报》，他们已指示承包商在7月至12月期间，每月1日才清洁8个巴士站，以便艺术作品能够展出一个月。公告栏通常在每月1日和15日清理。

发言人表示，承包商不小心撕掉了海报。

“考虑到艺术家和社区参与者在艺术作品上投入的心血和关怀，这令人遗憾，”她说道，并补充说，有关部门已向承包商发出严厉警告。

当局表示，目前没有计划增加免费广告公告栏的数量，但对探索类似的机会持开放态度。

Soh表示，Playces有意在建立更可靠的运营流程后，将该模式推广到其他社区，包括裕廊西和淡滨尼的免费广告计划覆盖区域。

9月23日，义顺2道一巴士站的社区公告栏上展示的照片。（海峡时报摄影：Gavin Foo）

9月23日，在义顺2道的一个公交车站的社区公告栏上展示的照片。

义顺的告示牌吸引了不少人的目光，一些路人感到困惑，而另一些人则觉得这让他们的心情变得更愉快了。

64岁的黄女士（她拒绝透露全名）看到这些碎片时感到困惑，并表示如果说明文字能用母语写出来就好了。

达鲁尔·马克穆尔清真寺附近公交车站的告示牌也引起了 35 岁的努尔·库莱莎和她同样 35 岁的丈夫穆罕默德·穆海明的注意。

在离开公交车站去接孩子之前，穆海明错误地解读了一张照片，他们相视一笑。