This Chinese New Year, it’s time to spend some time at Funan and horse around. Returning for its sixth edition, Creative Intersections gallops into Singapore Art Week 2026 with HOBBYHORSE: Rhythm and Forms of Play, a mall-wide experiential exhibition that transforms Funan into a playground of art, imagination, and motion. Running from 22 January to 22 February 2026, the free-to-enter showcase invites visitors to rediscover the joy of play, just in time for Chinese New Year and the Year of the Horse.

Curated once again by Justin Loke of Vertical Submarine, Creative Intersections has always treated Funan itself as a canvas, but this year’s edition leans fully into spectacle. Art spills out of storefronts, animates digital walls, and invites physical interaction, counting, touching, stitching, tasting, listening. At the heart of it all is the idea that play isn’t frivolous. It’s rhythmic. It’s habitual. It’s how creativity sneaks into everyday life.

The most exciting part of Creative Intersections always lies in seeing how Funan itself becomes part of the artwork. From Basement 2 to Level 7, installations and collaborations unfold organically as you move through the space.

At the Grand Stairs, artist Wendy Victoria Mack transforms the steps into the imagined body of a resting horse. Titled In the Measure of Horseshoes, the installation invites visitors to wander through flowing “manes” of fabric while counting hidden horseshoes, a playful nod to counting sheep. Spot them all, and you might even walk away with a reward.

Nearby, six sculptural Passion Horses embody Funan’s core identities: Chic, Craft, Fit, Play, Taste, and Tech. Each horse is reimagined through unexpected materials: cutlery shimmers into form, puzzle-like pieces interlock into strength, and precision-cut layers echo digital circuits. Together, they feel part art exhibition, part whimsical scavenger hunt.

One of the most arresting moments appears on Funan’s iconic seven-storey Kinetic Wall, where a new animation titled Horse Shtick! premieres throughout the day. Created by Singapore-based digital artist Gavin Lee, the animation follows Hobbi, a humble hobby horse, as it ventures into the rhythms of urban life.

What begins as a childhood object becomes something more poetic: a symbol of reinvention, creativity, and becoming. With every rotation of the wall’s 1,271 motorised light blades, Hobbi shifts shape, reminding viewers that play isn’t just for children, it’s how imagination stays alive.

Creative Intersections is just as much about collaboration as it is about spectacle. This year, eight brands make their debut, including Allbirds, DJI, Hydro Flask, TOMS, and Wingstop. Inside their stores, artists reinterpret everything from window displays and merchandise to workshops and gifts-with-purchase.

The artist–brand collaborations are where this philosophy truly comes alive. Rather than feeling like one-off activations, each pairing functions as a small world, a narrative you step into while buying coffee, shoes, or a bottle.

At Lemonaide, illustrator Yu Shuen Loy transforms a simple drink into a nostalgic ritual. Gallop in the Golden Hour wraps lemonade cups in artist-designed sleeves and stickers that evoke endless afternoons, carousel rides, and sun-warmed laughter. Each sip becomes collectible, a reminder that joy often lives in small, repeatable moments.

Across the mall, Herschel partners street art heavyweight Clogtwo on The Horse-Ride Through Time, a richly layered collaboration that blends childhood memory with forward motion. Horseshoes, rocking horses, and spring riders are distilled into embroidered patches and bag motifs, while a one-of-a-kind backpack, created exclusively for Singapore, will be auctioned in support of the KKH Health Fund. It’s nostalgia with purpose, stitched into something you can carry forward.

At Allbirds, artist Grace Tan brings her geometric, material-led practice into the brand’s world of sustainability. Horseshoe Links unfolds as a visual meditation on movement and symmetry, circling, spiralling, returning. Shoppers who spend in-store receive a limited-edition tote, turning mindful consumption into something quietly poetic.

Memory and imagination surface again at TOMS, where embroidery artist Isabel Lim stitches childhood play into footwear. Her designs recall open fields, imaginary journeys, and the freedom of play unconstrained by walls. During live embroidery sessions, shoes become personal keepsakes: slow, tactile, and deeply human.

At Wingstop, however, play takes a bolder turn. Illustrator Clio Chuang transforms the outlet into a surreal “flavour portal”, complete with wandering horse travellers and spice-filled worlds. Art meets appetite through immersive visuals, limited-edition stickers, and an exclusive Singapore Art Week combo, because sometimes play is loud, messy, and best enjoyed with fries.

Several collaborations lean into sustainability and making as acts of care. Hydro Flask’s Let’s Go Re:Crafted, created with designer-researcher Jesvin Yeo and master rattan craftsman Chen Foon Kee, reimagines defective bottles as vessels of cultural memory. Wrapped in handwoven rattan, each bottle is transformed from waste into heirloom, a quiet but powerful reflection on repair, rebirth, and time.

At The Green Collective, Saurabh Mangla’s Circular Gallop reshapes low-value plastics into a sculptural form that embodies motion and renewal. Accompanied by a public talk on healthy materials, the work asks viewers to see waste not as an endpoint, but as a beginning.

Similarly, Edible Garden City teams up with wasteXscape on Tumbling Abundance, an interactive rooftop installation made from horticultural waste. Transparent spheres filled with decaying flora invite touch, especially from children, reframing decay as part of a beautiful, necessary cycle.

Coffee gets its moment at PPP Coffee, where cartoonist Sam Lay overlays the café with works from his Double Take series. Kettles, drippers, and coffee pods are reimagined with gentle humour, turning daily caffeine rituals into moments of pause and wonder.

At Audio-Technica, urban artist ZERO engraves his visual language directly onto a crystal-clear turntable. The Daily Grind channels the horse’s endurance and strength, transforming precision audio equipment into a symbol of persistence, rhythm, and creative pursuit.

Meanwhile, DJI’s collaboration with illustrator Ngiam Li Yi, titled no head no tail, reflects on documentation and senselessness in modern life. A stamp rally turns observation into play, rewarding participants while prompting reflection on how we witness the world around us.

Some experiences go beyond looking. At lyf Funan, artist duo thefoolishtribe presents HOSEH!, a batik puppetry experience for families. Children craft and animate their own puppets after a live performance, blending folklore, fabric, and storytelling into shared memory.

Movement takes centre stage at AlphaTheta, where DJ Hojyn brings retro hits and high-energy mixing to live demo performances, proving that play can be sonic, communal, and irresistibly danceable.

Over at Ace Club Tennis, artist Veronyka Lau explores muscular femininity through sculptural installation, while In Full Swing invites participants onto a reimagined pickleball court where rhythm replaces rules. Strategy gives way to shared momentum, and strangers become collaborators.

Threading through the mall are Funan’s Six Passion Horses, sculptural works inspired by Taste, Craft, Chic, Fit, Tech, and Play. From Jeremy Hiah’s cutlery-forged Silver Appetite to Chiew Sien Kuen’s whimsical wheeled horse, each piece reflects a different facet of desire, discipline, and delight.

HOBBYHORSE: Rhythm and Forms of Play invites wandering, repetition, indulgence, and curiosity. You might come for lunch, a workout, or a quick errand, and leave having stitched, danced, counted, collected, or reimagined something ordinary. In the Year of the Horse, Funan reminds us that creativity doesn’t always gallop at full speed. Sometimes, it trots quietly beside us: waiting for us to notice.

You might stumble upon a custom tote, a limited-edition sticker pack, or even a live embroidery bar, all designed by local creatives and available only during the exhibition. It’s art that asks you to take part, take home, and take joy in.

Photo Credit: Funan Mall

Creative Intersections “HOBBYHORSE: Rhythm and Forms of Play” runs from 22nd January to 22nd February 2026 at Funan Mall. More information available here