It Takes A Village: How The Glass Hut Forges A Creative Haven For The Artistic Community

Scenes from Sakiko’s Secret Trip, an art exhibition-slash-performance at The Glass Hut (Credit: All images courtesy of The Glass Hut)

It’s morphed into a kaleidoscopic psytrance paradise and a frenzied techno den. It’s opened its doors to experimental open jams with live musicians such as Mantravine and Nathan Hartono. It’s hosted eclectic pop-up markets with nosh stations and yoga sessions. And it’s even conducted workshops introducing disciplines such as the mystical world of performance magic and the peculiar Japanese dance form of Butoh. Like a swirling melting pot that’s constantly being stirred, The Glass Hut is an unorthodox establishment that alters form with each of its multi-disciplinary antics. You can’t quite put your finger on it. But that is the undilutable source of its charm.

Murmurs of The Glass Hut began when the pandemic had local culture in a chokehold. Folks in the know chatted about a progressive institution that was generating buzz in the heart of 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace, the former police headquarters that also houses Kult Yard as a tenant. Despite being situated near the clamour of Chinatown, The Glass Hut is quaintly sequestered within this reinvigorated enclave as a space of endless possibility. Essentially, The Glass Hut is an open creative space that’s purposed for supporting communities in the arts. It’s a venue that feeds on the fuel of collaboration, always on the lookout for creatives to utilise its rooms for events, workshops, exhibitions and other unfiltered outlets of expression.

The Glass Hut often holds markets and workshops that organise all sorts of creative activities

It’s no secret that the life of an artist in Singapore is a bumpy and potentially aimless road. And it's this tricky quagmire that the team from The Glass Hut hopes to resolve. Comprising numerous members with varying expertise – most of whom have full-time jobs – The Glass Hut team intends to pool their knowledge and resources together to assist these struggling subcultures. It has its own crew of music directors, art directors, project managers and other key members bonded by this altruistic passion, providing the infrastructure artists need to realise their potential. Behind The Glass Hut lies an ironclad motivation to restore culture, and the ripples of its rejuvenating efforts are starting to show.

To understand how The Glass Hut grew from a bunch of like-minded Samaritans to a full-on village for the arts, I speak to co-founder, Dione Keh, who oversees the evolution and energy of the space.

The Glass Hut was co-founded by project manager, Dione Keh (left), and music director, Cruise Chen (right)

Hi Dione. Could you enlighten us on how and why The Glass Hut was conceptualised and founded?

The Glass Hut is a COVID baby. It’s really about sharing a space with a community of self-employed people, artists, creatives; people who have a lot of skill and talent but don’t have the resources. They might not know how to do marketing or PR or manage their finances, and that’s where we step in. You also have those who come in who are a little bit lost but they have an interest in music or arts, but feel that it’s difficult to pursue in Singapore as a career. But here, we have a lot of people who are established and can provide some sort of informal mentorship. We’re very community-based and community-run; a lot of people in the team are purely volunteers with full-time jobs. We want to have this space to create jobs for people and not for ourselves. That’s the community we want to build.

Getting to The Glass Hut is already half the adventure

Word of The Glass Hut has definitely spread through the grapevine and it’s amassed a unique community over the years. What makes The Glass Hut community special?

I think our community is really diverse. There’s a group of people who come for the markets, a group for the workshops, a group for art or dance or music. We’re really thankful to know that there are people who vibe with the place. We basically want to create a space where people can find a home. We are hanging out here almost every single day and it’s so fun because everyone brings something different to the table. You never know what’s gonna happen or who’s gonna come. It feels like we’re in a village.

It’s no wonder The Glass Hut has such a multi-disciplinary edge in its identity. Is this identity constantly evolving?

We started off as being a bunch of people hanging out. That’s why we go with the flow, and we try to support whomever comes in or vibes with us. That’s why we end up being so eclectic and multi-disciplinary. But we are still growing. We view ourselves as a child that’s growing up and slowly experiencing and deciding what we want our identity to be.

Opening The Glass Hut to a world of experiences surely has its advantages. But is there a line that you draw?

We don’t do things that are more politically sensitive or say, Satanic. It’s not that we personally have an issue with it, but it’s more about keeping the space safe for everyone and to not get shut down. We definitely do alternative things as long as it's not offensive.

One charming aspect of The Glass Hut is its cloistered location. How has your experience of operating in a venue like this been?

Initially, we liked how we were secluded and people just knew us through word of mouth. But because we do want to be extremely inclusive, and there are certain groups of people that require larger foot traffic like markets and workshops, we need people to know about the space.

The Glass Hut resides within the enclave of Pearl’s Hill Terrace, a former police headquarters

Our particular unit for The Glass Hut was uninhabited for 15 years. When we got it, there was no door, the ceiling was rotting, and the floor was calcified. So for three months, we DIY-ed with the renovations. It’s really our baby.

We also have lots of offices upstairs. So for a recent hardcore show we did, the soundcheck was done during the day and it bothered a few neighbours. But we’ve spoken to all of them and everyone’s very understanding about the vibe of this building.

You’ll all find all sorts of gigs at The Glass Hut, from live performances to secretive raves

The Glass Hut has hosted plenty of gigs from several local collectives, ranging from hardcore and psytrance to world music. Do you have many collectives knocking on your door for bookings?

More and more are coming and we have a few lined up for the next couple of months. We’re really happy because we like seeing all these communities learning from each other. It’s amazing seeing everyone vibe and be inclusive.

It’s certainly shaping up to be an inclusive establishment that’s home to many disciplines and interest. What do you hope for The Glass Hut to achieve in the future?

We hope to create more part-time and regular jobs, and also be able to properly support everyone who wants to do something here. We’re not professionals, but we hope that with every new collaboration that we do, we give them something that they can fully rely on and give them a good experience. Long-term, we want to have our own festival. Everyone here has the skills and talent to do it.

The Glass Hut, #01-39A, 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace, Singapore 168976. For more information on upcoming events and activities, visit its Instagram page.