Shaping Hearts 2026

Shaping Hearts 2026 is an inclusive arts festival presenting the work and perspectives of artists with disabilities through art, play and shared experiences. The Community Development Councils describe it as Singapore’s largest inclusive arts festival and positioned the 2026 edition at Punggol Digital District (PDD) to invite audiences to step into artists’ worlds through play rather than passive viewing (Shaping Hearts, accessed 9 September 2026).

Immersive zones and audio trail

The PDD programme centres on four immersive zones. Rhythm combines sound, technology and creativity through interactive sound stations, a calming sensory room and VR/AI experiences. Texture offers hands-on cyanotype prints, weekend workshops and building-block activities. Visual invites contributions to a community canvas, neighbourhood storytelling through a collaborative mapping room and art workshops. Motion Playground links movement to on-screen art through a Motion Garden where visitors’ movements animate colourful pinwheels (Shaping Hearts, accessed 9 September 2026).

For the first time, Shaping Hearts also introduced a 12-stop audio trail across PDD. Visitors scan QR codes on trail signage to hear stories from artists, participants and spaces in the district. The trail is an interpretive layer on top of the physical festival; it does not replace ticketed workshops or guarantee that every stop is staffed throughout the day (Shaping Hearts, accessed 9 September 2026).

Dates and programme boundary

The Punggol Digital District programme lists festival activity on 12–13, 19–20 and 26–27 September 2026, with the official launch on 13 September from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm featuring Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong as guest-of-honour. The same Sunday includes Playdate @ PDD on Campus Boulevard (9:00 am–3:00 pm), a one-day inclusive playground with 16 pop-up booths and a passport-based goodie-bag redemption route. Published weekend timetables list specific workshops, performances and batik sessions by partner organisations such as NAFA, Artzillions and Arts@Metta; some performance slots remained marked “TBC” in the online schedule at access date (Shaping Hearts, accessed 9 September 2026).

Interpretation boundary

Shaping Hearts is an arts and community-participation festival. Its activities can promote understanding of different disability experiences, but the programme page does not make it a clinical service, disability assessment, employment scheme or universal entitlement. Session details should be checked against the organiser’s current listing before visiting (Shaping Hearts, accessed 5 September 2026).