The concept behind this bar in Singapore is “upcycling” – that’s like recycling where the new thing is better than the old one. When The Butter Factory’s popular Fash venue needed a new lease of life, this upcycling philosophy led the owners to conceive ART BAR, with the emphasis placed equally on both Art and Bar. Local artists have been invited to strut their stuff within the newly refurbished space and the installations will keep changing, gallery style.

Everywhere you turn there’s examples of repurposing to be found and enjoyed – for instance the oil drum tables, old newspaper used as wallpaper, a multicoloured partition of floorboards, and some interesting old drinking vessels. The liberal use of that old wood-replacement favourite Oriented Strand Board gives a rough and ready industrial vibe to the bar, but it’s also a place of contrasts; here you’ll find a wall of peeling shutters right next to polished marble tiles. Different is good, and this place is just that.