GEORGE TOWN, Aug 25 — A vacant heritage shophouse with its peeling walls may appear unappealing to some but for Singaporean artist, Alan Oei, it is the perfect canvas for his art installation titled Notes on Penang.

Do not expect a conventional exhibition but be prepared for something different, innovative and completely unexpected.

As you walk into the shophouse, aptly called The Green Room due to the peeling green paint on its walls, you will notice it is bare except for two mysterious oil paintings on the wall, some chairs, tables, a wooden ladder and light bulbs. Oh, there is also a ship hung upside down.

Visitors are briefed and then cued with the blinking of the light bulbs to move from one space to another; from the lit outer room to a pitch black space, for the full experience of the installation.

“The whole ground floor of the shophouse is the installation where visitors get to view another dimension of it as if from inside an obscura camera,” Oei said of his work.

Notes On Penang is one of the many programmes held under Sin-Pen Colony, a pop-up festival within George Town Festival 2014.

Sin-Pen Colony is an extension of the Singapore House project from last year’s George Town Festival; this time featuring two art installation artists, musicians, a chef, a mixologist and crafters.

Most of the Sin-Pen Colony programmes are located at Singapore House Shop, The Green Room which is a vacant shoplot opposite Singapore House and China House, all along Victoria Street.

The Singapore House Shop this time is located on the upper floor of 179, Victoria Street where crafters showcase their wares in the form of books, stationery, souvenirs, clothes, art, accessories and skin care in between a mixed-media art installation by Sam Lo.

Lo, who uses the name SKLo, is showcasing her work Sweet Dreams Are Made of These consisting of several vertical diaoramas that symbolise a takeover.

“Every diaorama represents different scenarios that represent a ‘takeover’ of Singapore and Penang of a different kind,” she said.

The pop-up festival within a festival is curated by Singaporean artiste Tan Kheng Hua who fell in love with George Town Festival the first time it debuted in 2010.

“I love how it’s such a street festival, I love what Joe (Sidek) did. I fell in love with Joe and we became very good friends very quickly,” she said.

Over the years, she’s kept in touch with GTF and festival director Joe Sidek before she took on the Singapore House project to make it bigger this year.

“This is my largest involvement in this festival. It is a very special year as I have a lot of support from Singapore to do this too,” Tan said.

The actress, known for her role as Margaret in popular Singaporean sitcom Phua Chu Kang, loves coming to Penang and is here almost every year.

“That’s why I called this project Sin-Pen, because I’ve always got the support from Penang and I wanted Singaporean institutions to also take ownership and they did,” she said.

Programmes under Sin-Pen include playwriting workshop Islands & Cities where dramatic reads of short plays by two young playwrights – Penangite Yvette Chan and Singaporean Foong Xiu Ting — are held.

The duo have been mentored by Singaporean playwright Huzir Sulaiman and director Claire Wong and the 30-minute plays will be performed at Sinkeh on August 30 and 31.

Then there is a festival-commission drama, 2 Houses, which will take place at the majestic Soonstead mansion along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah.

The play is a unique theatrical piece that takes its audience from room to room as a story of love and war in Penang back in the 1940s unfolds.

The group of Singaporean retailers showcasing their wares at Singapore House Shop are BooksActually, KushKush, We Are Four, Skinlycious, Mandy T, Chalk, My Personal Jeweller and Love SG.

Next weekend, August 29-31, indie band The Sam Willows will be performing “live” at China House while mixologist Louis Tan of Mixes from Mars will be mixing up a storm at Vines & Single in China House.

Peranakan chef Malcolm Lee of the Candlenut restaurant will be cooking up a feast in a three-night series of Singapore House Supper Clubs at China House.

Registration for the supper clubs is required.

GTF is an annual month-long festival held to celebrate George Town’s inscription as a Unesco World Heritage site with cultural and arts performances, exhibitions and events.

Find out more here.