For an island nation that measures only 726 sq. km (280 sq. mi) and with a population of less than six million, Singapore looms outsized on the LEGO stage. It’s right next door to LEGOLAND Malaysia (and you’ll remember that the LEGO House temporarily relocated there this year on April 1st). I spent some time in Singapore decades ago, and my kids begged to visit after watching “Crazy Rich Asians.” With all this bricking potential, it wasn’t difficult for them to get me on board, but something happened in the world and that trip didn’t materialize. I forget why. Hmm. We’ll get back to that.

In case you missed it, Singapore (somewhat known for strictness) has been super firm about (and largely successful in) their handling of the coronavirus. — Oh, THAT’s what it was! — Like many countries, it is in a fluctuating state of on- and off-again lockdown measures with almost impenetrable border crossing requirements.

Knowing the toll such isolation takes on the AFOL soul, I was excited to see online evidence of LEGO joy shining a light in the equatorial night in the form of the EnBlock Brick Convention. I reached out to Xylvie Wong, a full-time artist, event organizer, and community leader in Singapore who works with LEGO as her main medium. Xylvie is the local rock star who brought this event to life.

Perhaps you’ve never looked too closely at the one stud that might denote Singapore on the new LEGO World Map set. And perhaps you also missed out on that rare Marina Bay Sands Architecture set. No worries, LAH! Hop on board our BrickNerd flight to Singapore. You won’t need to spend two weeks in quarantine in a state-approved facility to read on…

Gwyneth: From what I gather, the EnBlock convention was new in 2019. What inspired you to organize it? What were your primary goals with the event?

Xylvie: EnBlock is “new” as in, the name is new. But I have been running local conventions and exhibitions since 2014 under different names. Our largest exhibition thus far was actually in conjunction with Singapore’s 50th birthday in August 2015 and saw 14,000 attendees.

My main aim when I started organizing brick conventions and exhibitions was actually “for the kids.” It largely still is. I feel that as an individual, I cannot change the education system and the rat race that grows from a stifling education system. I can, however, do whatever is within my capability on the outside to inspire a generation of kids to think out of the box, to dare to dream, and to pursue artistic or creative career options. So LEGO is essentially my medium to engage kids.

A secondary objective would then be for the AFOLs. I strongly believe they every artist needs an audience. So I am happy to provide a platform for AFOLs to showcase their talented works to the public so that they can be known to more than just the LEGO community only.

Gwyneth: That is an amazing way to create opportunity—for all ages! Can you help paint a picture for outsiders of the AFOL scene in Singapore? Can Singapore builders build large MOCs in their (stereotypically) cramped quarters? Do you cooperate with LUGs in the larger South Asian region?

Xylvie: The local Singapore AFOL Facebook page has about 10,000 members. Most of them are set builders. I would say that actual serious MOCers are few and far between—perhaps 150-200 or so. There are definitely large diorama builders, but you are right to say Singapore AFOLs mostly only build tabletop MOCs precisely for space constraints. (Of course with the lack of space also comes with the frustrations of spouses. Haha!) When there already isn’t enough space for necessities, why take up a hobby that requires so much space?

We do work with our fellow AFOLs from Malaysia a fair bit. We have had events that involved Malaysians, Filipinos and Australians too! I have personally contributed to displays in Malaysian events.

MOC by Zheng Hong Xi - Journey to the West Brickheadz Diorama

Gwyneth: Is there any local controversy surrounding LEGO vs fake brick?

Xylvie: I do not allow fake LEGO bricks at my events. I do, however, allow custom minifigures, particularly those whose themes that LEGO doesn’t support but have a large fan base, eg: military-themed figs.

Gwyneth: What did the con look like in (the normal times of) 2019? It seems to take place in a shopping plaza, which is unique to me (compared with a typical convention center). Is this a usual locale for such an event in Singapore?

Xylvie: Actually, 2019 was unique. It took place in a show suite. This was a temporary building whose main purpose was to replicate a signature portion of an up-and-coming mall. The mall used that space to solicit tenants to join them. However, as the concept of the mall was meant to be a “maker’s space,” the show suite also doubles up as a gallery space and supported many local artists and creative events—from leatherworking workshops to watercolor classes, as well a brick conventions like ours. When the mall opened at the end of 2019 / beginning of 2020, we had the next two installments of EnBlock at the newly opened mall.

But, yes, to finally answer your question, events in Singapore very often take place in malls. Venue rental cost in Singapore is exceedingly high and schools generally don’t sponsor conventions like that unless it directly impacts hiring of their students (e.g. career fairs). Hence, our best bet is always the mall!

Gwyneth: That sounds like a great solution, and you have a built-in shopping audience to boot! …Except maybe not in 2020… Can you share how you managed to plan a convention with ever-changing restrictions and how you overcame those logistical hurdles?

Xylvie: Due to COVID-19, the 2020 event was overhauled and swapped from a convention to an exhibition two weeks before the actual date. The change over was indeed a logistical nightmare and saw us forking out over $10,000 out-of-pocket for carpentry and logistics—even after sponsorship. We had many rules to follow to allow social distancing and ensure that all the exhibitions are well spaced apart. Most definitely a “pain in the butt.” But we pulled it off!

First of all, there were capacity limits. We could only have one person per 16 sq meters of space, or no more than 50 people max. That meant that if we were to run it as a convention, it would be soooo “dead” and boring with so few participants—and we wouldn’t be able to allow entry to the public either since our builders alone already exceeded the limit of 50.

It would have been unfair to allow some but not others to attend, so we decided to switch it to an exhibition. Since an exhibition is unmanned, we need not adhere to the 50 person rule, and we only needed to work with the one person per 16 sq meters of space rule. But since the mall is HUGE, at least we didn’t have to limit the number of public. The only downside was that builders and the public couldn’t mingle, which honestly is half the fun at any convention—meeting new people!

With the experience and carpentry done up for 2020, 2021 was comparatively easy and cost us only about $2,000 to run, since we were able to recycle most of the previous year’s carpentry.

Gwyneth: Does your convention usually have games?

Xylvie: Yes, our conventions normally have hourly games, and also 2-3 workshop sessions daily, however, we couldn’t do that for 2020 at all. 2020 event had no fringe activities like workshops or contests. Not allowed. And for 2021, we only managed to have one session of workshops before the government announced yet another mini lockdown! We had to call off the rest of the workshops.

Gwyneth: That sounds infinitely frustrating! It’s a feat that you nevertheless managed to pull it off. The 2021 event seemed to have been delayed but ultimately lasted longer than anticipated. How was it similar to the previous event, and how was it different?

Xylvie: Well it is rather similar to the 2020 exhibition I would say. We had some glimmer of hope that we might be able to run workshops this time. But it was canned over and over again because we kept swinging in and out of various mini lockdowns.

Sikhs’ holy Golden Temple in Punjab, Sri Harmandir Sahib by Xylvie Wong

Gwyneth: We can only hope that next year will involve a more consistent situation—for AFOLs and KFOLs alike. In addition to your event planning, you are a LEGO artist. I’ve admired your MOCs that reflect local heritage. Is that a common theme for Singapore builders?

Xylvie: Most, if not all, of my conserved / heritage architecture models are commissioned builds—by museums, government ministries, etc. However, my 1:1 scale lifesize installations are all my own works. Non-commissioned, 1:1 scale life-size models are basically my signature. I like to build life-size installations the public can “walk into” and pose with. They are a staple at all my exhibitions and conventions. There will definitely be a 1:1 scale element for the public to pose with as a photo op.

Some are more localized, like the local hawker heritage, HDB void deck or peranakan kitchen, whereas others are more universal, like a life size rock band set. But the aim is always the same, to provide the public an opportunity to walk in to and immerse themselves in the LEGO and become part of the exhibit.

Gwyneth: Those sure set the stage for thinking outside the box! Are you already working on the next event, or is it hard to plan ahead in these times?

Xylvie: I have an upcoming commissioned exhibition in a museum at the end of August, but nothing beyond that. You’d be right to say that it’s hard to plan too far ahead in these times. Plans inevitably are thrown out of the window so, like, why bother planning? Haha!

Gwyneth: You have put in exponentially more effort, Xylvie—but the opportunity to gather safely is surely appreciated exponentially more, as well.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience and for allowing BrickNerds everywhere to enjoy the event vicariously!

Have you ever been to a LEGO event in Singapore? Let us know in in the comments below.

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