The Pigeonhole – A Cafe With More Than Meets The Eye

The Pigeonhole always has a pleasant surprise in store for you.

The Pigeonhole @ Duxton Road

Looking in through its glass panels and doors, those walking along 52 & 53 Duxton Road may be a little confused about what this place does. A creative space lovingly fitted with bookshelves, eclectic furniture and painted with a scarlet floor, the Pigeonhole is a cosy cafe that attracts visitors with more than its aromatic espressos and delectable desserts.

A place to get to know local NGOs, music, film and the arts

Ave and Rayner - Owners of The Pigeonhole

Owners Ave Chan and Rayner Lim work hard to build the Pigeonhole as a dynamic space for the arts community and civil society. They envision it to be a place to hold events for which there is no venue, to discuss issues important to Singapore and Singaporeans, to build capacity and share ideas, and to practise skills and support each other, across disciplines, across industries, and across race, language or religion.

Ave, who was employed with the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME) in 2009, knew first-hand about the difficulties that local NGOs face in organizing events that raise awareness for their cause. It was especially challenging due to a lack of sustained and predictable funding.

It then became their hope to alleviate at least part of that burden, by providing an affordable events space for NGOs and by adding to the promotion and publicity of the events held at the Pigeonhole. Other than HOME, they work together with Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) and Migrant Voices in an ongoing fortnightly series of talks hosted at The Pigeonhole. They have also organized events such as an Earth Hour fundraiser for the Nature Society and the SPCA.

Local singer Inch Chua's performance during an Earth Hour event @ The Pigeonhole

Things at The Pigeonhole are always kept interesting. On top of providing local NGOs with a place for raising awareness, you might find yourself walking into the middle of an art exhibition, music performance, PowerPoint KTV session, Hackathon or even a ‘music camp’ (that is styled after Bar Camp). The Pigeonhole also gets a regular and diverse pool of clientele that range from Ave and Rayner’s own friends, friends of friends, the tech crowd, Tweeple from the Twitterverse, people who work around the area and pop by for afternoon coffee, artists and musicians. Indeed, it is a melting pot where different communities can come together and engage in fun and meaningful activities.

From idea to execution

The idea for The Pigeonhole first floated in November 2010, when Rayner was already serving notice from his previous job as a film editor. After which, the duo spent all their waking hours scheming and plotting and doing the groundwork. They found a space at Duxton Road in January this year and everything took due course.