SAM STORYFEST X THE EVERYDAY MUSEUM:
THE ART TELLER MACHINE
Temporary Installation with Roving Capabilities
What is it:
Creative Direction, Graphic Design, Interactive Design, Fabrication and Build
What we did:
A month-long art, design and literary activation by Singapore Art Museum transforms Singapore’s Central Business District into a living archive of stories.
Between 30 Jan–28 Feb 2026, our Art Teller Machines (ATMs) were placed along the Shenton Way stretch, the heartbeat of this financial centre, in proximity to The Everyday Museum's latest public art commissions.
All it takes is a press of a button and curious passersby will receive one of six commissioned poems by Pooja Nansi, printed on receipt paper. The humble receipt that is usually tied to “transaction,” “commerce,” and“trade”— is reimagined here as a poetic barter, weaving together site, artwork and layered city stories.
The idea was to subvert the ATM's expectation in the financial district, replacing its function of churning out money with a machine that dispenses soulful human-written art; poetry.
To add a sense of human touch to the machines, we created a series of eyes based on what we felt looking at each artwork. These we found, were the perfect, human way to express the warmth of artist Pooja Nansi’s poems - making the ATMs friendly, approachable, and a memorable sight prompting people to stop and break the CBD’s everyday humdrum.
The 6 commissioned poems could be dispensed at Art Teller Machines located at Manulife Tower, Ocean Financial Centre, Downtown Gallery, Marina One, CIMB Plaza, Lau Pa Sat.
Following a successful run during Storyfest, some of the Art Teller Machines have found a permanent home in the Singapore Art Museum.