If there’s one thing we love more than bingeing on the good stuff, it’s a growing affinity for creative alternatives in almost everything we consume — not only the sweet and savoury pleasures we crave to fill our bellies with.

It’s also the driving force behind the latest pop-up festival to take root. Dubbed Creatory for obvious reasons, this two-day event is an ingenious way to celebrate a nation’s collective fancy for weekend markets, progressive fare, liberal arts and live entertainment, and a little retail therapy. Produced by 8@ate Productions, a new arm of The Ate Group, and spearheaded together with homegrown agencies, ONG&ONG Experience Design, Tofu, Hjgher and Kult, it boasts more than 60 participating partners and will be staged in a newly repurposed industrial building in the Macpherson estate dedicated to Singapore’s F&B and lifestyle entrepreneurs.

“In general, festivals tend to focus on a singular field or bring together two or three related fields such as music or food,” The Ate Group’s executive director Sharon Chong explained. “Creatory is a festival that strives to marry many different creative fields and forms under one roof. Each level has been specially curated by a different design collective to create a total experience, which allows guests to immerse themselves in a variety of activities, from craft workshops to live art installations and rooftop dinners.

“When you enter each level, what you see, hear and consume, every detail of your surroundings, would have been carefully conceived to create a holistic experience. Your drink will have been created to complement the artwork you’re seeing; your snack will reflect the music you’re hearing. It’s like one large interactive art installation.”

As such, the F&B offering will be varied, comprising dishes not available at the featured chefs’ restaurants. “We wanted to work with people who are pushing the boundaries in what they’re doing and are creative and innovative in their own way,” Chong added. “We’re partnering the likes of Ryan Clift (Tippling Club), Janice Wong (2am: dessertbar), Jeremy Nguee (of gourmet caterer Preparazzi) and Bjorn Shen (Artichoke Cafe), and also with smaller local brands like GSH Conserves, The Edible Co., Hunter’s Kitchenette and Ice Cream Cookie Co.”

The event, Nguee asserted, is a “ground-breaking event that will take the conversation of the Singaporean identity to the next level”. He will be presenting two “concepts”. The first is in collaboration with ceramic studio Mud Rock in an exploration of “the primordial nature of food”. In short, Mud Rock will be creating a special vessel to cook Nguee’s dishes in, which will also serve as the bowl from which guests will eat; the bowl is then “destroyed”, returning it to its original formless state. In another presentation, Nguee will feature his latest modernisation of the familiar in the form of a reimagined dish of roast pork and char siew rice. Dubbed Bazuka Yakibuta, it pairs Preparazzi’s signature roast crackling pork with caramelised char siew on short-grain rice, splashed with a lard-soya secret sauce, and served with an onsen egg, pickles and crispy shallot chilli.

Even the humble sandwich gets an apt makeover, bringing together some of the islands’ young stars — Chefs Ming Tan and Kyle Henderson from Lolla and The Cajun Kings’ Andrei Soen will come together as Park Bench Deli to dish out “next-level sandwiches”. Ming added: “Sometimes food gets complex, and people lose the joy of making and eating tasty things.” Other participating restaurants include &Sons, Kilo After Dark, Kith and Morsels.

Creatory will take place at Tasty Plaza on MacTaggart Road on Aug 23 and 24, from 11am till late. Tickets (S$28 for a day pass/S$48 for a two-day pass) can be purchased at http://www.creatory.sg. Limited tickets for a five-course preview dinner on Aug 22 (S$140) are also available.