Karen Tan

Karen Tan is the founder of The Projector, an independent cinema which first opened at the Golden Mile Tower in 2014. A dynamic alternative to the mainstream cineplex, The Projector brings together the best of films, versatile spaces, as well as dining and live entertainment.

In 2021, it introduced a new concept, Projector X, taking over an abandoned Chinese disco on the top floor of Riverside Point in Clarke Quay. Its latest pop-up, Projector X: Picturehouse opened in August 2022, taking over the space in one of Singapore’s oldest cinema locations at The Cathay.

Tan is also the founder of Pocket Projects, a creative development consultancy focused on the adaptive reuse of distressed urban areas and heritage buildings, The former real estate investment banker is also the treasurer of the Singapore chapter of Docomomo (Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of Modern Movement), a non-profit group formally established in 2021 to research and educate its members about and advocate for the modern built heritage of Singapore.