The Golden Record 2.0, NUS Arts Festival 2018, 21 – 22 September 2018, University Cultural Centre Theatre At the NUS Arts Festival 2017 was staged part one of The Golden Record, inspired by the 40th anniversary of the 1977 NASA launch of Voyager I and II, the interstellar crafts that carried two ‘Golden Records’ deep […]
Weekly Picks: Singapore (17 – 23 September 2018) Read More »
Ten bold and emotionally stirring stories have been selected as finalists the 2nd Viddsee Juree Philippines, a festival of short films that celebrates and supports filmmaking communities in Asia. A wide range of independent filmmakers from different backgrounds turned in their work for selection including more familiar names like Ma. Jhayle Ann Marie Meer and
Short film fest to send winner to Hollywood (via The Manila Times) Read More »
Kilong Ung was just a teenager when the Khmer Rouge overtook his hometown of Battambang in Cambodia. Under the new regime, he and his seven sisters, along with their parents, were forced into concentration camps, where they worked 13 hours a day on a daily ration of two tiny bowls of rice porridge and whatever
Back in 2014, amid the weekly cycle of news, a particular image was more striking than most: Doctor and Professor Ngo Bao Chau stood in the middle of a makeshift classroom in a rural village in Thai Nguyen Province while teaching local kids. Chau is a Vietnamese-French mathematician who’s currently based at the University of Chicago, USA,
How Dép Tổ Ong Goes From Timeless Family Keepsake to Millennial Icon (via Saigoneer) Read More »
Faye Lim dances, facilitates, performs, improvises, makes, and mothers. In Singapore, she presents works with the Strangeweather Movement Group, a collective she founded to create and perform dance works at off-stage venues around Singapore. As part of Singapore’s Contact Improvisation (CI) community, Faye has also facilitated jams and workshops in Singapore and KL, and she runs child-friendly
Sitting in the ‘gap’: Faye Lim explores body autonomy for children (via Talking Circles) Read More »
From surprise visits to schools, replacing white shoes with black, and referencing the Finnish education system as a possible one to emulate, the new Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik has made waves with his fresh approach. Expectations are running high and the field of arts education is no exception – many are buzzing for the
Getting schooled on the arts (via The Star) Read More »
Some may say that modern performance art in Vietnam looks the way it does thanks to the works of Tuan Le and his colleagues. Almost two decades into a series of smashing theatrical successes across the country, Le invites Saigoneer into the creative power behind AO, Teh Dar, and Lang Toi. About 17 years ago, Le decided to turn his
Tiger of Malaya by Teater Ekamatra, 12 – 23 Sept, Drama Centre Black Box In 1943, the Japanese film ‘The Tiger of Malaya’ was released. Based on the life story of Tani Yutaka, a Japanese man who lived on the east coast of Malaya, the film portrayed him as a patriotic agent who liberated the
Weekly Picks: Singapore (10 – 16 September 2018) Read More »
YANGON — Veteran modernists and younger generations have teamed up to exhibit their works together in Yangon. Twenty-seven modernists are displaying more than 50 works at “Wild Eye” contemporary art exhibition at OK Art Gallery in Aung San Stadium. Their works are either of purely artistic creation or they reflect the contemporary history of their
NDO – The Vietnamese Culture Week opened at Chaktomuk theatre, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on September 11. The opening ceremony was attended by the Cambodian Minister of Cults and Religion Him Chhem, Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeurng Sackona, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Khanh Hai, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia
Vietnamese Cultural Week opens in Cambodia (via Nhân Dân) Read More »
Duration: 25 mins Chloe C. Chotrani and Bernice Lee discuss the performances, workshops, technique classes and showcases featured in this year’s M1 Contact Contemporary Dance Festival, which spread out over three months from 15 June – 4 August 2018, as well as the Festival’s role in the landscape of contemporary dance practice and audience reception in Singapore. Chloe
Podcast 46: M1 Contact Contemporary Dance Festival 2018 Read More »
The 15th Johor Arts Festival kicked off on 1 September, and runs until 23 September 2018. One of Malaysia’s longest-running festivals, it features a variety of performances, exhibitions, workshops, talks, and activities, ranging between the traditional and contemporary; the loud and the quiet; the lighthearted and hilarious and the moving and poignant. Here are ArtsEquator’s
Johor Arts Festival 2018: Top 8 Picks Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (620 words, four-minute read) 拾念劇集 La Cie Maxmind’s Isle of Dreams (蓬萊) was the headlining event for the George Town Festival’s Taiwan-focused showcase this year. It is a three-hour long work of musical theatre, original in story and in language, loosely adapted from the geography and mythology detailed in the Classic of
La Cie Maxmind’s “Isle of Dreams”: The Dark Fantastic Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (620 words, four-minute read) Ombak Potehi is Ombak Ombak Art Studio’s glove puppet theatre group established in 2015, consisting of young people – all under 30 – producing and performing puppet theatre, having been trained by experts from Penang’s Beng Geok Hong Puppet Troupe. To date, they’ve written and produced three works:
Ombak Potehi’s “Kisah Pulau Pinang: The Penang Story”: A Slice of Malayan History Read More »
Potehi puppet theatre is a traditional Hokkien art form brought to Southeast Asia by immigrants from southern China several centuries ago. Despite originally being performed in Hokkien, potehi came to be performed in the different languages of the region, and is practised around Southeast Asia. Ombak Potehi is Ombak-Ombak ARTStudio’s glove puppet theatre group established
AExGTF Chats: Prof Tan Sooi Beng of Ombak Potehi at George Town Festival Read More »
Duration: 35 mins At SeaShorts 2018, which took place from 1 – 5 August 2018 in George Town, Penang, we caught up with Cambodian film director, screenwriter and producer Rithy Panh, and Park Sungho, programmer for S-Express Cambodia (a selection of Cambodian short films at SeaShorts), who’s also a programmer for the Cambodia International Film
Podcast 45: On Southeast Asian Film with Rithy Panh and Park Sungho Read More »
The opening weekend of the George Town Festival 2018 also saw the opening of the Griffith Creative Arts Room at Wisma Yeap Chor Ee, Penang: a room dedicated to presenting the works of creative arts from the students and faculty of Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. This is the first time a university has been invited
AExGTF Chats: The Griffith Creative Arts Room at George Town Festival Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (1050 words, four-minute read) George Town Festival is now in its ninth year, and one of the distinctive qualities in every edition is the balance it strikes between presenting international touring works, and Malaysian shows that are rooted in local society and culture. Kelantan – A Living Heritage, the headliner event opening
“Kelantan: A Living Heritage”: Tributing the Traditional Read More »
Between Tiny Cities (រវាងទីក្រុងតូច), a two-hander dance performance dovetailing b-boy vocabulary with contemporary dance, was the result of a three-year cultural exchange between Tiny Toones in Cambodia and Darwin City Rockers in Australia. It was presented at George Town Festival 2018, running over the opening weekend of 4 – 5 August. We interview choreographer Nick
AExGTF Chats: “Between Tiny Cities (រវាងទីក្រុងតូច)” at George Town Festival Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (1500 words, seven-minute read) dead was the body till i taught it how to move (dwtb) is Bhumi Collective’s first production of the year, and just like their two principal works of 2017 – Every Brilliant Thing with Andrew Marko and The Last of Their Generation with Mohamed Shaifulbahri – it is
“dead was the body”: Theatre Meets Breaking Meets Therapy Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (890 words, 5 minute read) Along the bustling roads of Chinatown and the throngs of long-time residents, local visitors and tourists, there’s an invisible, theatrical time machine that comes to life a few evenings a week, running until mid-August. Chinatown Crossings, Drama Box’s latest promenade theatrical performance, pays tribute to the neighbourhood
“Chinatown Crossings”: A Trail of Echoes Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (850 words, six-minute read) In Framed, by Adolf, playwright-director Chong Tze Chien’s fascination with Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust continues from 2016’s Starring Hitler as Jekyll and Hyde, which explored the idea of the dictator as a failed artist. Framed revolves not so much around Hitler, but the journey of one of
“Framed, by Adolf”: Truth as Shadow-Play Read More »
Presented by the National Arts Council Singapore, The Art and Consequence of Collaboration with the Australian Network for Art & Technology (ANAT) and Experimenta is a series of presentations that give an insight into the art/technology and art/science sectors in Australia, scanning the development of these practices over the past 30 years and key areas of
Art that Moves is an occasional series where we ask artists and other creative workers to reflect on artworks, performances or events that were personally important to them. Marc Nair, poet and photographer, is producer of Note for Note: #Skintones, an interdisciplinary performance by poets and musicians in collaboration, presented as part of Poetry with Music series by
Art That Moves: Marc Nair Read More »
Duration: 17 min Latest in the Fresh Blood series, we find out more about Singapore’s inaugural Queer Zinefest, a celebration of zine-making, queer art, and queer people, taking place on 14 July 2018 at Camp Kilo Charcoal Club. Beyond being a showcase of queer zines and zine-makers, the programme also features workshops, performances and other
Podcast 42: Queer Zinefest 2018 Read More »
Suzhou Symphony Orchestra 2018 Asia Tour – Singapore by Suzhou Symphony Orchestra 18 June 2018 Maestro Chen Xieyang, along with the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra will present to you its programme featuring Profokiev’s epic tale of love and the powerful realism of Zhu Jian Er’s sonic world for the start for their Asian Tour 2018. The
Weekly Picks: Singapore (18 – 24 June 2018) Read More »
The Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) Foundation is about to raise its profile as vice chairperson Panya Vijinthanasarn and committee secretary Chatvichai Promadhattavedi seek a meeting with the city’s unimpressed governor, Aswin Kwanmuang, about funding support and sustainable management. Whether the meeting is arranged or not, the foundation is organising a press conference to
Cash-strapped BACC counts on friends in deed (via The Nation) Read More »
Kungfu Bonda by Purple Aura Productions 16 June 2018 Kungfu Bonda is Baggy’s new stand-up solo show. After his questionable success in his 20s, when Baggy approached 30, he hopes to be a comic where he lives his life one strip at a time and shares the cartoon of his existence with everyone. After his
Weekly picks: Singapore (11 – 17 June 2018) Read More »
A photo exhibition takes the viewer behind the curtain of Myanmar’s jade industry Myanmar jade is one of the most beautiful in the world. It is also one of the bloodiest. One of the best mines is in the war-torn Kachin state where ethnic armed groups and the Burmese armed force are at each others’ throats.
The Journey of the Blood Jade (via Myanmar Times) Read More »
Duration: 21 minutes Latest in our Fresh Blood series, the spotlight is on Split Theatre, a feisty young outfit that is staging their third production “Fourteen” on 8 June at Centre 42 Black Box. We chat with director Darryl Lim, actor Elizabeth Samosir and production manager Chia Xin Ying about how they met, what “Fourteen”
Podcast 41: Split Theatre’s “Fourteen” Read More »
