The Ordinary and The Unspectacular by The Theatre Practice 16 – 19 August 2018 After each breath Before the next Time streams into the moments of timelessness The Ordinary and The Unspectacular is a contemplation of the minutiae of everyday life. When each snapshot in time is magnified, the everyday becomes estranged and the simplicity of […]
Weekly picks: Singapore (13 – 19 August 2018) Read More »
Since 2010, photographer Stefen Chow and his economist partner Lin Huiyi have been challenging perceptions of what it means to be poor across the globe. Their award-winning project The Poverty Line, which will exhibit at this month’s George Town Festival in Malaysia, compares 29 countries through photographs of the food choices available to those living on the poverty line
Photo project examines how food challenges the notion of poverty (via SEA Globe) Read More »
ARTIST HTEIN Lin climbs onto a chair. “Can I get up here? Then people can see me,” he says to the assembled crowd. “That’s a technique I learned in 1988.” He is in the south wing of Yangon’s Secretariat where, some 70 years ago, independence hero Bogyoke Aung San was assassinated. Htein Lin is referring
In recent days, I have been absorbed heavily into a book my wife brought home from Kinokuniya. While she absorbed it in a mere few days, I took longer to read it because I realized that this book should have been entitled (insert here names of a few people I know). There are entire chapters
YANGON — For those tired of landscapes and portraits, an ongoing exhibition in Yangon is showcasing something a little more uncanny. “Supernatural” features the creative works of five surrealists exploring other aspects of human life. Surrealism is not new to Myanmar, but few surrealists have emerged here since the movement began abroad in the 1920s.
Art Show Delves Into the Surreal (via The Irrawady) Read More »
How To Be Happy (again) by Ethos Books 5 Aug 2018 As part of Esplanade’s Spoken Word Sunday series, How To Be Happy (again) will start the series off this sunday! It will be an evening of rhyme and rhythm filled with words exploring happiness and the notion of a greater good. Come by to here poetic
Weekly Picks: Singapore (30 July – 5 August 2018) Read More »
April is hot in Cambodia, with temperatures regularly hitting the mid-30s. And in the tourist town of Siem Reap, performers at New Cambodia Artists (NCA), the country’s first contemporary dance company, lay down in their studio as they wait for the midday heat to pass. The power cut doesn’t help. Several industrial fans stand silent
A recent video released by British diver Rich Horner, showed him swimming through the waters of Bali. Only he wasn’t just swimming amongst the exotic sea life, he was also swimming through an astounding amount of rubbish and plastic that had covered the sea so overwhelmingly it almost seemed as though there was more plastic in the sea than
An Inconvenient Practice (via Plural Art Magazine) Read More »
Singapore & the World — Behind the Game: Exploring History Through Assassin’s Creed, National Museum of Singapore 28 Jul 2018 Singapore and the World is a programme that focusses on the historical and contemporary connections that links Singapore to the world. The exhibition gives a behind-the-scenes look into Ubisoft Singapore’s role in Assassin’s Creed that
Weekly Picks: Singapore (23 – 29 July 2018) Read More »
The Turnbull Government has announced more than $100,000 for arts and cultural collaborations with Singapore. The funds have been dispersed across four major projects that have been selected for strengthening ties between the two countries. The projects were identified by the Australia Singapore Arts Group, which is driving a program of activities to enhance cultural
Fifield announces $100,000 to grow cultural links with Singapore (via ArtsHub) Read More »
A new documentary film tells the story of visionary artist Kartika Affandi, daughter of Indonesia‘s most celebrated painter, and a groundbreaking personality in her own right. On the poster for the documentary: “Kartika: 9 Ways of Seeing”, the smiley face of a blithe elderly woman pops up from an opened mouth, bringing to mind the screaming
SINGAPORE THEATRE FESTIVAL 2018 FAGHAG 19 – 22 July 2018 Join Pam Oei in this rainbow-coloured cabaret and see her demonstrate why she deserves to be called Singapore’s Number One Faghag! Join her as she plays multiple characters, tell jokes and heart-warming tales while being accompanied by maestro Julian Wong on the piano in this entertaining
Weekly Picks: Singapore (16 – 22 July 2018) Read More »
In a dark room, two suspended video screens play images of rice paddies and derelict schoolrooms in rural Vietnam. Where one might expect to see adults, there are only children: working in the fields, resting in their dormitory, or studying soberly in the classroom. At times, children’s bodies are strewn across the agricultural landscape, leaving
Vietnamese artist wins prestigious Signature Art Prize (via SEA Globe) Read More »
Should museums be funded by the state or by private sponsors? The question looms large with the current problems at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), the largest publicly-funded art gallery in the country — and with the rise of many private galleries that seem to flourish with the burgeoning art scene. The difficulties at BACC
Who pays for art? (via Bangkok Post) Read More »
Angklung musicians featuring Austrian soprano Maria Theresia Gruber staged the song Bengawan Solo at the Indonesian Cultural Night event held at Vienna’s Weltmuseum on Tuesday evening. Antara reported that the young soprano also sang “Im Prater blühn wieder die Bäume” (The trees are blooming again in the Prater), accompanied by angklung tunes. Indonesia Cultural Night
dead was the body till I taught it how to move by Bhumi Collective 11-14 July 2018 The Bhumi Collective presents dead was the body till i taught it how to move, a performance and story by Dominic Nah, written by Edward Eng. The performance tells the story of Dom, whose father had a
Weekly Picks: Singapore (9 – 15 July 2018) Read More »
Self-taught artist Yi Kakada has spent the past six years demonstrating his skills by painting on walls, fences and other public areas, often without getting paid. Born in Battambang province, he lost both his parents at an early age. Now residing in Phnom Penh, Kakada, 22, says he had a strong desire to be an
An orphaned artist paints for support (via The Phnom Penh Post) Read More »
There are definitely lists of shows, workshops, exhibitions and much more for the adults, well, what about the kids? Parental units, fear not! Arts Equator has come up with a list arts events to keep your beloved children occupied from July to August that are exciting, fun-filled and especially for the young ones! From workshops,
ArtsEquator’s “Keep the Kids Happy” list for July – August 2018 Read More »
YANGON — Change is afoot in Myanmar’s now moribund movie industry. Just over two decades ago, the country’s current de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi was imprisoned by all-powerful military generals and Western sanctions made it nearly impossible to import film reels into the isolated and impoverished Southeast Asian country. But in the cinematic heydays
Once-thriving Myanmar cinema readies for new wave (via Nikkei Asian Review) Read More »
PRESS GANG by Wild Rice 5 – 15 July 2018 Press Gang is a play presented by Wild Rice as part of the Singapore Theatre Festival. The play brings us into a newsroom that is full of crisis, from a new rumour that is emerging to a battle between power and truth. The play also
Weekly Picks: Singapore (2 – 8 July 2018) Read More »
GEORGE TOWN, Malaysia — On any given weekend, a 15-meter-long queue of international tourists materializes at the upper corner of Armenian Street, an atmospheric road packed with tourist shops and cafes at the heart of George Town, capital of Malaysia’s Penang State. Selfie-stick-toting visitors wait patiently to snare shots next to George Town’s most iconic
George Town marks UNESCO anniversary amid debate (via Nikkei Asian Review) Read More »
This year, with an increased number of international programme collaborators, M1 Open Stage features innovative and exhilarating works by a diverse range of dance artists over two nights. As part of this year’s M1 Open Stage + DiverCity platform at M1 Contact Contemporary Dance Festival, created in collaboration with Taiwanese film artist Chen Yan-Hong and
M1 Open Stage + DiverCity: Chiew Peishan and Liu Wen-Chun Read More »
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Petani Semasa is a significant exhibition on contemporary art about the Patani region of Southern Thailand, that privileges local artists. Currently on display at the Ilham gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the works are deeply complicated, and largely unsettling. Featuring 27 artists, the show never resolves into a unified voice, but showcases the diversity of practice and experience of the
27 Artists Grapple with the Fractious Politics of Malaysia (via Hyperallergic) Read More »
The Rainforest Fringe Festival started in 2017 to spotlight Sawarak’s distinct jungle heritage. The second edition this year (July 6 to 15) promises to unveil an even wider spectrum of both traditional and contemporary expressions. Presented in the heart of Kuching, the festival’s slate is an eclectic and vibrant mix of dance, music, photography, design,
Chinatown Crossings by Drama Box 22 June – 18 August 2018 Experience Chinatown through an Indian man named Kumalan who grew up in Chinatown’s shophouse during the 1960s and 1970s. Relive the old Singapore while discovering the lost and forgotten practices and art form of Chinatown’s community in this theatre performance. Follow his story during
Weekly Picks: Singapore (25 June – 1 July 2018) Read More »
By Nur Athirah Abdullah The Rainforest Fringe Festival 2018 (RFF 2018) is less than a month away! Not to be mistaken for the Rainforest World Music Festival, one of the region’s best world music festivals, the Fringe is a cool combo of the very best of Sarawak’s music, art, craft, film, photography, and food. Helmed
Rainforest Fringe Festival 2018: Top 8 Picks Read More »
Surveillance and censorship are becoming part and parcel of daily life around the world, and yet many citizens seem content to turn a blind eye to it. A new exhibition at Wei-Ling Gallery in Kuala Lumpur called Seen is addressing that issue. Curator Line Dalile brings together ten leading international and Malaysian artists, hoping that through documentary, photography
CLOSED OFF for decades, in recent years members of the public have been able to enjoy more time inside the grounds of the Secretariat in downtown Yangon, one of the country’s most historically significant buildings. It holds particular importance for the people of Myanmar because it is where eight independence heroes – including Bogyoke Aung San
Showcasing a national treasure (via Frontier Myanmar) Read More »
SINGAPORE – First-time nominations dominated the shortlist of the Singapore Literature Prize, which will involve the public for the first time in the biennial award’s history. It was also the first time a publisher filled an entire category, with Epigram Books getting five nominations for English fiction. The shortlist was revealed on Tuesday (June 19)
50 authors in running for Singapore Literature Prize (via The Straits Times) Read More »
