Festival Archives

The Beauty of Time and Image: “ST/LL” at SIFA 2019

Seamlessly blending the digital image, live dance and a richly evocative music score, ST/LL is startlingly beautiful treat for the eyes and the ears. This production celebrates the performance collaboration of composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and visual and multimedia artist Shiro Takatani. (Sakamoto’s concert Fragments, with visuals by Takatani, is already sold out.) Here are four reasons to catch ST/LL at the […]

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Weekly Picks: Malaysia (22-28 Apr 2019)

For events in Penang this week, go to the Penang Free Sheet. Kandang, at klpac, 25–28 Apr This award-winning Malay language theatre adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm returns to the stage. This production is directed by Omar Ali, who also co-adapted the play. Performed in Malay with English surtitles. Tickets are RM60 (RM50 TAS and RM40

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Mate

Weekly S.E.A. Radar: Myanmar’s political punk rockers; the story of Chiang Mai’s contemporary art museum; Hanoi’s emerging street art

ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region. Here’s a round-up of content from this week, scoured and sifted from a range of regional news websites, blogs and media platforms, and

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Weekly Picks: Malaysia (8-14 Apr 2019)

For events in Penang this week, go to the Penang Free Sheet. Soun(d)ance 22, at RAW Art Space, 8 Apr, 8:30pm This monthly series combines improvised dance and music performances. In this edition, dancers Paula Castañón (Spain) and Lim Pei Ern will play with musicians Loke Xiaoyun (voice) and Chung Ping Wei (saxophone). Admission by

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Jessica Cariad Hopkins

Weekly S.E.A. Radar: SEA’s only underground EDM festival; Filipino writer Leoncia Deriada dies; KL’s Rex Cinema repurposed to arts centre REXKL

Weekly S.E.A. Radar: SEA’s only underground EDM festival; Filipino writer Leoncia Deriada dies; KL’s Rex Cinema repurposed to arts centre REXKL Read More »

SIFA 2019: Top Ten Picks

By Akanksha Raja The 42nd Singapore International Festival of Arts returns this year from 16 May to 2 June 2019. In its second year under Festival Director Gaurav Kripalani, it promises a larger smorgasbord of critically acclaimed international performances as well as Singaporean commissions. Watch the Festival’s official trailer: Within one hour of the

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Weekly Picks: Malaysia (1-7 Apr 2019)

For events in Penang this week, go to the Penang Free Sheet. MAP Fest 2019, at Publika, 30 Mar – 14 Apr This 9th annual arts and cultural festival takes place over 3 weekends in Publika, with a variety of arts and cultural activities. Of note in the second week are the music performances. Bookmark Music

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Weeky S.E.A. Radar: The Krossing Over Arts Festival in Vietnam; Thailand’s first transgender MP, filmmaker Tanwarin Sukkhapisit

Weeky S.E.A. Radar: The Krossing Over Arts Festival in Vietnam; Thailand’s first transgender MP, filmmaker Tanwarin Sukkhapisit Read More »

Crispian Chan

Podcast 54: “FOUR FOUR EIGHT” by Emergency Stairs

Duration: 41 min As part of ArtsEquator’s Critics Reading Group programme, we got together three arts writers – Corrie Tan, Jocelyn Chng and Loo Zihan – to discuss FOUR FOUR EIGHT by Emergency Stairs. Corrie, Jocelyn and Zihan’s conversation sets the work within the context of Liu Xiaoyi’s experimental oeuvre, and reveals their personal, unique encounters with

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Weekly Picks: Malaysia (25–31 Mar 2019)

For events in Penang this week, go to the Penang Free Sheet. TJIS Vol. 26: The Pre-Poetry Month Party, at InTun Nation, 28 Mar, 8pm The Jack-It Series ramps up events for the coming poetry month with a pre-celebration. The featured act of the day is spoken word poet Chloe Ling. Opening act is rapper MC

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Weekly Picks: Singapore (25 – 31 March 2019)

NYFA Conference 2019 – Film Industry 101: How Do I Get My Films Made, *SCAPE, 31 March 3pm For a young filmmaker, the road to making a feature film can be daunting; from securing funding to getting the right team for your film, there are many components to pulling a project together. In this comprehensive seminar,

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The #TenYearChallenge: M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival

Over the past decade, contemporary dance in Singapore has blossomed. One of the most dynamic initiatives that arguably catalysed this growth is the M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival. Starting out in 2010 as “CONTACT 2010: A Week of Dance”, running for a week in its first iteration, the festival has gone from strength to strength,

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“A Disappearing Number” at NUS Arts Festival 2019: Approaching Infinity

By Eugene Koh (945 words, five minute read) Part of the NUS Arts Festival 2019, NUS Stage’s A Disappearing Number, directed by Edith Podesta, presents a world of imperfect humans aspiring to fully grasp the wonder of this world. Like the mathematicians in A Disappearing Number, NUS Stage embarks on an adventure to reach the

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Weekly S.E.A. Radar: Political Art ahead of Thailand’s elections; the 9th Cambodian International Film Festival

Weekly S.E.A. Radar: Political Art ahead of Thailand’s elections; the 9th Cambodian International Film Festival Read More »

Weekly Picks: Singapore (11 – 17 March 2019)

District 18 by P7:1SMA, organised by Arts in Your Neighbourhood, at Tampines Round Market, 16 – 17 Mar, 12pm Rediscover stories of hawkers and market stall owners of a pasar bulat (wet market), its legacy, and its relevance in today’s age of supermarkets. This interactive contemporary dance performance is set against the backdrop of the

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Of Math and Art: “A Game of Numbers” with NUS Arts Festival 2019

By Elaine Chiew (1195 words, five-minute read) ‘A GAME OF NUMBERS’: Elaine Chiew interviews Mary Loh and Professor Victor Tan on the mathematically-themed NUS Arts Festival 2019 believed to be first-ever in Singapore. Organised by NUS Centre For the Arts, a fete of mathematics-themed arts engagements in dance, music, theatre and film awaits us in

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Weekly Picks: Singapore (4 – 10 March 2019)

Not In My Lifetime? by The Finger Players, 5 – 17 March, Gateway Theatre Not In My Lifetime? explores the special education system in Singapore and people in it. The play, based on the experiences of playwright Alvan Yap, is supported by multi-talented performers Inch Chua, Evelyn Chye, Myra Loke, Timothy Nga, Nix Sang and

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Weekly Picks: Malaysia (4–10 Mar 2019)

For events in Penang this week, go to the Penang Free Sheet. Hari Kraf Kebangsaan 2019, at Kompleks Kraf Kuala Lumpur, 28 Feb – 11 Mar, 10am–10pm The annual national craft festival returns this year, with a wide selection of goods. Sections include woven goods (vast selection from Borneo), knives, textiles, batik, sculptures, metalwork

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Weekly S.E.A. Radar: 11th Yangon Photo Festival; Cambodia’s first feminist arts festival

Weekly S.E.A. Radar: 11th Yangon Photo Festival; Cambodia’s first feminist arts festival Read More »

Weekly Picks: Malaysia (18–24 Feb 2019)

#WomensMarchMY Festival, at Ruang by ThinkCity, 24 Feb, 11am–6pm This festival provides a series of events to deepen collective understand for this year’s five #WomensMarchMY demands, and the diverse experience of women and marginalised groups. Programme includes a plenary discussion on the power of rallying, and film screening of Anarchist from The Colony (followed by

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Exploring the Past Through the Personal: “Meantime” and “Rojak Romance” at TFOOPFest

By Akanksha Raja (1181 words, five-minute read) It’s 2019 and nostalgia is in the air in Singapore, thanks to the Bicentennial fever that is sweeping the country. Standing out among the plethora of Singapore Bicentennial events is a youth-led initiative, The Future of Our Pasts Festival: a multidisciplinary programme which dialogues with the idea of

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Samantha Tio

C(l)ocked: “Catamite” by Loo Zihan

In this over-the-shoulder ‘clocking’ of Loo Zihan’s solo performance I see the silhouette of my own head looking on from the side. Having worked extensively with Zihan over the past several years, I find writing a review of his performance exceedingly difficult. How do I cram so much data into such a tiny space? The

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Danté Kim

“Inside Voices”: There’s Something About Malay Women

I love plays with Malay women characters. Call it my Malaysian Bumiputera baggage, call it internalised Orientalism – perhaps these are two sides of the same coin – but I have long relished the wit, feistiness, vulnerability and sensuality of Malay women captured in the growing canon of Malaysian and Singaporean plays in English and

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Weekly S.E.A. Radar: “More Beaches, Less Gamelan”, A Secret Singapore History of Drum and Bass

Weekly S.E.A. Radar: “More Beaches, Less Gamelan”, A Secret Singapore History of Drum and Bass Read More »

Weekly Picks: Malaysia (4–10 Feb 2019)

Puja Pantai Festival 2019, at Mah Meri Cultural Village, 9 Feb, 10am–3pm Puja Pantai is an ancient Mah Meri ritual, and members of the public are invited to witness it. The ritual is believed to appease sea spirits and honour protector spirits. Visitors will also get to enjoy lunch before the ritual. Fee is RM80

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Mark Benedict Cheong

Experiencing the Ebb and Flow of “yesterday it rained salt”

By Casidhe Ng (1,068 words, five-minute read) In yesterday it rained salt, we are always surrounded by the acoustics of the sea. The beating of waves upon the shore and the receding ebb of the ocean water feels both transformative and evocative as we enter the space. Subsequently, they become the vehicle of our transportation,

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Mark Benedict Cheong

Letters to and from “yesterday it rained salt”

By Teo Xiao Ting (and Nabilah Said) (1,600 words, eight-minute read) Dear yesterday it rained salt, You crept up on me. After I met you that Saturday afternoon, after those initial moments of inexplicable resonance with what you presented — about the intricacies of a father-son relationship, about a sea goddess that is at once

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Irfan Kasban

“Ayer Hitam: A Black History of Singapore”: On The Edges of History

The sound of djembe drums filtered out into the courtyard of Centre 42 — the signal to take our seats before the production started. The stage was arranged like the hull of a slave ship with wooden beams converging to the bow, where the drummer sat, resplendent in a blue Ankara agbada and wrapper. She

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The Sensorial Trail: Experience Art through Smell, Sound and Touch at National Gallery Singapore

Art doesn’t have to be for the eyes only. As part of the Light To Night Festival 2019, National Gallery Singapore presents The Sensorial Trail, a series of artworks that draw on your other senses – those of smell, sound, and touch – in an intimate, sometimes playful exploration of intimacy with our various senses.

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Weekly Picks: Singapore (28 January – 3 February 2019)

Prologue by The Arts House at the Old Parliament, until 2 Feb Head on down to The Arts House for a series of programmes that celebrate words and stories from all over the world in conjunction with Light to Night Festival. Pick from a selection of literary, music, and interactive programmes and experience the wonder

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