Articles

hip-hop-1
Via Myanmar Times

Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Burmese hip hop, and queer Vietnamese singer Tuimi

ArtsEquator’s Southeast Asia Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, 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. In the weekly Southeast Asia Radar, we publish a round-up of content that have […]

Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Burmese hip hop, and queer Vietnamese singer Tuimi Read More »

vlcsnap-2019-07-10-10h13m35s078
Courtesy of Asian Film Archive

“Medium Rare”, “God or Dog” and the makings of a Singaporean monster

Content warning: References to violent or disturbing behaviour In late January 1981, the body of a young girl was discovered in a brown PVC bag about a metre high by a young man in Toa Payoh. She had died from asphyxiation; a later autopsy showed signs of sexually assault. Slightly more than a week later,

“Medium Rare”, “God or Dog” and the makings of a Singaporean monster Read More »

fm_v5_i12_editorial_cartoon
Illustration by Jared Downing | Frontier

Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: The relevance of “Soi Cowboy”; Malaysia’s Zen Cho wins Hugo Award

ArtsEquator’s Southeast Asia Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, 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

Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: The relevance of “Soi Cowboy”; Malaysia’s Zen Cho wins Hugo Award Read More »

001_20190803_PeerPleasure2019AWC_TheClassRoom
Photo: Zinkie Aw

An exercise of privilege: “The Class Room” at M1 Peer Pleasure 2019

When I signed up for The Class Room, a participatory theatre piece created and facilitated by veteran theatre practitioners Li Xie, Kok Heng Leun and Jean Ng, I was expecting a thought-provoking experience, with meaningful exchanges with people from different walks of life about issues of poverty. I had seen a recording of The Lesson

An exercise of privilege: “The Class Room” at M1 Peer Pleasure 2019 Read More »

1-Screen Shot 2019-08-13 at 11.58.10 AM copy
Screengrab for the video of "Our Singapore". Via NDPeeps on YouTube.

What is the music of my country? Race, harmony and diversity in Singapore

“All music, any organization of sounds is then a tool for the creation or consolidation of a community, of a totality.”   – Jacques Attali “Gua jahat ada hajat boy” – Akeem Jahat          Tuning In The title of this article references a song by the Indonesian band Project Pop, Dangdut Is The

What is the music of my country? Race, harmony and diversity in Singapore Read More »

Screen Shot 2019-08-14 at 1.21.58 PM
Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing/The Myanmar Times

Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Skateboarding in Myanmar; ARTJOG

ArtsEquator’s Southeast Asia Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, 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

Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Skateboarding in Myanmar; ARTJOG Read More »

Untitled design (5)
Courtesy of Singapore Repertory Theatre.

Uncovering the Enigma of Lin Bo: “Caught” by SRT

By Akanksha Raja (1,500 words, 6-minute read) It’s a party … It’s unbridled and free and outrageous. It demands a full-body, full-mind engagement. That’s how New York-based director Ed Sylvanus Iskandar describes Caught, Singapore Repertory Theatre’s latest production, a socially immersive experience at Miaja Gallery taking place from 10 September onwards. It’s an unusual and

Uncovering the Enigma of Lin Bo: “Caught” by SRT Read More »

khat
File photo: Bernama

Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Malaysia mulls on Jawi calligraphy; racism in Singapore

ArtsEquator Southeast Asia Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, 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

Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Malaysia mulls on Jawi calligraphy; racism in Singapore Read More »

Anak Pontianak
Courtesy of The Filmic Eye

Celebrating the monstrous other: “Anak Pontianak” and “Nobody” at LumiNation

The year is 2049: two hundred years since the Pontianak first appeared in writing, marked insignificantly in Hikayat Abdullah as residues of superstitious and foolish beliefs of the Chinese and Malays that have persisted with time. I guess the only parts that Munsyi Abdullah was right about are the Pontianak’s timelessness and persistence. She is

Celebrating the monstrous other: “Anak Pontianak” and “Nobody” at LumiNation Read More »

Untitled-design-1-1
Zulkhairi's photo (right) by Racy Lim

“MAT” at Objectifs: Pluralisms, perceptions and podcast failings

Editor’s note: This is a transcript of a podcast recording which cannot be shared due to poor audio quality. It has been lightly edited for clarity. ArtsEquator (AE): Hello everyone. Welcome to the ArtsEquator podcast. My name is Nabilah Said, I am the editor of ArtsEquator and this is my first time hosting our podcast. I’m

“MAT” at Objectifs: Pluralisms, perceptions and podcast failings Read More »

Weekly S.E.A. Radar: ARTJOG as art festival; Rich Brian; Thai dissident band hiding out in Laos

ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, 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

Weekly S.E.A. Radar: ARTJOG as art festival; Rich Brian; Thai dissident band hiding out in Laos Read More »

X164-C11
Safely Manoeuvring Across Linhe Road by Lin Yilin. Image courtesy of Lin Yilin and Boers-Li Gallery.

Staying woke: “Awakenings” at National Gallery Singapore

By Nabilah Said (1,000 words, 6-minute read) My friends that have visited Singapore in recent times have been given the following non-food recommendations by me: I point them to Haw Par Villa for its wonderfully macabre dreamscapes of punitive Asian values, and then suggest they drop by National Gallery Singapore for the art contained within

Staying woke: “Awakenings” at National Gallery Singapore Read More »

10toONE-Highlights-11 (1)
Tan Zexun / Pandawithacamera

Hitting the right (heart) notes: 10toONE by ONE Chamber Choir

By Shahril Salleh (932 words, 5-minute read) ONE chamber choir has a formidable reputation. It is one of Singapore’s premier community choir – one that made waves and built bridges for our nation in the international choral music scene. Its recent concert, 10toONE, held on 14 July 2019, not only showcased the choir’s high standards

Hitting the right (heart) notes: 10toONE by ONE Chamber Choir Read More »

SONA-Duterte-effigy-July-22-2019_0DFA56E68C2145CCA04F0CE534098EB4
Samantha Bagayas/Rappler

Weekly S.E.A Radar: Anti-Duterte’s protest art at SONA; Thai literature reaches English readers

ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, 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

Weekly S.E.A Radar: Anti-Duterte’s protest art at SONA; Thai literature reaches English readers Read More »

Podcast 62: Unpacking the Contemporary in Traditional Dance

Duration: 47 min Podcast host Amin Farid alongside fellow dance scholars Elizabeth Chan and Aparna Nambiar discuss their respective fields of study within traditional dance. They share their thoughts on current particularities and problematics within the Malay, Chinese and Indian traditional dance scenes in Singapore, as well as what has led them down the academic

Podcast 62: Unpacking the Contemporary in Traditional Dance Read More »

Tender notes on violence in “A Notional History” by Five Arts Centre

By Patricia Tobin ( 700 words, 5-minute read) It starts with a song. Faiq Syazwan Kuhiri strums the ukulele and gently sings about hope and the future. For a lecture-performance, A Notional History, a work in progress by Five Arts Centre, is filled with pockets of tender moments like these. Together with journalist Rahmah Pauzi and filmmaker-activist

Tender notes on violence in “A Notional History” by Five Arts Centre Read More »

190216ge14_1_039
Photo: Hideto Maezawa

Fahmi Fadzil’s “GE14”: The sound and fury signifying everything

By Patricia Tobin ( 700 words, 5-minute read) “GE14 will be the arts festival to outdo all arts festivals,” said performer-politician Fahmi Fadzil. He is referring to the live spectacle: from theatre productions to political speeches, performativity is a constant. All the world’s a stage, as the production of GE14 shows, from the car parks

Fahmi Fadzil’s “GE14”: The sound and fury signifying everything Read More »

ReformARTsi_2019_07_12
Picture from Facebook/Reformartsi

Weekly S.E.A Radar: Civil rights workshop for Malaysian artists; calls to modernise Indonesian folklore for millennials

ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, 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

Weekly S.E.A Radar: Civil rights workshop for Malaysian artists; calls to modernise Indonesian folklore for millennials Read More »

222fa700-9d65-11e9-baa5-dd214ed0de8f_image_hires_125434
Photo: AP

Weekly S.E.A. Radar: Hijabi rapper undeterred; Singapore’s Riotous drag queen; Isaan critic’s Manifesto

ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, 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

Weekly S.E.A. Radar: Hijabi rapper undeterred; Singapore’s Riotous drag queen; Isaan critic’s Manifesto Read More »

Migrant Ecologies Project: A Grain of Wheat Inside a Salt Water Crocodile

Another Chinese tradition, which probably has no connection with the previous one is that the Butterworth cannon belonged to ‘Panglima’ (Warrior) Ah Chong a bravo of the Inter-Chinese wars which took place in the Larut tin fields in 1862, and lasted sporadically for ten years. “This warrior turned into a crocodile on his death and this crocodile is now the biggest stuffed crocodile in Raffles

Migrant Ecologies Project: A Grain of Wheat Inside a Salt Water Crocodile Read More »

Scroll to Top