If theatre-goers feel as if they’ve been going to Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts almost every month in 2016, it’s partly because Thailand’s first tertiary institution to offer a bachelor’s degree in modern theatre –Chulalongkorn University’s Department of Dramatic Arts – is celebrating its 45th anniversary. And as part of this celebration, the department […]
Under the Canopy and other poems, which first came out in late 1998, was the first ever English-language collection of poems produced in Negara Brunei Darussalam. There is a very long tradition of writing poetry—especially sajak and ghazal and pantun—in Bahasa Melayu in Brunei Darussalam (for example, the epic Syair Awang Simawn), but here I
An Anthology of English Poetry from Brunei (via Cha: An Asian Literary Journal) Read More »
Makati’s Central Business District (CBD) becomes a stage for the arts in February as it transforms into a living, breathing and more relatable art gallery. In a country whose attention is held captive by recurring problems and whose eyes are focused on finding ways to put food on the table and get through the day,
Art Fair PH transforms Makati CBD into art gallery Read More »
The Esplanade rings int he Chinese New Year with performing arts We don’t know yet how President Donald Trump will deal with China, but we do know that China is a force to be reckoned with. That’s not only from an economic and manufacturing point of view – Chinese mobile phones take much better selfies than
The Rooster Catches Fire: The Esplanade’s Huayi Chinese Festival of Arts Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (1200 words, 20-minute read) There are so many performance modes packed into the approximately 70 minutes of FIGHT! PALAST #membersonly – confessional monologue, workshops, live fighting, interactive sketches – that it is difficult to classify. Performance makers have been using this form of super-hybridity for a while now, but it still takes
3 #Millennials Read “Fight Club”. You Won’t Believe What Happens Next! Read More »
A film by Indonesian newcomer director Mahesa Desaga, Nunggu Teka (Waiting to Arrive), was named winner of a short film competition in the 2017 Australia-Indonesia Cinema Festival (FSAI) at XXI Senayan City cinema in South Jakarta on Sunday. The 14-minute film follows a mother who lives alone in an old traditional house. While waiting for her only son to come home during
Short film by Malang director wins Australia-Indonesia cinema competition Read More »
Top Picks in Jakarta, Solo, Bali, Yogyakarta from 30 January – 5 February 2017 JAKARTA Kompilasi Festifal Film Dokumenter, 30 January 2017, 7:30 PM, Kineforum, Jakarta Kineforum, the alternative cinema in Jakarta, presents 4 out of the 8 documentaries that was submitted to the Festival Film Dokumenter Yogyakarta in 2016. The 4 films
30 Jan – 5 Feb 2017: Indonesia Read More »
Thailand’s Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band has reinvented molam music, an often-dismissed traditional rural genre, and given it a new life world-wide. Tags: Molam
Thailand’s Traditional Molam Music Finds New Groove (via Wall Street Journal) Read More »
Most of the prints/book covers are from the 1960’s and 70’s, “a period of Myanmar/Yangon artwork that had been completely neglected,” Percival explained. “No one had looked at it [the art] before so it was just kind of sitting there on the shelves and no one had used it.” While older imagery from the early
Preserving the art of 1960’s and 70’s Yangon Read More »
We said that the commercial theatre companies would put on fewer musicals and we were right. From their independent counterparts we expected more international collaboration thanks to support from foreign cultural institutions and again our words were prophetic. Now we are predicting that these two trends will continue in 2017. With the official mourning period
Pawit Mahasarinand foresees Thai theatre in 2017 for The Nation Read More »
In Railway Sleepers, a minutely observed film shot entirely on-board a Thai train, we see kids on school trips, young men travelling north and south, hawkers selling food and horoscope books, families and lovers, vacationers who turn the sleeping car into a party venue. They’re passengers, and they’re also humans. They are, as director Sompot
As their lead single Colossal suggested, the veteran outfit haven’t lost a step in the preceding decade, jumping right back into a sea of distortion and wash of sound. But it’s more than just those stylistic hallmarks – their new seven-track release makes you feel the same feels that prime Astreal did – which probably means that prime Astreal never
Singapore indie rock outfit Astreal shines a “Light”, their first album in over a decade Read More »
Bangkok Post interviews Tada Hendsapkul, on his latest exhibition, “The Things That Take Us Apart”. “I have fallen in love with the language of human bodies. Bodies are more interesting than objects because there are also the minds that are hidden under, and their complexity shifts according to time…” Tags: Nudity Tada Hengsapkul
Thai photographer Tada Hengsapkul probes the naked at Gallery Seescape Read More »
Teguh Karya and Suyatna Anirun were each inspired by traditional and popular forms of theatre throughout Indonesia, as well as the Western forms of theatre they adapted for the stage. Their style of theatre resided in the realm of intercultural practices that all theatre artists in Indonesia now revere. Tags: Inside Indonesia Suyatna Anirun Teguh Karya Theatre Directing
Two Visionaries of Indonesian Theatre Read More »
By Pavithra Raja (1695 words, 20-minute read) What are the sounds of Singapore? It’s hard to pin down, given that Singapore is the site of a number of different musical influences, many of them rooted in the different ethnic communities that make up the country. We often hear the term “melting pot” when discussing Singapore
Sonic Multiplicity: Reflections on “Sounds of Singapore” Read More »
…The North’s art scene is tightly controlled – there is no abstract art, which is regarded as anti-revolutionary – and even the top artists earn monthly salaries that bear little relation to the sale value of their work. “We produce pieces that are demanded by revolution, that move people to revolution,” says Hong Chun-Ong… Tags:
See what’s made to order at North Korea’s blacklisted art factory (The Nation) Read More »
This essay is the first in a new series where artists and writers reflect on artworks that were personally important to them. Syria, climate change, Brexit, Trump, the loss of beloved public figures from Prince to Muhammad Ali — my friends and I couldn’t wait for 2016 to end. But the sense of renewal that
Art that Moves: Time and Tuition Read More »
For centuries, shadow puppet theater not only captivated audiences across Southeast Asia but also held ritual significance for various local communities. Held outdoors at night, the performances unfolded around the simple setup of a stretched white cloth, lit by an oil lamp, on which the shadows of puppets would dance to orchestral music. Spectators would watch from both
The Enduring Power of Southeast Asia’s Traditional Shadow Puppets Read More »
Deruma by Azpirasi & Dian Dancers, 26 – 27 Jan at Esplanade Theatre Studio Presented as part of Esplanade Theatre’s Pentas series, which is its second annual programme of Malay arts, apart from Pesta Raya. Deruma follows the local folktale of Si Tanggang. It’s a story about filial piety and gratitude told through Malay dance and traditional
23 – 29 Jan 2017: Singapore Read More »
Top Picks in Jakarta from 22 – 29 January JAKARTA Islamic Art Public Lecture, Komunitas Salihara Black Box Theatre, 24 Jan, 7:00 PM Komunitas Salihara, supported by Institut Francaise Indonesia, presents an Islamic Art public lecture featuring Yannick Lintz, Director of Islamic Art Department at Louvre Museum, Paris. The lecture will explore two
23 – 29 Jan 2017: Indonesia Read More »
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, the comedic play that opens Repertory Philippines’ 2017 season and its 50th anniversary, has got more going for it than a chockfull of references to the despondent characters, dreary settings, and poignant stories of Anton Chekhov. “You don’t need to know Chekov to enjoy it,” said acclaimed award-winning
‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’: An all-star family feud Read More »
…dive into the making of Singapore’s first feature film selected for competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival with Director Kirsten Tan and Producer Weijie Lai. Tags: Kirsten Tan Pop Aye
Podcast interview with “Pop Aye” Director Kirsten Tan & Producer Weijie Lai Read More »
The artist could not pursue his dream to take care of his family. But recently he has found his renewed passion for street art. Tags: Murals Street Art
75-year-old artist’s murals bring new life to Saigon alleys Read More »
In celebration of the National Arts Month in February 2017, the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) through the Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts recuperates the kuwentong bayan (folk narratives such as epics, myths, legends, folk tales, etc.) as important repository of ideas, information and even knowledge through a festival billed Salaysayan:
Seng Yu Jin: Our roundtable comprises students from the MA in Asian Art Histories programme at LASALLE College of the Arts, and we are looking at the Singapore Biennale 2016 – An Atlas of Mirrors, henceforth SB2016, as a case study of the “curatorial complex”. If I may start with a summary of ideas about
The Curatorial Complex: A Roundtable on the Singapore Biennale Read More »
From nearly 300 submissions, a total of 14 winners, including one Gold Award and three Silver Award winners, were chosen following the selection process carried out by the jury of the award in cooperation with the Association of MANGA Publishers in Japan. This is the second time Vietnamese comics won the award, with the first
Vietnamese Comic “Gateway to Underworld” Wins International Manga Award Read More »
Culture enthusiast group Sobat Budaya (cultural buddies) announced on Tuesday that it had collected digital data and information on 34,000 pieces of Indonesian cultural heritage, a move it sees as essential to prevent such heritage being stolen by other countries. The data, which has been collected since 2005 by the group and Bandung Fe research
Sobat Budaya collects digital data on cultural heritage Read More »
Gaslight Cafe presents Alena Murang, 17 Jan, 9pm Gaslight Cafe at Bukit Damansara shines the spotlight on young Bornean singer-songwriter Alena Murang, whose debut EP, Flight, was released last year. A graduate from the music programme at LASALLE College of the Arts, Alena play folk music of the Kelabit and Kenyah tribes, using the traditional lute instrument
16 – 22 Jan 2017: Malaysia Read More »
SWF POP #15: Screening of Between The Lines: Rant & Rave II, 18 Jan at The Projector This is a screening of a recorded theatre production, Between The Lines: Rant & Rave II, a 2012 play by award-winning playwright Chong Tze Chien. Restaged at the Singapore Writers Festival 2016 featuring actors Serene Chen and Jean Ng,
16 – 22 Jan 2017: Singapore Read More »
We’re barely into the new year, but the dedicated art lover is, no doubt, already exhausted from the recently concluded M1 Singapore Fringe Festival and Singapore Art Week. Pace yourselves, as there are more festivals across Southeast Asia over the next month. January M1 Fringe Festival: Art & Skin, Singapore : 4 – 15 January 2017
Southeast Asia in Arts Festivals: Jan – Feb 2017 Read More »
