Articles Archives

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Performance Making during a Pandemic: Of Innovation, Form and Embeddedness

By Adriana Nordin Manan (1,000 words, 3-minute read) If arts panel discussions are meant to reflect the times, “Critical Responses to Performance-Making in A Post-Pandemic World” positioned itself well: at this stage of the pandemic, it was less about open-ended contemplation of how the performing arts can retain vitality amidst the prohibitive circumstances, and more […]

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Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Jo Kukathas for Air Con

We cakap-cakap (chit-chat) with Jo Kukathas about The Instant Café Theatre Company’s upcoming screening of Air Con, an award-winning 2008 play written by Shanon Shah. The play revolves around the murder of a sex worker near an elite boys school in Kedah and how it roils the school community. The play, which was directed by

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Cultivating Arts Writing Ecosystems: Criticality and Creativity amidst Necessity

By Adriana Nordin Manan (995 words, 3-minute read) Personal narratives on professional pathways to becoming arts writers in four Asian countries were the departure point for the rich discussion at “Critical Writing Training: Models, Methods and Pitfalls,” a panel session held on 15th September in conjunction with the Asian Art Media Roundtable (AAMR). This was

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The working processes of artists: Sonia Kwek

“Probably your body is the one space you can be the most autonomous still”, says artist and performer Sonia Kwek. In this video, the artist talks about the politics of using the female body in her works, and how this relates to the experiences of marginalised communities. She also shares about her recent work Red

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BIPAM 2021: Delight, despair, dialogue and the despot

By Nabilah Said (1,800 words, 6-minute read) I’ve never actually attended the Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (BIPAM). This year, the pandemic allowed me to, as BIPAM offered a five-day digital programme full of showcases, talks and other activities. It brought me, a Singaporean, a world of imagination – colourful and joyous in parts, provoking

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10 Things You Should Know About: Malay Dance

10 Things You Should Know is a series of short animated videos on aspects of Malay culture and heritage, made in partnership with Wisma Geylang Serai. In the first video of this series, we share 10 things you should know about Malay traditional dance, known as tarian. The video features research by Soultari Amin Farid,

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The working processes of artists: Luqman (Flair Brothers)

Singapore hip-hop dancer Luqman from Flair Brothers gives us a lesson in the dance and also the lifestyle, introducing terms that are well known in the scene, and sheds light on how the scene has changed over the years. “If let’s just say there is any oppression, there will always be hip-hop.” This video is

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W.O.W Classics: Neo Wen Xin on Constance Singam

In this video, part of the W.O.W (Women on Women) Classics project, Neo Wen Xin shares about “Where I Was”, a 2013 memoir by Singaporean activist Constance Singam. Constance Singam is known for being a longterm president of AWARE, and for championing the rights of various minority communities in Singapore. Wen Xin was mentored by

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Bernie Ng

Bedside Banter: Cyril & Michael by Bridging the Gap Collective

By Naeem Kapadia (800 words, 2-minute read) Two strangers meet on gay dating app Grindr and share an encounter in a hotel room. Except it’s not just fast, meaningless sex. Budding playwright and theatremaker Theo Chen’s assured two-hander, presented by Bridging the Gap Collective, is a deceptively simple play that slowly draws one into its

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Where are the Malays?: Locating the Singaporean Malay in Singa-Pura-Pura

Singa-Pura-Pura boasts an eclectic collection of short speculative fiction from a minority ethnic group in Singapore, exploring worlds where robots are therapists, prayers are read from preloaded cards, and humans are migrating to Mars. Edited by Nazry Bahrawi, the stories consider various spiritual, social, and economic themes, with many leaving me with questions about where we

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The working processes of artists: Grace Kalaiselvi

Theatremaker Grace Kalaiselvi talks about her journey in theatre, the Tamil theatre scene and issues of diversity and representation in Singapore theatre in this video, titled Creating as a Tamil Artist in Singapore, directed and conceptualised by LASALLE students Nur Ashikin Ali and Raman Mruthika. “We wanted to shed some light and understanding on the

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Arts House Limited / Nine Years Theatre and The Pond Photography

Podcast 95: Three Sisters and _T0701_ at SIFA 2021

In this episode of the ArtsEquator theatre podcast, Naeem Kapadia, Matthew Lyon and Nabilah Said discuss Three Sisters by Nine Years Theatre and _T0701_ by Zeugma, which were both part of SIFA 2021. Stream Podcast 95: ArtsEquator · Podcast 95: Three Sisters & T0701 at SIFA 2021 Also available on Spotify. Podcast Transcript Naeem:

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Kelecung, Bali.

Dialogues with Mountains: Preserving indigenous culture in Taromak and Kelecung

By Wennie Yang (1,400 words, 6-minute read) Let’s face it. Leisure travel feels like a distant memory at the moment. I’ve been trying to envision what a collective future means for destination hotspots in Southeast Asia, whose economies used to be propelled by foreign tourism. These thoughts were further spurred after attending a one-day online

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Courtesy of Syarifah Nadhirah

Caring for the Carers: How Malaysian artists working with communities hold space

I had forgotten how loaded the words “how are you,” or “apa khabar,” can be. I’ve always had issues with the greeting – I used to think that it was a statement/question that stops someone cold the moment they are asked, as how can you even summarise how you are doing if you start reflecting

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Lychee Bye in boudoir_1_Image courtesy of Win (@cheetouk)

Lychee Bye in boudoir. Photo by Win (@cheetouk)

Festival of Women N.O.W. 2021: Bold claims on identity

By Patricia Tobin (1,382 words, 4-minute read) Led by artistic director Noorlinah Mohamed, this year’s online edition of the Festival of Women N.O.W. 2021 explores issues pertaining to women that are often forgotten or overlooked. There is Not Grey: Intimacy, Ageing & Being, a series of livestreamed and pre-recorded virtual performances featuring 15 women aged

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The working processes of artists: Bani Haykal

Artist, composer and musician Bani Haykal shares about his video work Trouble With Harmony, created in collaboration with art critic and writer Lee Weng Choy, as well as his other experimentations with text and music. In this video, directed and conceptualised by LASALLE students Rose Sutrina and Siti Nurlisa, he also articulates his thoughts about

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Nguyen Dinh Toan

Fragments of History: Loc Vang, the Yellow music singer from Hanoi

It was perhaps the melancholy of history that was the most palpable presence in the livestream action Fragments of History, which I organised as part of Mekong Cultural Hub’s Mini-Meeting Point held on 17 July 2021. Though it took place in under 30 minutes, the event brought me and the audience onsite and on Facebook

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Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Salty Xi Jie Ng

In this month’s Cakap-Cakap (chit-chat), ArtsEquator speaks with artist Salty Xi Jie Ng, whose most recent project, Not Grey: Intimacy, Ageing & Being, excavated what intimacy means for older Singapore women (hint: it’s not all about sex!). The digital experience, comprised of video vignettes, interactive performances and writing, was presented by T:>Works as part of the

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The Second Breakfast Company

The frenemy’s handshake: The Singapore Trilogy as political theatre

My phone vibrated one night, with a notification that Singapore political party Workers’ Party (WP) was premiering a live video on Instagram. Curious, I tuned in – digital and social media being the default, on-tap mode of infotainment during the pandemic. It turned out to be an “office tour”, via live video feed, of LO

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The Second Breakfast Company

Podcast 94: The Singapore Trilogy by The Second Breakfast Company

In the episode of the ArtsEquator theatre podcast, Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss The Singapore Trilogy by The Second Breakfast Company, which ran from March 11 to March 21 2021. Stream Podcast 94: ArtsEquator · Podcast 93: The Singapore Trilogy Also available on Spotify. Podcast Transcript Matthew Lyon (ML): Hello, everybody,

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Pangdemonium

Podcast 93: Girls & Boys by Pangdemonium

In the episode of the ArtsEquator theatre podcast, Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss Girls & Boys by Pangdemonium, which ran from 25 Feb to 14 Mar 2021. Stream Podcast 93: ArtsEquator · Podcast 92: Girls & Boys by Pangdemonium Also available on Spotify. Podcast Transcript Naeem Kapadia (NK): Hello everyone, and

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Can the arts solve community issues in the region? The SEA*5 think so.

Can the creative society in Southeast Asia support each other in finding solutions to problems in our communities, powered by compassion and empathy? That’s one of the questions at the heart of the existence of Project SEA*5. The group comprises five creative practitioners working across different local community contexts: community architect-urbanist Joanne Mun advocates for

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The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre

The performing arts industry of Malaysia is drowning

As many parts of Southeast Asia are hit by recurrent waves of Covid 19 infections, arts industries across the region face imminent collapse due to prolonged closures and scant state support. In Malaysia, The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre’s Artistic Director Joe Hasham and his wife and co-founder, Datuk Dr. Faridah Merican, recently released an

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W.O.W Classics: Goh Tze Yi on Heng Siok Tian

In this video, part of the W.O.W (Women on Women) Classics project, Goh Tze Yi shares more about “Crossing the Chopsticks and Other Poems” (1993), a book of poetry by second-generation Singaporean English poet Heng Siok Tian. Tze Yi was mentored by award-winning writer Elaine Chiew. W.O.W Classics is an effort by ArtsEquator and Chiew

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Quiz: Which Singaporean writer are you?

For every Singaporean who loves stories and words—whether you lovingly document your everyday experiences on Facebook, pen epic poems during your lunch breaks, or are a writer working on that great Singapore novel— there comes a time where you ask yourself the big questions: like, what is the meaning of life? Could I win the

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Arts House Limited

Podcast 92: Critics Live: OIWA by The Finger Players at SIFA 2021

Critics Alice Saville (UK), Amitha Amranand (TH), Matthew Lyon (SG) and Taisuke Shimanuki (JP) discuss OIWA: The Ghost of Yotsuya by The Finger Players, presented at Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA). The performance took place from 28-30 May 2021 at Victoria Theatre, and from 5-20 June via video on demand. Critics Live! is

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Podcast 91: Curated Conferences with Chung Shefong, Janet Pillai and Anmol Vellani at Meeting Point 2021

Nabilah Said and Wennie Yang speak to Chung Shefong, Janet Pillai and Anmol Vellani the three curators who led the Curated Conference programme as part of Meeting Point 2021. The Curated Conferences comprised of three groups of participants from different Asian countries, who met over 6 months since November 2020, guided by their curator. This

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CRISPI

End of an epic journey: A Dream Under the Southern Bough: Existence

By Jocelyn Chng (1,180 words, 4-minute read) Existence is the third instalment in the Southern Bough series commissioned by Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA). As its title implies, this third piece closes the full work with a more philosophical tone than in the previous two. The first instalment, The Beginning (2018), introduced the first

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Arts House Limited

The Body Witness: Gardens Speak, en route, As Far As Isolation Goes at SIFA 2021

By Vithya Subramaniam (1,600 words, 6-minute read) Though cancelled last year amid the developing pandemic, Singapore International Festival of Arts has done well to lean into the possibilities of small-group, distanced programmes for this year’s line-up. I attended three of its immersive experiences—Gardens Speak, As Far As Isolation Goes, and en route—and found my body

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Crispian Chan

The Commission: Why do these three meet again?

By Eugene Tan (1,503 words, 5-minute read) As has become customary for every review of a Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA) 2021 show (or as the festival programme now calls them, “content”), we should applaud the fact that these shows are happening at all. After all, COVID-19 restrictions are wildly challenging for artmaking

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