Policy Archives

#therageisreal: tackling gender inequality, one play at a time (via Esplanade Singapore)

In the wake of sexual harassment scandals that dominated news headlines in the latter part of 2017, gender-based violence and discrimination have become a hot topic—and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop soon. Women (and some men) around the world are coming together to speak out against abuse (or lend support to those […]

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Singapore bans film focused on indicted Palestinian teen

“Singapore has banned a film festival from screening a documentary later this week that features a teenage Palestinian female activist whose arrest last month has made her a symbol of resistance to Israeli military occupation in the West Bank. Justifying the ban, authorities in the Southeast Asian city state said the film “Radiance of Resistance” was

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8 – 14 January 2018: Indonesia

Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bali from 8-14 January 2018 JAKARTA Kawah Candradimuka, 11-24 January 2018, Kineforum, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta In the Mahabharata epic, Gatotkaca had to go through a crater called Kawah Candradimuka before he was reborn as a hero with super strength. It is said

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Writing the Reformasi: Bernice Chauly’s “Once We Were There”

It is unlikely that, while writing her novel Once We Were There, Bernice Chauly foresaw the events currently taking place in Malaysia’s political landscape. Yet, the timing of the book’s publication now, set in Kuala Lumpur at the height of the 1990s Reformasi era, seems uncanny. Early December last year, Malaysia’s main opposition party, the

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Ten Newsmakers of the Year in the Arts

2017 was an eventful year for the arts in Singapore, full of the promising and the problematic. While there were the good, such as new projects and plans to develop the cultural landscape in exciting ways, there were also the not so good: controversies or conflicts that have spawned endless debates and infinite scrolling through

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Inquirer.net

32 Defining Moments in Philippine Arts and Culture since 1985

The Philippine Daily Inquirer, founded on Dec. 9, 1985, as part of the “mosquito press,” helped dismantle the Marcos dictatorship in February 1986. With the new dispensation followed a liberalization of attitudes, newfound freedom of expression, the democratization of the arts, and a check on art patronage, as practiced by the previous administration. This led

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National Youth Council

National Youth Council’s public engagement program, in September, “For Your Consideration” misappropriated the techniques and methodology from theatre group Drama Box’s The Lesson (which took place across three weeks in July). This was not the first time authorities recycled or re-appropriated artworks or artists’ concepts without permission or acknowledgement. At the Singapore SEA Games in 2015, the Organising

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Faisal Tehrani: From Poster Boy to Pariah

Since he broke into the literary scene in his teens, Malaysian writer and academic, Dr Faizal Musa, better know by his pen name, Faisal Tehrani, has written several best selling and critically acclaimed novels and short stories. His articles on issues of culture, human rights and religion have also appeared in periodicals, newspapers and blogs.

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Sonny Liew

Graphic novelist Sonny Liew made history as the first Singaporean to win at the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the “Oscars for comics”, held in July 2017 at Comic-Con International, San Diego, USA. The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, which retells the life of a comic artist growing up in pre-independence Singapore, won not just one

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Shrey Bhargava

In May, actor Shrey Bhargava, 21, shared on Facebook his experience auditioning for the latest Ah Boys To Men, where he was told to exaggerate an Indian accent and “make it funny”. His post pointed to the proliferation of racial stereotyping and caricaturing in Singaporean cultural media and the need for more nuanced representation of minority

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The Golden Staircase

In March, a LASALLE College of the Arts student, Priyageetha Dia, gilded a grey cement staircase on the 20th floor of her HDB block. The golden staircase divided the internet (of course). Some saw an inconsiderate act of vandalism, others, an insightful and resonant artwork. The Town Council declared the work not permissable, but were

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Syonan Gallery

In Feb, an WWII exhibition, titled Syonan Gallery: War and its Legacies was to open at the former Ford Factory. Previewing the show, The Straits Times noted that the title “Syonan Gallery” was a contentious choice. Members of the public too expressed their discomfort with the use of the name “Syonan”, invoking as it did,

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Undressing Room

In late 2016, anonymous attacks on the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2017 program surfaced online. The IMDA subsequently refused to issue ratings to M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2017’s performance-lecture Naked Ladies by Thea Fitz-James and Ming Poon’s Undressing Room, unless elements of the works be modified. The Fringe organisers pulled these shows out of the

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Artists must challenge censorship [Malaysia]

“Artists in Malaysia must speak out and challenge any effort by the authorities to control and dictate the direction of their work, said arts activist Raja Ahmad Aminullah. Raja Ahmad said the recent seizure of works during the Biennale Kuala Lumpur (KLB) 2017 exhibition shocked him, adding that he was disappointed at the lack of

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Govt urged to help KLPac avoid shutdown [Malaysia]

“PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil has bemoaned the lack of funding support for the arts, saying the impending closure of the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) is a result of it. Fahmi, who used to be active in theatre, said the situation should be a wake-up call for the government to show that it

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Asian Dramaturgs’ Network in Adelaide: Getting Messy to Make Sense

By Kathy Rowland (770 words, 5 minute read) The Asian Dramaturgs’ Network, launched in April 2016 in Singapore by dance dramaturg Lim How Ngean, has quickly extended its regional footprint this year with meetings in Yokohama and Australia. Its Satellite Symposium in Adelaide, presented by Centre 42, brought Australian and Asian cultural practitioners into the same

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Satirical Art Will Not Be Silenced [SEA]

“They have been harassed, threatened, publicly scorned and surrounded by large, aggressive mobs. They have been held behind bars, and faced the wrath of furious governments. Yet, they appear not to have lost their moral compass, their passion, or their hearts. Their “crime”? Art. Despite government pressure, Malaysia’s Zunar and South Korea’s Hong Sung-dam continue

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6 – 12 November 2017: Indonesia

Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta and Makassar from 6 – 12 November 2017 JAKARTA Jiwa – Jakarta Biennale 2017, 4 November – 10 December 2017, various locations, Jakarta Jakarta’s biannual international contemporary art exhibition is back with a theme of Jiwa. Jiwa or soul is the spirit or energy that drives

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Unravelling social and political threads [Thailand]

“Bangkok Art and Culture Centre’s (BACC) fourth floor studio, the main venue for its ongoing sixth annual Performative Art Festival (PAF#6), is once again opening doors and lending its support not only to professional dance and theatre groups but also less seasoned performers. Last month, a mere five days after Anatta Theatre Group’s “Love Astray”

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Does politics age as well as dance? [Malaysia]

“From 1–3 September 2017, the Chinese Malaysian dance community in Kuala Lumpur witnessed a historic event at Damansara Performing Arts Centre: the Malaysian premiere of ‘Boy Story’. Dancers Loo Jay Jen, Ong Yong Lock, Aman Yap Choong Boon, Ix Wong Thien Pau, Goh Boon Ann and Chou Shu Yi performed the work choreographed by Yuri

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7 – 13 August 2017: Indonesia

Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Bandung, and Bali from 7 – 13 Aug 2017 JAKARTA ART STAGE Jakarta, 11 – 13 August 2017, Sheraton Grand Jakarta Gandaria City Hotel, Jakarta ART STAGE Jakarta returns for its second year this coming weekend. Like its sister fair ART STAGE Singapore, the Jakarta fair

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Jeannie Ho

“Art as Res Publicae”: Where the Devil was the Devil?

by Kathy Rowland (1102 words, 6 minute read) “In order to change people’s minds, you have to break their hearts”. So said Reverend Miak Siew at O.P.E.N’s curtain raiser, Art as Res Publicae. Unfortunately, there was never any danger of broken hearts. Art as Res Publicae, conceived by O.P.E.N Director Noorlinah Mohamed and SIFA Artistic

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10 – 16 July 2017: Singapore

Talk | Photography and Cold War in Southeast Asia, @ NUS Museum, 11 July, 7 – 8pm Free with registration at http://ptix.co/2rWIVts This is a preliminary presentation, a kind of show-and-tell, based on writer, curator and artist Zhuang Wubin’s recent book, Photography in Southeast Asia: A Survey (NUS Press, 2016). Zhuang’s primary intention is to share

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No Escape from the C: Reflections on Censorship and Curation in the Pangrok Sulap case

By Carmen Nge (1110 words, 10-minute read) The dust appears to have settled on the recent controversy surrounding the removal of Malaysian art collective Pangrok Sulap’s artwork Sabah Tanah Air-Ku from the art exhibition, “Escape from the SEA”. Organized by the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur (JFKL), “Escape from the SEA” was a group exhibition featuring

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Thai Soldiers Censor Art Exhibition in Bangkok [Thailand]

“On June 15, Thai soldiers forced their way into two Bangkok galleries that were hosting exhibitions by two young Thai contemporary artists whose works reflect on their homeland’s political landscape. The military took down three collages by photographer Harit Srikhao that were part of the “Whitewash” exhibition at Gallery Ver. Next door in Cartel Artspace,

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Filmmakers adamant free expression alive in Philippines [Philippines]

“Two unlikely hits this year have thrust independent Philippine cinema into the global spotlight and shown, filmmakers say, that freedom of expression remains in the country despite the shadow of martial law that’s currently hanging over it. Jun Robles Lana’s “dramedy” Die Beautiful was a surprise commercial success following its general release during the Metro

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The pioneering queer artists who opened Vietnam to gay culture [Vietnam]

“In an historical decision, Taiwan’s top court has ruled in favour of gay marriage. The May 26 verdict raised the hopes of many LGBT activists throughout the region, especially in China and Vietnam. As is all too common worldwide, homophobia causes suffering in Vietnam, where until 2000 it was illegal for gay couples to live

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15 – 21 May 2017: Indonesia

Top Picks in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Makassar from 15-21 May 2017 JAKARTA BBUZZSHOW@JAKARTA, Now – 30 May 2017, Galeria Fatahillah, Jakarta BBuzzShow is one of BBuzzArt’s global traveling exhibitions that provide exhibition opportunities for emerging artists. BBuzzArt is a social platform that aims to support emerging artists by connecting artists and art lovers

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Following the Threads that Connect Clothing to Religious Persecution in Southeast Asia [Thailand]

“The violence meted out against people for their religious, political, and ethnic affiliations, often signaled by clothing and the symbols they wear, provides a lens through which to see abuses of power. All over the world, clothing and symbols can take on protective, threatening, or dangerous meanings. As happens in the West, discrimination against Muslims also occurs in Thailand and

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The cultural sector and the 4Ps [Vietnam]

There is no magic wand that can help the cultural institutions to work smoothly and force the audience to flock to theatres with just one touch. The cultural sector of Vietnam needs decades to mature and develop. The development of a country is measured not only by the number of luxury cars, the skyscrapers, shopping

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