La Cie Maxmind’s “Isle of Dreams”: The Dark Fantastic
By Akanksha Raja (620 words, four-minute read) 拾念劇集 La Cie Maxmind’s Isle of Dreams (蓬萊) was the headlining event for the George Town Festival’s Taiwan-focused showcase this year. It is a three-hour long work of musical theatre, original in story…
The Art and Consequence of Collaboration: Interview with Vicki Sowry and Jonathan Parsons
Presented by the National Arts Council Singapore, The Art and Consequence of Collaboration with the Australian Network for Art & Technology (ANAT) and Experimenta is a series of presentations that give an insight into the art/technology and art/science sectors in Australia,…
Is Singapore losing its standing as the art hub of Southeast Asia? (via SEA Globe)
Despite the government’s desperate attempts to position Singapore as Southeast Asia’s arts hub, flagging figures at major shows and accusations of artificiality have put the city-state’s art scene under more scrutiny than ever Singapore has long tried to combat its…
Book Review: “Dance, Access and Inclusion: Perspectives on Dance, Young People and Change”
By Joseph Gonzales (857 words, five-minute read) This is the book to own or read if you are in any way invested, connected and working with children as well as people with special needs. It is exactly as the title…
The Facetious Gender Politics of Go Lim, Hanoi’s Feminist Post-Punk Quintet (via Saigoneer)
In an example of cruel irony, October 20 is when we celebrate annual Vietnam Women’s Day, and also the anniversary of the passing of Mai Nga (commonly known as Nga Nhi), the lead singer of Go Lim – a Hanoi-based…
The importance of documenting & archiving the performing arts (via ASEF Culture360)
Chloe Chotrani is a movement artist and writer based in Singapore. She has set up the performing arts archive, Talking Circles, a digital archive of performing artists from South, Southeast Asia and its Diaspora. A continuous work in progress, the archive stands as…
In Conversation with Contemporary Art’s Street Miner (via The Artling)
‘Street Mining: Contemporary Art from the Philippines’ features the works of Poklong Anading, Louie Cordero, Victor Balanon, Nona Garcia, Kawayan de Guia, Mm Yu, and the collective ‘Broke’. The show runs at Sundaram Tagore Gallery from 20 January to 2…
Dance as Devotion in South India and Southeast Asia
By Chloe Chotrani (1400 words, 12-minute read) Dance was practiced as a devotional union between the ancestral and earthly realms through ritualistic performances in architectural spaces, with its genesis in India, extending into Southeast Asia. This essay examines the bronze…
Singapore art scene losing ground to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (via South China Morning Post)
Lorenzo Rudolf seems to be taking the adage “all publicity is good publicity” a bit too far. Speaking on the opening day of Art Stage Singapore, the president and founder of the annual contemporary art fair gave such a downbeat…
An Artist’s Guide to Not Being Complicit with Gentrification (via Hyperallergic)
We are in a moment where the connection between art, real estate, and the displacement of longtime residents is undeniable. How might artists take responsibility for how we alter people’s lives, in terms of the impacts of real estate speculation…
Southeast Asia Stakes Its Claim in the Art World (via the New York Times)
“Until recently — the 1990s, let’s say — an American critic keeping tabs on new art would concentrate on New York’s museums and galleries; cast an occasional, often dismissive eye on Western Europe; and perhaps try to visit Los Angeles…
Ninagawa’s “Macbeth”: Just Not Shakespeare’s
By Isaac Lim (516 words, 5-minute read) A supersized Butsudan (Buddhist altar) frames the stage, flanked by two old peasants who open the panels to indicate the commencement of a ritual. Within is 16th century post-civil war Japan, replete with…
Book Review: “Photography in Southeast Asia: A Survey” by Zhuang Wubin
By Marina Zuccarelli (550 words, 5-minute read) Photography arrived in Southeast Asia soon after its discovery in Europe in 1839, provoking contrasting reactions and developing in different ways according to the environment where it was introduced, yet having indeed an…
“Khwaab-Sa”: Shakespeare with masala and magic
By Naeem Kapadia (800 words, 6-minute read) Atul Kumar is no stranger to Shakespeare. The artistic director of Mumbai-based group The Company Theatre was first seen here in 2009 in the title role of Hamlet: The Clown Prince, which featured…
Tikam-Tikam Japan: Table and Chairs
By Leow Puay Tin (1350 words, 10-minute read) Recently I caught a round of theatrical experimentations by Southeast Asian and Japanese directors in Tokyo. Called One Table Two Chairs Meeting 2017, it was the second of a 3-year series at…
ArtsEquator’s Picks: Southeast Asian films at SGIFF 2017
By Meta Setiawan Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) returns this year from 23 November to 3 December 2017, presenting an exciting array of films from Singapore, the region and all other corners of the world. ArtsEquator.com is excited to see…
![Satirical Art Will Not Be Silenced [SEA]](https://artsequator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Radar_AsianGeographic_SatiricalArt_Zunar-455x250.jpg)
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…
![ArtAsiaPacific: After Darkness, Southeast Asian Art in the Wake of History [SEA, USA]](https://artsequator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Radar_USA_SEAArtWakeofHistory_AAP_review-455x250.jpg)
ArtAsiaPacific: After Darkness, Southeast Asian Art in the Wake of History [SEA, USA]
“A lasting impression one got from the exhibition “After Darkness: Southeast Asian Art in the Wake of History” at the Asia Society Museum in New York was the sense of art’s power to propel. Walking a tight rope between personal…
Ken Takiguchi: A Dramaturg’s Sanctuary
by Leow Puay Tin (1030 words, 7-minute read) The Necessary Stage, in collaboration with HANCHU-YUEI, one of Tokyo’s most innovative theatre companies, brings us a work that explores the digital remains of life after death in another thought provoking work, “Sanctuary”…
“SUNSHOWER”: Encounters with Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia
By Leow Puay Tin (1645 words, 14-minute read) The “SUNSHOWER: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia 1980s to Now” exhibition in Tokyo has collected so much material that it could be split into two substantial halves, one at the Mori Art…
Tikam-Tikam Japan: R.I.P. Tokyo
By Leow Puay Tin (1535 words, 10-minute read) The performance event R.I.P. Tokyo began life as a commemoration for a cat which died at the grand age of 22, five years ago. The cat belonged to director Shirotama Hitsujiya who helms…
![Photographing the Soul of Cambodia: Interview with Sophal Neak [Cambodia]](https://artsequator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Radar_Cambodia_SophieNeak_Artasiapacific-1-455x250.jpg)
Photographing the Soul of Cambodia: Interview with Sophal Neak [Cambodia]
“Sophal Neak was born in Takeo, a province in southern Cambodia, in 1989. Since 2011, her works—in particular her photographs—have been showcased across Asia, Europe and Australia. Her unique and uncompromising take on history and people, as well as her…
![Thai Soldiers Censor Art Exhibition in Bangkok [Thailand]](https://artsequator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Radar_Thai_HaritSrikhao_chosen_boys-1-455x250.jpg)
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…
![Inaugural Kuala Lumpur Biennale to launch in November [Malaysia]](https://artsequator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Radar_Malaysia_KLBiennalelaunchnovember_aap-1-455x250.jpg)
Inaugural Kuala Lumpur Biennale to launch in November [Malaysia]
“The city of Kuala Lumpur is set to join the cultural ranks of Shanghai, Busan, Taipei, Singapore and many more with the first-ever Kuala Lumpur Biennale (KLB) International Arts Exhibition. The National Visual Arts Gallery (NVAG) of Malaysia is organizing…
![First Bangkok Art Biennale to Launch In 2018 [Thailand]](https://artsequator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Radar_Thailand_BangkokArtBiennale2018_Artasiapacific-1-455x250.jpg)
First Bangkok Art Biennale to Launch In 2018 [Thailand]
“The first Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB) will be held next year, from November 2018 to February 2019 in Thailand’s capital. The announcement regarding BAB’s first edition was made in Venice on May 13 at the Westin Europa & Regina Hotel, San…
![Phnom Penh’s White Building [Cambodia]](https://artsequator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Radar_Cambodia_Artarsiapacific_PhnomPenhsWhiteBuilding-1-455x250.jpg)
Phnom Penh’s White Building [Cambodia]
“When I heard Phnom Penh wasn’t a walking city, I bought a good pair of shoes. The evidence on my feet at the day’s end—after dodging motorbikes, piles of trash, street meat smoke, tuktuk offers—was par for the course. The…
![Curated: Southeast Asia’s Contemporary Dancers [SEA]](https://artsequator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Radar_SEAViet_andofotherthings_ArcoRenz-1-455x250.jpg)
Curated: Southeast Asia’s Contemporary Dancers [SEA]
Belgian-German contemporary dance choreographer Arco Renz — who recently staged Hanoi Stardust with Nguyen Duy Thành, Vũ Ngọc Khải and the Vietnam National Opera Ballet — shares his list of up and coming contemporary dancers in the region whose steps…
![An Artist’s Comprehensive History of Southeast Asian Photography [SEA, Singapore]](https://artsequator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Radar_Cambodiasg_BenvalentineZhuangwubin-455x250.jpg)
An Artist’s Comprehensive History of Southeast Asian Photography [SEA, Singapore]
“I was first introduced to writer and photographer Zhuang Wubin’s work when I moved to Cambodia. His writings on Cambodian photography are well-researched, accessible, and thoughtful — exactly what I was seeking as a newcomer to the area. Zhuang became an important node…
Political Acts review: Artists weave defiance into performance art [SEA]
Review of POLITICAL ACTS: PIONEERS OF PERFORMANCE ART IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, Arts Centre Melbourne Steven Tonkin has curated a useful survey of Southeast Asian performance art as part of the inaugural Asia Triennial of Performing Arts. The photographs and videos…
Australian Play “The Age of Bones” puts Indonesian refugee issue in spotlight (via NT News)
The Age of Bones, written by Sandra Thibodeaux and directed by Iswadi Pratama & Alex Galeazzi, follows the story of an Indonesian boy, Ikan, who goes fishing one day and fails to return. Sandra Thibodeaux latest production to hit the…