I Send You Off Like a Lover: SEA at Venice Biennale
By Alvin Lim (1860 words, 20-minute read) “I send you off like a lover.” – Zai Kuning, at the launch of Dapunta Hyang: The Transmission of Knowledge, 10 May 2017 With his palms over the bow, Zai launched the ship….
Ten Women Behind Photography in Asia
“When we talk about photography, oftentimes we talk about those in the frontlines, the photographers and artists, and forget the facilitators behind the scenes who are just as committed in their efforts and contributions. Here are some of our favourite…
![Artists in Southeast Asia: Zoncy, Anon Pairot and more share what inspires their recent artworks [SEA]](https://artsequator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Radar_SEA_luxuo_artinspiringartists_Rizal-Matchbox-Inspiration-of-Alwin-Reamillo-1-455x250.jpg)
Artists in Southeast Asia: Zoncy, Anon Pairot and more share what inspires their recent artworks [SEA]
“The references that artists use to inform their work are widely varied: these can be a song, a film, a novel, a fashion image, a building in their neighbourhood, a childhood memory and sometimes a combination of two or more…
![Following the Threads that Connect Clothing to Religious Persecution in Southeast Asia [Thailand]](https://artsequator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Radar_Thailand_JakkaiSiributrDisplaced_hyperallergic-455x250.jpg)
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,…
![Prayer, Puppetry, and Politics: The World of Malay Performance Art [SEA]](https://artsequator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Radar_SEA_PrayerPuppetry_YaleDailyNews-455x250.jpg)
Prayer, Puppetry, and Politics: The World of Malay Performance Art [SEA]
“Kathy Foley, curator of Malay Theatre: Intangible Cultural Heritage and Islam, boasts decades of experience studying the art and theater of Indonesia and Southeast Asia. A trained performer in the art of wayang, traditional Indonesian mask and puppetry, Foley holds…
![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…
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…
Zai Kuning on the Singapore Pavilion project at Venice Biennale 2017 (via Art Radar Journal)
“What I present is not about Singapore history, but rather it is the history and living cultures across Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand up to Vietnam. This is the Malay world that the world knows very little about. Even the…
10 great modern Southeast Asian films
A rough guide to contemporary cinema from Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is an expansive region that produces diverse cinema, much of which now reaches the international festival circuit. Yet only a relatively…
Solo Rites: Asian Degustation Menu Causes Indigestion
By Kathy Rowland (529 words, 5 minute read) Solo Rites: Seven Breaths by Jen Shyu, a highly acclaimed experimental jazz vocalist from the US, was staged at the Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama on 14 February 2017. Shyu, who is…
Review: Theatre Company shelf’s “GHOSTS-COMPOSITION/IBSEN”
By Alfian Sa’at (1100 words, 15-minute read) ‘The Cave’, a converted bar and restaurant that is the venue for the performance of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, is small. Audiences sit on three sides, around five persons abreast, ever mindful that to…
Cambodian dance ensemble provides sky-high helipad performance (via SEA Globe)
The night’s main performance, orchestrated by famed Cambodian choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, co-founder and artistic director of the Khmer Arts Academy, was entitled “Munkul Lokey”, or “Happiness of the World”. Commissioned by the Guggenheim Museum’s Works and Process series in…
Tash Aw & Tahmima Anam Discuss Home, Identity and the Changing Face of Asia
I think if anyone is truly honest about any meaningful relationship, they will experience a certain ambiguity about it: no one can love totally without questioning that relationship from time to time, and if they did, it wouldn’t be real….
Cambodia’s Meta House cultural centre celebrates ten years as an iconic arts and music venue (via SEA Globe)
Since its inception in 2007, Meta House has established itself as a haven for the city’s creatives looking to find documentaries, art and performances of all breeds. “We started as a small community centre in 2007 in my private house,”…
OzAsia Festival: Celebrating Asian Dance and Theatre Down Under
Six performance works stood out for their bold placement of the body center-stage: Softmachine Rianto, an Indonesian-Singaporean dance and video collaboration; Skin, a challenging work from Malaysia on human trafficking; Cambodia’s Phare Circus, in which performers perform the seemingly impossible;…
Lost in translation: why the world is missing out on Indonesia’s best writers (via SEA Globe)
Indonesia’s rich history of storytelling is reflected in its growing pool of talented writers. The Ubud Writers and Readers Festival provided an ideal backdrop to explore how a lack of quality translation is impacting the literary industry.
One man’s quest to save Southeast Asia’s independent cinemas
Since 2010, Jablon has surveyed hundreds of the region’s standalone cinemas – the majority now derelict or ticking over as warehouses, car parks or shady fleapits – and then put his tightly worded observations and stark photographs up on his…
The Enduring Power of Southeast Asia’s Traditional Shadow Puppets
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,…
ArtAsiaPacific’s Selection of Critical Readings on Art in Asia
ArtAsiaPacific’s roundup of key publications include books from the Phillipines, such as No Chaos No Party: 28 Artists in Metro Manila, and Singapore Histories, Practices, Interventions.
Artists reclaim Southeast Asia’s history at the Singapore Biennale
Breaching through the pitch-black wall behind them, three ancient warships emerge into pools of muddled light. Astride their decks, a trio of titanic cowled figures stand in expectation, their hollow robes of gold plate giving stern shape to the empty…
The Curatorial Complex: A Roundtable on the Singapore Biennale
By Elaine Chiew, Luke Chua, Usha Chandradas, Candice Li Liting, Eunice Paola Ramos Lacaste, Teng Yen Hui and Seng Yu Jin (3392 words, 30 minute read) Seng Yu Jin: Our roundtable comprises students from the MA in Asian Art…
Southeast Asia in Arts Festivals: Jan – Feb 2017
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…
Faith in Tokyo: A review of ‘Nadirah’ and ‘Family’
by Mio Yachita (1,260 words, 10 minute read) 2016 was a busy year for theatregoers in Japan, and an especially fruitful one for those with an interest in Malaysia. The Kyoto Experiment 2016 (22 Oct – 13 Nov) featured the…
Writing the Region: SEA Literary Festivals in 2016
By Akanksha Raja (1800 words, 15-minute read) Continuing our look back on regional arts events in 2016, we consider what the buzz was on the main writers’ festivals held in Southeast Asia. Georgetown Literary Festival: 25 – 17 November 2016…
An Atlas of Biennales: International Art Festivals in Asia Pacific 2016
By Akanksha Raja (1200 words, 12-minute read) 2016 has seen a few biennales taking place in Southeast Asia. While we didn’t manage to attend each and every one of them, we’ve been reading all we could find about them. Here is…
Don’t Miss Out!
ArtsEquator is a ground-up initiative. We’re a non-profit organisation, committed to building an arts media that supports the arts ecosystem in Southeast Asia. We are, for now, entirely self-funded. We do however, pay all writers who write original pieces for…
ANCER Research Camp 2016: Collective Creative Practices in Southeast Asia
By Akanksha Raja and Kathy Rowland (1010 words, 15-minute read) There was a distinct absence of PowerPoint presentations at the Asia Pacific Network for Cultural Education and Research (ANCER) 2016 Research Camp, held at LASALLE College of the Arts from…
