In March 2020, we spoke to 10 arts and culture workers from across Southeast Asia, in a bid to capture the sentiments on the ground as it shifted during the early days of the pandemic. Now two years later, we revisit the same artists to see what has changed, and what has stayed the same. […]
COVID-19 and the Arts in Southeast Asia – 2 years on Read More »
by Nabilah Said As the world contends with the new normal of temperature checks, home quarantines and travel restrictions in the age of COVID-19, artists find themselves reckoning with a lack of paid jobs coupled with an existential question of the meaning of art in these times. There has also been an awakening of sorts
COVID-19 and the arts in Southeast Asia Read More »
ArtsEquator’s Southeast Asia Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region. Here’s a round-up of content from this week, scoured and sifted from a range
ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region. Here’s a round-up of content from this week, scoured and sifted from a range of regional
By Akanksha Raja and Ke Weiliang (1,444 words, 6-minute read) The inaugural Asian Arts Media Roundtable (AAMR) took place between 24 to 25 May 2019 at LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore. Organised by ArtsEquator, the two-day gathering of over 20 arts journalists, critics, editors and members of the media and cultural industries from ten
Asian Arts Media Roundtable 2019: When Asian Critics Meet Read More »
ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region. Here’s a round-up of content from this week, scoured and sifted from a range of regional news websites, blogs and media platforms, and
Meeting in Mauritius until 1 December, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribed eleven elements from the Asia-Pacific region on the Lists of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. Among them, two elements have been added to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding while nine elements from
Duration: 32 min In this month’s dance podcast, host Amin Farid chats with Malaysian dance practitioner and writer Bilqis Hijjas on wide-ranging topics from her roles as president of MyDance Alliance and director of the dance programme Rimbun Dahan, to her thoughts on the dance scene in Malaysia, dance criticism, the Southeast Asian identity, and some emerging choreographers and
Podcast 48: Interview with Bilqis Hijjas Read More »
For nearly three decades, the American master weaver Carol Cassidy has been working with Laotian silk weavers on the grounds of a grand old colonial mansion in Vientiane. The outdoor workroom in a lush garden not far from the mighty Mekong River seems a world apart from Paris. A dozen Laotian women talk among themselves
The Woven Art of Laos (via The New York Times) Read More »
Despite working with limited funds, the spectre of state censorship and the difficulty of only having three working cinemas in the country, local directors are creating a thriving film industry in Laos Mattie Do does not hold back. In her films, the women drink, they wear lingerie, they steal, they murder. In the final moments
Lao film industry finding its feet on international stage (via SEA Globe) Read More »
Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (SEAFIC) has finalised the selection for its second edition, focusing on first-time filmmakers from Laos, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. Established producers such as Fran Borgia (A Yellow Bird) and Anthony Chen (Pop Aye) are attached to some of the projects, which cover topics including family strife, sociopolitical bureaucracy, cross-cultural humour
“Boating along a serene stretch of the Mekong River near the UNESCO World Heritage town of Luang Prabang, some passengers were overcome with emotion. “I screamed,” said Xaisongkham Induangchanty. “We all screamed.” Tears poured down Siege Ledesma’s face. “I cried ugly,” she confided. “Really ugly.” Their tears were an expression of joy, unrelated to the
Laos film festival nurtures big screen dreams Read More »
“Twenty-five years ago I joined a team from the Japan Foundation on a tour of Isan to meet and talk to molam artists, as part of a project on Lao music in the region. We met up with the then-president of the Molam Association, National Artist Kane Dalao, and his two female molam partners, Boonpeng
Mesmerising molam [Thailand, Laos] Read More »
By Chan Sze-Wei (903 words, 5 minute read) Many things have been written about Mattie Do, the pioneering female film director from Laos. She’s put her country’s horror films on the world festival map. “She wears international laurels including the BFI London Film Festival and is an alumni of the Cannes Film Festival’s Les Cinemas du Monde
Mattie Do: Horror Film? It’s all Ballet. Read More »
