Indonesia has one of the most prolific film industries in Southeast Asia, yet, local filmmakers have to contend with different kinds of pressure and actions that impact their creative free expression. The real losers are the public, whose choice of what film, local or international, they might watch is decided by those in power
Katrina Stuart Santiago demonstrates how recent incidents of artistic censorship in the Philippines have focused on the silencing of female and LGBTQIA+ voices.
While Papuan cinema takes its place on the world stage, it is still viewed with distrust in Indonesia. Adrian Jonathan Pasaribu traces how and why Papua’s people continue to be excluded from the national narrative.
Linh Le speaks to Dat Vu, a Ho Chi Minh City-based artist who works mainly with photography, about his experience with censorship.
Artist Ngo Dinh Bao Chau shares her experience with the ambiguous censorship guidelines in Vietnam with curator Linh Le.
In Cambodia, most cases of arts censorship are linked to the notion of protecting and preserving culture. Kai Brennert examines how different generations of civil servants and policymakers are shaped by their lived experiences, which in turn influence their view of “cultural preservation”.
Nutcha Tantivitayapitak and Sudarat Musikawong travel to Chiang Mai, Thailand to shine a light on the artn’t Collective, who are currently facing numerous legal charges for works that are viewed as critiquing the state.
ArtsEquator remembers the artists and cultural workers from the Singapore we lost in 2022.
Amitha Amranand remembers the artists and cultural workers Thailand lost in 2022.
Pristine de Leon remembers the artists and cultural workers from the Philippines we lost in 2022.
Mira Sharon remembers the artists and cultural workers from Malaysia we lost in 2022.
Theodora Agni remembers the artists and cultural workers Indonesia lost in 2022.
The arts ecosystems in many parts of Southeast Asia are under-resourced. In this environment, independent arts spaces provide invaluable opportunities and support to the wider community. Deborah Augustin interviews the people behind four arts spaces in Malaysia to learn more about their work and how they have survived in an evolving landscape.
Revisiting a favourite Singaporean band, Plainsunset, Diana Rahim fleetingly captures her youthful self and recalls the creativity of the local music scene in the early 2000s.
Artists from the region created a virtual time capsule to capture the objects and memories of the past two years.
In a country with opaque requirements for what can and cannot be shown, Linh Le highlights how something as seemingly straightforward as obtaining an exhibition licence may be used to control artistic expression in Vietnam.
Tại một đất nước như Việt Nam, nơi có những yêu cầu không rõ ràng về việc trưng bày, Linh Lê nhấn mạnh rằng chỉ cần một thứ tưởng chừng đơn giản như xin giấy phép triển lãm có thể trở thành một cách kiểm duyệt biểu đạt nghệ thuật.
Jean Baptise Phou’s work My Mother’s Tongue began as a way for the artist to examine his relationship with his Teochew-speaking mother. Through collocations with other artists and audiences, the work has undergone different manifestations, but remains an “an exploration of the barriers to connection that transcend language” writes Deborah Augustine.
The tale of a pioneering woman Indonesian filmmaker converges with the mission of a group of women film researchers, as Adrian Jonathan Pasaribu highlights how archives and historical records often render some stories invisible.
In this visual essay, puppet maker and designer Daniel Sim, begins with a set of rejected stage chairs, and ends up on a lyrical journey through Singapore’s theatre history.
In the latest episode of our popular 10 Things You Should Know series, we share facts about the keris, a warfare weapon commonly used in maritime Southeast Asia.
SMU students Caitlin Leong and Joy Lo interview Isabella Chiam about her gardening workshop, ‘The Last Gardener’, gaining insights into the risks and challenges that artists face in the creative sector.
Corey Koh began with a simple question about the early days of opera in Singapore. Trawling through newspaper archives and scholarly articles, Corey, a young classical tenor who has performed widely in Singapore and abroad, uncovers a fascinating story of Singapore’s place within a larger transcontinental touring circuit, and gives us a glimpse into early performance criticism in Singapore.
In the latest installment of AWARE’s Growing Up anthology, Diana Rahim finds that in an environment where our experience of race and womanhood may be constricted, personal stories can be powerful acts of re-making and re-narrativising.
Nutcha Tantivitayapitak and Sudarat Musikawong delves into the life of the late Wat Wanlayangkoon, an award winning novelist who left a lasting impact on the world of arts and activism in Thailand.
Xiao Ting Teo is moved to consider how the detritus of being shapes us anew as she encounters two works, “Declutter Me!” and “Frequencies” at the The Substation’s annual SeptFest 2022: uproot | rootless.
Zikri Rahman menghuraikan tentang filem-filem yang ditapis secara tegas dan peluang yang terlepas akibat tindakan tersebut.
In the latest episode of our popular 10 Things You Should Know series, we share facts about batik, a fabric popular in Southeast Asia.
Researcher Linh Le interviews artist-curator Bill Nguyễn, in a wide ranging conversation about historical and contemporary censorship in Vietnam.
In a country with a range of national and international laws to protect artistic rights, Reaksmey Yean questions the reality of freedom of expression for artists in Cambodia.
