To See My Plainsunset
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.
Music
In Search of Singapore’s Early Opera History
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.
The Working Processes of Artists: Alan Choo
Alan Choo is a Singaporean violinist and the artistic director of Red Dot Baroque, a group of Singaporean musicians promoting baroque music here.
Disability Arts – Notice us for our art, not our disability
Isaac Lim outlines conversations in online disability arts panel discussion, Nothing About Us Without Us: Artists on crafting their voices. The full video is also available to watch, with Singapore Sign Language and Korean Sign Language interpretation, and captions in Korean and English. The writer of this piece is a plus-sized male with short hair, …
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Quiz: Which Southeast Asian music playlist suits your vibe?
Take our latest quiz, and find out your musical match, SEA-style! Music is like sunshine on a rainy day, that first cup of coffee in the morning and a warm blanket during a storm. There is nothing better when you’re unwinding than putting on a playlist and the puzzle pieces in your head just click, …
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장애예술 – 장애가 아닌 우리의 예술을 보라
아이삭 림은 장애 예술에 관한 온라인 포럼, 우리가 없으면 우리에 대한 것도 없다: 목소리를 만들어 내는 예술가들에 대한 글을 썼습니다. 싱가포르 수어, 한국 수어, 언어 통역과 한국어와 영어 자막이 제공되는 전체 비디오도 보실 수 있습니다. 지금 이 글을 쓰고 있는 사람은 짧은 머리에 안경을 쓴 플러스 사이즈 남성으로, 티와 반바지 차림으로 편하게 입은 채 집필 …
10 Things You Should Know About: Gamelan
In the continuation of our popular 10 Things You Should Know series, researcher Rosemainy Buang shares interesting facts about Gamelan as practised in Singapore and the region. This series on Malay cultural forms is commissioned by Wisma Geylang Serai. 10 Things You Should Know is a series of short animated videos on aspects of Malay …
UNHEARD: Hearing Singapore women composers loud and clear
In the notoriously male-dominated classical music sphere, seven Singaporean women composers take centre-stage. “When do women get to be heard for who we are?” That was the question raised by Rachel Lim, a Singaporean soprano and UNHEARD’s founder at the start of the concert. Lim started the UNHEARD concert series back in 2019 in Boston …
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Experiencing a slice of life: Artist’s Block by ArtWave
Experience an audio-guided walking trail along Singapore’s historic Waterloo Street.
Disability Arts: Critical Conversations between South Korea and Singapore
Disability Arts: Critical Conversations between South Korea and Singapore Presented by ArtsEquator, Equal Dreams and Taeyoon Choi Studio Disability Arts has emerged as a powerful and dynamic area of practice within the wider arts and cultural landscape regionally in recent years. Yet, the work of rethinking and rebuilding disability-centred arts ecosystems is an ongoing process …
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The working processes of artists: Daly Filsuf
“I want to bring all the Asian kinds of music to the world, with our language,” says rapper and music producer Daly Filsuf. In this video, the artist talks about dikir barat as a genre, and how he has fused elements of dikir barat and Malay traditional music into his work with Malay hip hop …
The working processes of artists: Bani Haykal
Artist, composer and musician Bani Haykal shares about his video work Trouble With Harmony, created in collaboration with art critic and writer Lee Weng Choy, as well as his other experimentations with text and music. In this video, directed and conceptualised by LASALLE students Rose Sutrina and Siti Nurlisa, he also articulates his thoughts about …
Fragments of History: Loc Vang, the Yellow music singer from Hanoi
It was perhaps the melancholy of history that was the most palpable presence in the livestream action Fragments of History, which I organised as part of Mekong Cultural Hub’s Mini-Meeting Point held on 17 July 2021. Though it took place in under 30 minutes, the event brought me and the audience onsite and on Facebook …
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Who’s Afraid of the VOD?: Highlights of SIFA On Demand
Let’s face it. In the early days of the pandemic, we mourned for live theatre. Zoom theatre felt like the next best thing, if not quite the real thing. And yet, that period was also one of great experimentation, and brought to us different kinds of online experiences created by artists, with various degrees of …
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At dawn’s first light: “Matins” by the SYC Ensemble Singers
By Shahril Salleh ( 1,215 words, 6-minute read) We thought about after a year of not singing together in a live performance, we wanted to have a concert about beginnings and about trying to become like the new normal again as a choir. So of course the idea of morning and dawn and sunrise came …
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ArtsEquator’s Hot List: May 2021
Every first Wednesday of the month, ArtsEquator releases our editor’s picks of shows/events/programmes that our readers can look out for in that month. Note: The events below are subject to changing conditions due to COVID-19. Do check with the respective presenters. This list in published in no particular order. 1. The Music of Checkpoint …
The Substation’s SeptFest 2021: Endnote
Text and photos by Joelle Cecilia Quek The Substation’s 2021 SeptFest made a full comeback in March after 6 years, marking the 30th anniversary of Singapore’s first independent home of the arts. Titled In The Margins, the month-long festival focuses on stories of the marginalised, displaced, and forgotten – communities who often go unseen and …
Hitting up the Producers SG Directory: Taufik Darwis, Racy Lim and Khor Seng Chew
What is producing within the context of the arts? It is a question whose answer might vary depending on who you ask. Producers SG is a community of independent producers, arts managers and self-producing artists interested in nurturing support systems amongst producers and conversations around the practice of producing. Producers SG recently launched the Producers …
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Pelesits And Where To Find Them: A conversation with NADA and Teater Ekamatra
By ila Many of us grew up with ghost stories. For some of us, it’s very much part of our belief system that we share the world with other presences. (If you’re interested, I wrote a speculative text about the Pontianak here.) When I was younger, my mom would use the word “pelesit” each time …
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Maduro, online jazz concerts, SIFA: A jazz bar evolves in a pandemic
For former jazz pianist Peter Ng, the past year has been one of great change. Set up in mid-2019, Maduro was envisioned to be a jazz lounge and a whisky bar, but Ng quickly realised – hastened by the pandemic – that it needed to evolve. The venue will soon be featured in an online …
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Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Southeast Asia rap on the rise; Kolektif Hysteria in Jakarta
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. In the weekly Southeast Asia Radar, we publish a round-up of content that have …
Podcast 84: Traditional Arts: Dikir Barat, Kavadi Attam and Nanyin
ArtsEquator speaks to Lyn Lee, Nirmala Seshadri and Soultari Amin Farid about Nanyin, Kavadi Attam and Dikir Barat and the study and practice of traditional arts in Singapore. This is a follow-up on ArtsEquator’s series of animated videos “10 Things“, which sheds light on these three traditional forms. Stream Podcast 84: ArtsEquator · Podcast 84: …
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Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Vietnam’s art fondling problem; Silent Film Festival
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. In the weekly Southeast Asia Radar, we publish a round-up of content that have …
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Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Goodbye gamelan maestro; Charlie Chan to get animated
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. In the weekly Southeast Asia Radar, we publish a round-up of content that have …
Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Goodbye gamelan maestro; Charlie Chan to get animated Read More »
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Nanyin
10 Things is a series of three short animated videos, each focusing on a lesser known traditional artform – Dikir Barat, Kavadi Attam and Nanyin. In the second part of this series, we share 10 things about Nanyin. The video features the work of illustrator Joy Ho and animator Jawn, as well as music and …
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Kavadi Attam
10 Things is a series of three short animated videos, each focusing on a lesser known traditional artform – Dikir Barat, Kavadi Attam and Nanyin. In the second part of this series, we share 10 things about Kavadi Attam. The video features the work of illustrator Joy Ho and animator Jawn, as well as music, …
Podcast 82: Who’s There & Two Songs and a Story
Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss Who’s There by The Transit Ensemble (Singapore/Malaysia/US); and Two Songs and a Story by Checkpoint Theatre. Who’s There ran from 4 – 8 August on Zoom as part of Ice Factory 2020 by New Ohio Theatre. Two Songs and a Story is an online video series on SISTIC …
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Dikir Barat
Most Singaporeans recognise traditional artforms such as Bharatanatyam, wayang kulit and wushu. However, there are many other interesting forms which may not be as known, especially to the younger generation. 10 Things is a series of three short animated videos, each focusing on a lesser known traditional artform – Dikir Barat, Kavadi Attam …
Transcultural Lullabies: Rohingya and Malay folksongs
Rohingya poet Mayyu Ali and Malaysian artist Sharon Chin collaborate in this meaningful project that looks at Rohingya and Malay lullabies and folksongs. The pairings of songs, which are narrated and sung orally, are further unified with a patterned artwork by Sharon Chin, which for Sharon acts as “one small bridge for the immeasurable distance …
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Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Eisner Winner Erica Eng; Pinoy rap and Duterte
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. In the weekly Southeast Asia Radar, we publish a round-up of content that have …
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