Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Jo Kukathas for Air Con
We cakap-cakap (chit-chat) with Jo Kukathas about The Instant Café Theatre Company’s upcoming screening of Air Con, an award-winning 2008 play written by Shanon Shah. The play revolves around the murder of a sex worker near an elite boys school…
Cultivating Arts Writing Ecosystems: Criticality and Creativity amidst Necessity
By Adriana Nordin Manan (995 words, 3-minute read) Personal narratives on professional pathways to becoming arts writers in four Asian countries were the departure point for the rich discussion at “Critical Writing Training: Models, Methods and Pitfalls,” a panel session…
The working processes of artists: Sonia Kwek
“Probably your body is the one space you can be the most autonomous still”, says artist and performer Sonia Kwek. In this video, the artist talks about the politics of using the female body in her works, and how this…
Open Calls and Opportunities: Sep 2021 (Singapore/SEA)
ArtsEquator Lobang is a list of available open calls, job postings and other opportunities open to people from Singapore and Southeast Asia. “Lobang”, a Malay word for “hole”, is used in Singlish as a shorthand for an opportunity, valuable contact…
BIPAM 2021: Delight, despair, dialogue and the despot
By Nabilah Said (1,800 words, 6-minute read) I’ve never actually attended the Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (BIPAM). This year, the pandemic allowed me to, as BIPAM offered a five-day digital programme full of showcases, talks and other activities. It…
OPEN CALL: Southeast Asian Arts Censorship Documentation
ArtsEquator invites applications for the position of Researcher for a regional arts censorship documentation and publication project it is piloting. The programme runs from Jan 2022 – Dec 2023. There are six positions available, one each based in Cambodia, Indonesia,…
10 Things You Should Know About: Malay Dance
10 Things You Should Know is a series of short animated videos on aspects of Malay culture and heritage, made in partnership with Wisma Geylang Serai. In the first video of this series, we share 10 things you should know…
The working processes of artists: Luqman (Flair Brothers)
Singapore hip-hop dancer Luqman from Flair Brothers gives us a lesson in the dance and also the lifestyle, introducing terms that are well known in the scene, and sheds light on how the scene has changed over the years. “If…
W.O.W Classics: Neo Wen Xin on Constance Singam
In this video, part of the W.O.W (Women on Women) Classics project, Neo Wen Xin shares about “Where I Was”, a 2013 memoir by Singaporean activist Constance Singam. Constance Singam is known for being a longterm president of AWARE, and…
Bedside Banter: Cyril & Michael by Bridging the Gap Collective
By Naeem Kapadia (800 words, 2-minute read) Two strangers meet on gay dating app Grindr and share an encounter in a hotel room. Except it’s not just fast, meaningless sex. Budding playwright and theatremaker Theo Chen’s assured two-hander, presented by…
Open Calls & Opportunities: Aug 2021 (Singapore/SEA)
[Updated 9 Sept 2021] ArtsEquator Lobang is a list of available open calls, job postings and other opportunities open to people from Singapore and Southeast Asia. “Lobang”, a Malay word for “hole”, is used in Singlish as a shorthand for…
Where are the Malays?: Locating the Singaporean Malay in Singa-Pura-Pura
By Lily Jamaludin (1,368 words, 4-minute read) Singa-Pura-Pura boasts an eclectic collection of short speculative fiction from a minority ethnic group in Singapore, exploring worlds where robots are therapists, prayers are read from preloaded cards, and humans are migrating to…
The working processes of artists: Grace Kalaiselvi
Theatremaker Grace Kalaiselvi talks about her journey in theatre, the Tamil theatre scene and issues of diversity and representation in Singapore theatre in this video, titled Creating as a Tamil Artist in Singapore, directed and conceptualised by LASALLE students Nur…
Dear Waterloo Street, From An Emerging Arts Manager
Text and illustrations by Ho Shu En (1,600 words, 4-minute read) Waterloo Street is for me, a place of beginnings. It has accompanied me through my journey as an arts management student from Singapore Management University (SMU) to my current…
Podcast 95: Three Sisters and _T0701_ at SIFA 2021
In this episode of the ArtsEquator theatre podcast, Naeem Kapadia, Matthew Lyon and Nabilah Said discuss Three Sisters by Nine Years Theatre and _T0701_ by Zeugma, which were both part of SIFA 2021. Stream Podcast 95: ArtsEquator · Podcast 95:…
Dialogues with Mountains: Preserving indigenous culture in Taromak and Kelecung
By Wennie Yang (1,400 words, 6-minute read) Let’s face it. Leisure travel feels like a distant memory at the moment. I’ve been trying to envision what a collective future means for destination hotspots in Southeast Asia, whose economies used to…
Caring for the Carers: How Malaysian artists working with communities hold space
By Rahmah Pauzi (1,300 words, 5-minute read) I had forgotten how loaded the words “how are you,” or “apa khabar,” can be. I’ve always had issues with the greeting – I used to think that it was a statement/question that…
Festival of Women N.O.W. 2021: Bold claims on identity
By Patricia Tobin (1,382 words, 4-minute read) Led by artistic director Noorlinah Mohamed, this year’s online edition of the Festival of Women N.O.W. 2021 explores issues pertaining to women that are often forgotten or overlooked. There is Not Grey: Intimacy,…
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…
Fragments of History: Loc Vang, the Yellow music singer from Hanoi
By Duong Nguyen Thuy (800 words, 3-minute read) 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…
Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Salty Xi Jie Ng
In this month’s Cakap-Cakap (chit-chat), ArtsEquator speaks with artist Salty Xi Jie Ng, whose most recent project, Not Grey: Intimacy, Ageing & Being, excavated what intimacy means for older Singapore women (hint: it’s not all about sex!). The digital experience, comprised…
The frenemy’s handshake: The Singapore Trilogy as political theatre
By Clarissa Oon (2,650 words, 8-minute read) My phone vibrated one night, with a notification that Singapore political party Workers’ Party (WP) was premiering a live video on Instagram. Curious, I tuned in – digital and social media being the…
Open Calls & Opportunities: Jul 2021 (Singapore/SEA)
ArtsEquator Lobang is a list of available open calls, job postings and other opportunities open to people from Singapore and Southeast Asia. “Lobang”, a Malay word for “hole”, is used in Singlish as a shorthand for an opportunity, valuable contact…
Saya Takut Untuk Mengkritik Sehinggalah Saya Berjumpa Sekumpulan Pengkritik: Refleksi Terhadap AAMR
Oleh Sukhbir Cheema dan diterjemah oleh Fasyali Fadzly Bila anda mendengar perkataan “pengkritik”, apakah yang anda bayangkan? Saya sering membayangkan orang yang pakai cermin mata; ulat buku, sangat serius, dan payah untuk puaskan hatinya. Daripada pandangan saya dulu, pengkritik adalah…
Podcast 94: The Singapore Trilogy by The Second Breakfast Company
In the episode of the ArtsEquator theatre podcast, Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss The Singapore Trilogy by The Second Breakfast Company, which ran from March 11 to March 21 2021. Stream Podcast 94: ArtsEquator · Podcast 93:…
Podcast 93: Girls & Boys by Pangdemonium
In the episode of the ArtsEquator theatre podcast, Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss Girls & Boys by Pangdemonium, which ran from 25 Feb to 14 Mar 2021. Stream Podcast 93: ArtsEquator · Podcast 92: Girls & Boys…
Can the arts solve community issues in the region? The SEA*5 think so.
Can the creative society in Southeast Asia support each other in finding solutions to problems in our communities, powered by compassion and empathy? That’s one of the questions at the heart of the existence of Project SEA*5. The group comprises…
The performing arts industry of Malaysia is drowning
By Joe Hasham (986 words, 2-minute read) As many parts of Southeast Asia are hit by recurrent waves of Covid 19 infections, arts industries across the region face imminent collapse due to prolonged closures and scant state support. In Malaysia,…
W.O.W Classics: Goh Tze Yi on Heng Siok Tian
In this video, part of the W.O.W (Women on Women) Classics project, Goh Tze Yi shares more about “Crossing the Chopsticks and Other Poems” (1993), a book of poetry by second-generation Singaporean English poet Heng Siok Tian. Tze Yi was…
Quiz: Which Singaporean writer are you?
For every Singaporean who loves stories and words—whether you lovingly document your everyday experiences on Facebook, pen epic poems during your lunch breaks, or are a writer working on that great Singapore novel— there comes a time where you ask…