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 Ashikin Ali and Raman Mruthika.
“We wanted to shed some light and understanding on the journey of being an artist of minority background in Singapore,” say the pair, acknowledging Grace’s years of experience in the industry – she started in 1994, when she was 17 – as a reason they wanted to interview the writer, actor and director.
“[We] recognised that she might have an in-depth perspective and a unique story to tell due to her background in both Tamil and English-language theatre.”
The interview can be found below, as well as on YouTube.
Between February to April 2021, BA in Arts Management students from LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore, embarked on an artist documentation project as part of their module History & Contextual Studies. The first-year students were tasked with interviewing an artist to better understand an aspect of their practice, and to produce the result of the interview in the form of a video. The students were given creative freedom in how they executed the brief and shot and edited their videos. Five of the best videos are shown in partnership with ArtsEquator.
This interview with Grace Kalaiselvi is part of a series of video projects in 2021 by BA Arts Management students of LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore. For past videos in this series, click here.