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…
The Substation’s SeptFest 2021: The last chapter
By Nabilah Said Against the backdrop of a battle of words, an impossibility is happening. SeptFest, one of The Substation’s most enduring annual programmes, is taking place this month, in March, six months too late. This, of course, is because…
Alternative Lessons for Women: Sonia Kwek and Tan Weiying on sex, desire and the erotic
By Aditi Shivaramakrishnan Adapting its title from Lessons for Women <<女诫>>, a text by the first known female Chinese historian, Ban Zhao, Alternative Lessons for Women is a double-bill of two solo works: Hymen Instinct created and performed by Sonia…
Brown Is Haram: Kristian-Marc James Paul and Mysara Aljaru reclaim their space
Brown Is Haram: Reconstructing The Brown Narrative is a performance-lecture exploring different aspects of the experience of being brown in Singapore, exploring issues such as social mobility and masculinity. This show is based on the work and ongoing collaborative project…
The future of The Substation: A timeline of events (Updated)
By Ke Weiliang, with assistance from Nabilah Said Last updated: 25 July 2021 ArtsEquator has compiled a timeline of events that details recent developments surrounding the future of The Substation. The timeline – displayed in chronological order – begins from…
The Substation: An unstoppable force and an immovable object
By Nabilah Said, with additional reporting by Ke Weiliang On Saturday, 6 March 2021, almost 300 members of the arts community came together in a Zoom Townhall to discuss the fate of independent arts centre The Substation. The Townhall had…
Jatiwangi Art Factory: Cultural work that breaks the mould
By Nia Agustina, translation by Eka Wahyuni (1,980 words, 6-minute read) In one corner of West Java, Indonesia, in the Majalengka Regency, a group of volunteers work hand in hand to distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), groceries, food, and medical…
Coda Culture: A Space for Freedom
As told to Akanksha Raja In the latest instalment in our series covering independent art spaces in Southeast Asia, ArtsEquator.com spoke with artist Seelan Palay to learn about his practice, his inspirations, and his journey setting up the independent alternative…
Nathalie Johnston: Creating a home for contemporary art in Myanmar
By Victoria Milko (1,800 words, nine-minute read) Despite being nearly 14,000 kilometres from her hometown in America, Myanm/art gallery director Nathalie Johnston has managed to create a home for herself – and Myanmar’s growing contemporary art scene – in the…
Meta Moeng: a bridge-builder in Cambodia’s art world
By Ben Valentine (1,600 words, 10 minute read) Meta Moeng was the first person I met from Cambodia’s arts scene. This was in 2014, and I was eager to learn more about the country’s arts ecology. She was then the…
All Aboard: Artists and Locals Come Together at Penang’s Hin Bus Depot
Penangites of a certain age still have fond memories of the Blue Bus that ran up and down the island until the 1980s. The company’s garage, built in 1947, sported a sleek Art Deco façade, still visible today. But years…