“Covid Time Capsule”: Memories and Regret and Echoes from the Stars
Artists from the region created a virtual time capsule to capture the objects and memories of the past two years.
covid
Singapore Arts Emerging from the “Great Pause”
The last two years have been significant for those working in arts and culture. In Singapore, this period has seen interesting initiatives focused more on creating meaningful shifts in the scene – from changing the ways we work, to improving and professionalising craft, and decentralising discourse and learning. Nabilah Said, Ke Weiliang and Lee Shu …
COVID-19 and the Arts in Southeast Asia – 2 years on
In March 2020, we spoke to 10 arts and culture workers from across Southeast Asia, in a bid to capture the sentiments on the ground as it shifted during the early days of the pandemic. Now two years later, we revisit the same artists to see what has changed, and what has stayed the same. …
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The top ArtsEquator articles of 2021
Below is a list of the top 10 ArtsEquator articles in 2021, in random order: The Substation: How many more canaries in the coal mine? by Hoe Su Fern Published on: 20 Feb 2021 “Although the current situation facing The Substation is not new or unique, its impending fate is emblematic of, and raises …
Podcast 100: Singapore Theatre Year In Review
Listen as speakers Ke Weiliang, Lee Shu Yu, Matt Lyon, Nabilah Said and Naeem Kapadia share their thoughts about Singapore theatre in 2021, including observations and shows they found memorable. Mentioned in this episode: ArtsWok, Brown Voices, Checkpoint Theatre, Double Confirm Productions/Sight Lines Entertainment, Drama Box, Eng Kai Er, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, …
Keturunan Ruminah: WhatsApp play on family inheritance
By Azura Farid and Nabilah Said The pandemic led theatre collective HATCH to dream up Keturunan Ruminah (Ruminah’s Family), a play that takes place entirely on WhatsApp. Rightly, HATCH identified the potential of the WhatsApp group chat to be a site of potent family drama, this one centred on ghostly possession, complete with videos of …
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Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Serene Chen and Krish Natarajan
In the latest of our Cakap-Cakap series, ArtsEquator chats with Serene Chen and Krish Natarajan who star in Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT)’s new play, The Sound Inside, written by by award-winning playwright Adam Rapp. The Sound Inside turns the spotlight on an unusual connection forged between a pair of literary-minded people – a professor and …
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The future of the arts in Singapore and Australia: Highlights from the Statistically Speaking webinar
ArtsEquator organised a webinar titled “Statistically Speaking: Analysing arts audience engagement in Singapore and Australia” on Thursday, 28 January. This panel brought together representatives from the National Arts Council (NAC) and the Australia Council of the Arts to elucidate on recent research results about arts engagement, and discuss what it tells us about the future …
A Malaysian under lockdown reviews Singapore Art Week 2021
Looking through the 35-page programme booklet for the 9th edition of Singapore Art Week (SAW), I was fully struck by my Malaysian-ness. Never before have I gone through a brochure for any art event with so much content – 100 events across both physical and digital spaces featuring over 300 Singaporean and international artists, all …
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Statistically Speaking: What the data says about arts audiences in Singapore and Australia
On Thursday, 28 January 11am-12.30pm (GMT +8), representatives from Singapore’s National Arts Council (NAC) and the Australia Council for the Arts will discuss audience attitudes towards the arts in their respective countries in the webinar titled “Statistically Speaking: Analysing Arts Audience Engagement in Singapore and Australia”. (Pre-event registration here) This discussion draws on research survey …
Statistically Speaking: Analysing Arts Audience Engagement in Singapore and Australia
Representatives from Singapore’s National Arts Council (NAC) and the Australia Council for the Arts will discuss audience attitudes towards the arts in their respective countries, based on research survey data collected in 2019 and 2020. What does the data tell us about ourselves and how does this affect new policies and programmes? And what does …
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The top ArtsEquator articles of 2020
Below is a list of the top 10 ArtsEquator articles in 2020, in random order: An Elder Millennial’s Guide to Classic Singapore TV & Movies by Joel Tan Published on: 20 Aug 2020 “Purists are undecided on when exactly Singapore TV died, but I think 2007, when Phua Chu Kang wrapped, and 2015, when …
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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Did you want more sleep?: weish knows people are tired of livestreams
For artist weish, who is one-half of electronica duo .gif, this has been an intense year creatively, and one of increased self-scrutiny. Her most recent project, Did you want more sleep?, combines sound, visual and text, and references the artist’s personal problems with sleep. It is available online via video-on-demand from now to 31 December, …
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Podcast 85: Singapore Theatre, Year in Review
In our end-of-year roundup, Nabilah Said, Naeem Kapadia and Matt Lyon take stock of the year in Singapore theatre, alongside guests Lee Shu Yu from Centre 42 and Max Yam from Arts Republic. This podcast is published as part of Year In Review, an annual discussion and round-up of the performing arts in Singapore organised …
Podcast 83: Waiting For The Host by Pangdemonium
Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss Waiting For The Host by Pangdemonium. The play is written by Marc Palmieri and directed by Tracie Pang. Waiting For The Host ran from 15 Oct to 1 Nov on SISTIC Live. Stream Podcast 83: ArtsEquator · Podcast 83: Waiting For The Host Download Podcast 83 here. …
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Harrowing and sublime: Topography of Breath 2.0 by Pat Toh
By Chan Sze-Wei (739 words, 4-minute read) In grainy close up, we see segmented views of one woman, fighting to breathe with every fibre of her sinewy body. She grunts, writhes, sweats, hyperventilates. Her body multiplies by video effect but perhaps also by mass audience hallucination. Depending on which way you lean, Pat Toh’s Topography …
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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 …
Bird is the word: Peepbird by The Finger Players
By Nabilah Said (950 words, 4-minute read) If hope is a thing with feathers, then Peepbird, a 60-minute-long non-verbal show, would be it. This offering by The Finger Players was my first live theatre show since COVID – the one that was promised, had been prophesied and invoked in many a panel and Facebook post …
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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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From Here On: Going to the theatre in the time of COVID
By Jocelyn Chng (1,550 words, 5-minute read) Attending From Here On, my first live performance since COVID hit, evoked a very strange mix of emotions in me. Unfortunately, before getting anywhere near the performance itself, the experience of attempting to get to the Esplanade was already one of sheer frustration. Anyone in Singapore who has …
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Jatiwangi Art Factory: Cultural work that breaks the mould
Translation by Eka Wahyuni 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 equipment to people who have to work outside the home during the Covid-19 pandemic. These volunteers were the Relawan Jabar Baik (West …
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Pandemic in the Philippines: A cultural sector on its own
By Katrina Stuart Santiago (2,200 words, 8-minute read) When I was first asked to write about “cultural leadership” in the Philippines, I turned up a blank. This is not because we lack cultural institutions that get public funding—we in fact, have enough of those. Neither is it because there are no organisations, nor that there …
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Coronalogues, pandemic spectatorship (and the critic)
By Nabilah Said and Corrie Tan (5,950 words, 20-minute read) Spoiler Alert: This text contains spoilers for The Coronologues: Silver Linings by The Singapore Repertory Theatre and Long Distance Affair by Juggerknot Theatre Company and PopUP Theatrics. To view this text in its entirety, please read on a desktop. Introduction (Nabilah) It felt like …
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Seasons of Love: Southeast Asia-style
It started out as a “small project” amongst friends. Peter Ong, a musical theatre performer based in Malaysia, wanted to do a recording of the song Seasons of Love, from the musical Rent by Jonathan Larson, to create a message of positivity and solidarity with the region and the larger global community. The initial texts he …
Is this thing on? Singapore theatre in the midst of a pandemic
By Nabilah Said (3,200 words, 10-minute read) “Boosted by online efforts, support for Singapore theatre through the roof.” That would be a dream headline, wouldn’t it? Bit lengthy, sure – but it would tell us that the theatrical technological shift happening right at this very moment would be worth it. With COVID-19 shuttering live arts …
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Scene and Heard: Pat Gui, Stage Manager
(1,400 words, 5-minute read) I’m Pat Gui and I’ve been in the art industry for 29 years. I feel very old. On my business card, it says that I’m a director, because I’m the company director of my own company. But I’m actually in production and stage management. My company is called PH7 Production Management, …