Singapore Biennale 2006
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Friday, March 04, 2005
Sharing her work
Name: Jackie CHENG (CJ)
Watercolor hobbyist & student of Loy Chye Chuan
Email: type cjwatercolors and followed by @yahoo.com
Url: http://www.geocities.com/cjwatercolors/
We take you to the spirit of Mosaic Music Festival bearing strong components of jazz and world music. To celebrate this, visual artists, in their very own distinct visual signatures and languages,
Reception date: 3 Mar 05 (Thu), 7.15pm
Jendela (Visual Arts Space)
Level 2, Esplanade Mall
Greendonkey is proud to introduce to you Reel Loco, a boutique design production
house.
Reel Loco wanted to build a 'family' that work, live, play hard together
and share the same dream which is to become a boutique design production
house in Singapore but able to handle production around the world.
Reel Loco don't just think out of the box, they live there.
Let's get real with Reel Loco. Check em' out!
http://www.greendonkey.info
Cheers,
The Greendonkey Team
www.greendonkey.info
Art Monthly Australia
We are Australia's only monthly visual arts magazine and regularly feature articles on Asian art. Additionally, each month we receive news from the Singaporean art scene from our Artnotes Asia correspondent. Visit our website. Url: www.artmonthly.org.au
Karen Dahlstrom
Managing Editor
Email: type artnotes and followed by @anu.edu.au
Phone: 61 6125 3988
City: ACTON
State: AC
Zip: 2601
Address: LPO Box 8321 ANU, Australia
Submitting an update of website address.
Address: TVA 6006, 55-550 NANILOA LOOP
City: LAIE
State: HI
Zip: 96762
Sculpture, Contemporary, Ceramics, Lanterns
Email: type zonglite2002 and followed by @yahoo.com
Name: Kristoffer Tan Wei Zhong
Phone: 1-808-293-2374
Url: http://kristoffertan.com
MAIL ART INVITATION
Theme: Time
Size : any envelope size, postcard or even parcel.
Work must be on the outside of the envelope or parcel, the stamps/ frank marks are all part of the ‘piece’.
Technique: Free, any media can be used, no rules!
Closing Submission: MAY 22nd 2005, Sunday
No rejects, no returns, as usual.
Participating artists will be credited and will receive a list of the participants, their country of origin and photographs of the exhibition via email.
Your participation will be greatly appreciated . Please forward to as many friends as possible.
Come and see your works exhibited, celebrate with us!
MAIL ART IS AN IRONY . GAME . SURPRISE . CONTACT . RECYCLE . UNION . CREATIVE ENERGY. Pierpaolo Limongelli, Italy.
Exhibition in MAIL ART”TIME
@instinc, Singapore
from 1st JUNE to 24th JUNE 2005
Send to:
MAIL ART”TIME
Instinc
271c new bridge road
Singapore 088748
Important information:
* all entries to be based on the theme – time.
* all entrants will be contacted via email so please make sure we
have your current email address
* all entries need to clearly contain all contact details (name,
address, email)
* entries will be accepted and displayed at instinc
submission of work entitles the organizers to use images of the
work in website, www.instinc.com
* if entries do not reach targeted number, the exhibition dates will be postponed. Dates will be announced after the 22 may 2005.
Please email shih yun if you have any queries:
type info and followed by @instinc.com or visit www.instinc.com
Singapore Arts, Cultural, and Heritage Journey in both English and Mandarin.
http://www.singaporeartsnculture.com
Between now and March 20, 2005; we invite you to visit our gallery for
KARMA by Andrew Jack
Gallery opening hours are
Mondays - Saturdays 11am – 8:30pm,
Sundays 11am – 6:30pm
163 Tanglin Road,
#03-08A Tanglin Mall,
Singapore 247933
Phone: +65 6734 2137
Fax: +65 6734 1131
Email: type artgallery and followed by @om-goddess.com
Web: http://www.om-goddess.com
“While the philosophy of life is a vast subject, some vital concepts must be understood in order to gain insight into the art and science of life. One of the concepts is KARMA. In its simplest form karma means the process of action and reaction. Often it is used as a synonym for fate and destiny. This is not strictly accurate. Karma involves the activity of human will, of intention. Both the physical action and the mental intention create their own reaction.
The key to Karma is how we respond to life.. if we respond with skills we create good Karma; if we respond with poor judgments we create bad Karma. The good manifests as advantages of life and the bad manifests as difficulties. Karma shapes our lives from the moment we were born, and before, for the significance of birth and death in the light of Karma are simply that they are doorways - doorways to life...”
Andrew Jack
Born in New Zealand, 25 March 1963, Andrew Jack’s art career was initiated by studying sculpture. This was followed by a period during which he worked in ceramics. In 1986 he set out to travel the world. He arrived in Bali and fell in love with the exotic island - its people, its culture and, most important, the passion expressed by the artists residing and working there.
Jack lived in Bali for eight years and concentrated on developing his particular style of painting. “It’s the place where I learnt that art is not just a piece of canvas, a drawing, or a sculpture - or even like playing the guitar. It’s the Art of Life,” says Jack.
Jack’s western training and influences are still apparent in his present-day technique. The rich texture of paint and colours are deceptively spontaneous. At the same time, the dribbles of paint are not randomly positioned, but are a controlled arrangement of visual impressions. Jack believes in, and exercises, the power of the artist over his subject.
Andrew Jack, whose paintings have become part of the collections of art connoisseurs, has held numerous exhibitions in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, China, Germany, Spain, Portugal and France. He was represented and promoted by the late Della Butcher, and his work is still showing at Galeri Santi in Jakarta.
Singaporeans will be blitzed with all things Australian this month as part of a campaign to attract tourists down-under.
Federal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey said the campaign, called Celebrate Australia, would be launched this month.
"They will be able to immerse themselves in Australian art, food, wine, fashion and culture - inspiring them to choose Australia as the destination for their next holiday," she said.
There will be a show of Australia Young Artists at Art Loft.
Quotations from the latest interviews in London
Ong Keng Sen says: "Singapore is a country of contradictions. The pink dollar is now really huge. Our theatre has been deluged by gay-themed plays. But it's illegal in Singapore."
According to Singapore's arts minister, Lee Boon Yang: "China and India are becoming economic giants. It puts us in a difficult position. How do we sustain posterity and growth? Part of the answer is to promote the creative industries, and to encourage more entrepreneurs, more of the creative types to come forward. We want to engage the British audiences to leave behind a warm feeling about the arts in Singapore. What they have read about Singapore may not have been favourable."
On the gay issue, he says: "We are taking a pragmatic approach. Every society has a percentage of people who are homosexual in inclination. We don't feel we have to virulently enforce those laws. But what you do in private, please do it in private. Don't bring it into the public arena."
On religion and race - "In our region," he says, "we have seen the violence that can be unleashed. If you unleash such forces in a small country like Singapore, you can really damage it. So we say to arts groups: please stay away from race and religion. We never take racial harmony for granted. That's why we have survived all these years."
Singapore Art Museum promotes Chinese calligraphy
From the old to the young, Chinese calligraphy is catching on in Singapore.
This is the third year the Singapore Art Museum is organising such a culture appreciation event of calligraphy writing.
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, many families turned up at the Singapore Art Museum to check out demonstrations by young writers.
Visitors say it is an encouraging move to promote indepth understanding of the Chinese culture for the entire family.
Glimpses of Light II (Singapore)
Photos by Ernest Goh, Ming, Darren Soh, Tay Kay Chin & Terrence Teo. In collaboration with Mercy Relief
Glimpses of light, glimpses of hope. Five dedicated photographers, volunteering with Mercy Relief relief teams in Aceh and Sri Lanka, have come together to reflect on the tragedy of the Asian Tsunami disaster. Their mission: To capture the resilience displayed by the survivors there after the terrible devastation wreaked by Mother Nature. What they have caught on camera is a testament to the human spirit: courage and fear, determination and resignation, but more importantly, hope and optimism. Photography, therefore, can help to heal. Glimpses of Light II is also a platform for the public to come together to learn from this calamity and pay tribute to the survivors. Launched by charitable non-governmental humanitarian organisation Mercy Relief, this photographic exhibition showcases the sobering yet uplifting works of Singaporean photographers Ernest Goh, Ming, Darren Soh, Tay Kay Chin and Terence Teo.
Visit http://www.mercyrelief.org/
Dates & Times 26 Feb - 6 Mar 2005
Venue Esplanade, Community Wall 3rd floor
Price Free
No Child's Play (Israel)
Exhibitions of photographs, paintings, installations & sculptures.
Dates & Times 26 February - 6 March 2005 | 10am 10pm
Venue The Arts House Photo Gallery
Price Free
Industry Fringe: Interdisciplinary Practice
Interdisciplinary collaborations - are they possible in a pragmatic-driven
society where inconvenience pays a price?
Are artists able/willing to afford the risks, resources and demands of interdisciplinary practice?
Artists and collaborators come together at p-10 to share their
collaborative experiences and approaches for the inaugural M1 Singapore
Fringe Festival.
Dates & Times 10 March 2005 | 7.30pm
Venue p-10 (10 Perumal Road -
near Farrer Park MRT exit B)
For more info, call TNS: 6440 8115 or p-10: 6294 0041
http://www.singaporefringe.com
Dear All,
Hope everything is well with you.
Gajah Gallery has received a few new works and would like to introduce our new artist Kumari Nahappan -
Indonesia - Yunizar & Mangu Putra
Vietnam - Ho Huu Thu & Nguyen Trung
Singapore - New artist, Kumari Nahappan
Kumari Nahappan is a Singaporean artist with a flair for minimalism and a palette of strong colours.
The artist started as a teacher and spent an extensive period of time in the world of design.
This design background, together with her cultural roots, has greatly influenced her current works.
The artist uses her canvas to experiment with the themes of energy and the cosmos.
For the past decade, Kumari has also explored the world of ritual in everyday experience and in a philosophical context.
(There is a wider selection of her works at the Gallery).
Please click on the link - http://www.gajahgallery.com/nlla.asp to view the works.
Feel free to contact us on 65_6737 4202 for enquires or to visit our Gallery.
Regards,
Gajah Gallery
MICA Building 140 Hill St #01-08
Singapore 179369
T:65_6737 4202
F:65_6737 4203
www.gajahgallery.com
Mon - Fri: 11am_7pm
Sat - Sun&Ph: 12pm_6pm
Art Seasons presents “New Wave”, a group exhibition featuring 14 artists who are the next generation of artists who will be creating big waves in the emerging Chinese contemporary art movement. The exhibition will be held from 16 March to 16 April 2005 at the gallery.
“Tan Xun Xin Yi Pai” – In search for a New Wave features the works of the very talented young artists from China. Chinese contemporary art collection is on the rise as the more contemporary Chinese artists are represented at the major international art fairs and biennales.
Armed with impeccable techniques and presenting strong Chinese socio-elements in their works; this new wave of artists will be some of the names that will mark the new generation of artists in the Chinese contemporary art movement.
The 14 artists are:
1 Chen Guang 8. Ma Yanhong
2. Hejian 9. Qiu Jiongjiong
3. He Xuesheng 10. Song Kun
4. Li Xiao 11. Xiao Hong
5. Liu Fei 12. Xie Qi
6. Liu Yuan 13. Yin Kun
7. Luo Qing 14 Zhao Bo
The curator of the exhibition, Ms Nan Nan Nancy have been monitoring the progress of these artists works over the past few years and has high commendations of their potentials to be China’s next generation of rising stars.
Address: The Box, No. 5 Gemmill Lane (off Club St) Singapore 069261
Submitted by Germaine Wong
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Red Dot Gallery (RDG) was established in 2004 by Giorgio Pilla who has developed a passionate interest in Aboriginal art and culture in his frequent visits to Australia over the last 12 years and who has been collecting Fine Aboriginal Art for many years.
RDG is the first Fine Aboriginal Art Gallery in Singapore, located in the heart of Singapore's arts and antiques precinct and features a superb range of Aboriginal Art at affordable prices.
The gallery represents artists from areas such as the Western Desert, Balgo Hills, Fitzroy Crossing, Papunya Tula, Ikuntji and other major centres. RDG holds the work of some of Australia's most significant indigenous artists, and their works are sourced from the most important Art Centres in Australia.
RDG is committed to promoting the work of indigenous artists, and creating opportunities for a wider understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal Art and its culture. Furthermore, it is one of the aims of the gallery to explore the cultural diversity, which exists in Aboriginal Art and to actively promote a range of work that displays this rich variety of cultural expression.
RDG purchases its work in the primary art market (co-operatives and dealers working directly with the artists - i.e. the first point of sale) and acquires the majority of its work through the leading art centres. The work is selected directly by the gallery principals in their frequent visits to communities in Australia.
RDG offers a comprehensive service including fully documented submissions of works in stock and complete management of packing, freight and export arrangements, if necessary.
Every piece of work is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity issued by RDG.
http://www.reddotgallery.com.sg
Insomnia: Kai-Syng Tan Islandhopping
Performance:
Sun 06 Mar 2005.
For this performance-lecture, Tan will present a meta-reading-cum-interpretation of Islandhopping. Plus a ‘behind-the-scenes’ analysis of this work,
For the ICA Kai-Syng Tan has created Islandhopping: Special DVD Limited Edition With Author’s Blow-By-Blow Commentary (International Premiere 2005): The Performance-Lecture.
Islandhopping as a methodology/investigation-in-progress consists of different stages. For this performance-lecture, Tan will present a meta-reading-cum-interpretation of Islandhopping. Plus a ‘behind-the-scenes’ analysis of this work, which is the Islandhopping-Commodified Version.
Tan's works have been exhibited in more than 20 cities. Including the Venice Biennale in 2003.
Venue(s) : Nash Room.
Sun 06 Mar 15:00 Nash Room
Full Price : £5.
Concession : £4.
ICA Members : £ 3.
Insomnia: Tzu-Nyen Ho 2 South Seas, 3 Chairs, 4 Suits
Performance:
Tue 01 Mar 2005.
In 1952, a few ‘pioneer’ artists made a trip to Bali and returned with an album of motifs from which they constructed the rudiments of a ‘Nanyang’ or South Seas Style. This trip revisted Paul Gauguin’s legendary visit to the ‘Southern Seas’ of Tahiti, 60 years later. In 4 Suits, Tzu-Nyen Ho will re-tell a history of repetition and difference.
2 South Seas is a revisitation of an event widely attributed as the birth of modern art in Singapore. In 1952, a few ‘pioneer’ artists made a trip to Bali and returned with an album of motifs from which they constructed the rudiments of a ‘Nanyang’ or South Seas Style. This trip revisted Paul Gauguin’s legendary visit to the ‘Southern Seas’ of Tahiti, 60 years later. In 4 Suits, Tzu-Nyen Ho will re-tell a history of repetition and difference by tracking the recurrence of the motif of the ‘suit’ beginning with the celebrated Felt Suit (1970) that embodied Beuys’ personal myth of artistic rebirth.
Ho extends his art history analysis with theories of cultural transmissions, repetitions and mutations.
Venue(s) : Nash Room.
Tue 01 Mar 19:00 Nash Room
Full Price : £5.
Concession : £4.
ICA Members : £ 3.
Insomnia: Tzu-Nyen Ho: Utama - Every Name in History is I
Performance:
Wed 02 Mar 2005.
Utama – Every Name in History is I is an attempt to summon forth the ‘ghost’ of Utama - Sang Nila Utama is the mythical pre-colonial king who saw a lion and called the land, Lion City or Singapore. There has never been one Utama, but many - an ambiguous multiplicity of possible identities, and a mad proliferation of names.
In this performance-lecture, Ho’s actual installation is replaced by projected images, Ho currently considers the installation form of Utama as a fossil – a remnant to be resurrected in lecture form: ‘live’, immediate, logical and economical.
Utama – Every Name in History is I is an attempt to summon forth the ‘ghost’ of Utama - Sang Nila Utama is the mythical pre-colonial king who saw a lion and called the land, Lion City or Singapore. There has never been one Utama, but many - an ambiguous multiplicity of possible identities, and a mad proliferation of names. It is this very ambiguity at the heart of ontology, which this project affirms as a possibility of self-invention.
Venue(s) : Nash Room.
Wed 02 Mar 19:15 Nash Room
Full Price : £5.
Concession : £4.
ICA Members : £ 3.
Insomnia: Charles Lim In Conversation
New Media, Talks:
Sat 05 Mar 2005.
Charles Lim is a contemporary web-based artist who lives and works in Singapore. He is one of the founders of Tsunamii.net formed in 2001. Tsunamii.net is a platform to address and investigate the phenomenon in Singapore of using technology to redefine and to rebuild itself.
Tsunamii.net is a platform to address and investigate the phenomenon in Singapore of using technology to redefine and to rebuild itself. The theme of internet and geography has been prominent in a series of their works that have been exhibited at Documenta 11, Kasel; Media City, Seoul; Nokia Singapore Art, among others. Tsunamii.net has received commissions from the Millbank Gallery in London and also the Walker Arts Center, USA for Alpha 3.8.
In this conversation, Charles will also talk about his new solo work Sea Stories: Buoys.
Venue(s) : Nash Room.
Sat 05 Mar 16:30 Nash Room
Full Price : £5.
Concession : £4.
ICA Members : £ 3.
Insomnia: Heman Chong: The End of Travelling
Talks:
Sat 12 Mar 2005.
Busan Biennale, Korea and Transmediale 04 in Germany. He was in the President's Young Talents Exhibition in 2003 at the Singapore Art Museum and was in the 50th Venice Biennale.
Busan Biennale, Korea and Transmediale 04 in Germany. He was in the President's Young Talents Exhibition in 2003 at the Singapore Art Museum and was in the 50th Venice Biennale.
Heman is an observer, gatherer and presenter of ideas and images. With a keen interest in the processes of visual culture, he is often able to toss his works into different configurations to suit the particular conditions of each exhibition/presentation. Focusing on the theme of travel, Heman takes us on a journey through his explorations and works like 'The End of Travelling'.
Venue(s) : Brandon Room.
Sat 12 Mar 15:00 Brandon Room
Full Price : £5.
Concession : £4.
ICA Members : £ 3.
Insomnia Shots: Homecoming/Andy Forever
Film:
Tue 08 Mar 2005.
Frankie Ng's documentary Homecoming is personal, disarming and intimate. After living for years in America Ng returns to Singapore and must get used to his changed surroundings.
He makes a film portrait of his grandmother - a real film personality. Andy Forever comprises every death scene in the history of Hong Kong star Andy Lau's acting career, trapping the actor in an unending cycle of death after bloody death.
Homecoming, Dir. Frankie Ng Tze Wei, Singapore, 2004, 55 mins, Subs Andy Forever, Dirs. Emily Chua and Rutherford Chang, Singapore/USA,
2004, 22 mins, Subs
Venue(s) : Cinema 2.
Tue 08 Mar 18:30 Cinema 2
Full Price : £5.
Concession : £4.
ICA Members : £ 3.
Insomnia Season
Seasons: Dates between Fri 25 Feb - Sat 12 Mar 2005.
Transcending Jetlag in Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Jakarta and Singapore
As part of an ongoing commitment to promote and facilitate international contemporary culture, the ICA regularly looks to Asia as a powerful creative force, recently curating city-to-city events with Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong.
To this end, the ICA is proud to host a season of work from South East Asia, a region, which is now tragically at the forefront of world attention for other reasons, devastated as it has been by the epic Tsunamis. Reflecting the artistic breadth of these countries, Asia’s prominent and highly charismatic director Keng-Sen Ong has curated a season of contemporary work from Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Jakarta and Singapore, which runs at the ICA from 25 February - 12 March.
The season continues until 12 March. Also see the Performance section for Insomnia's season of contemporary music and theatre, plus talks and hands-on works shops.
Venue(s) : ICA, London, UK
Fri 25 Feb - Sat 12 Mar 12:00 ICA
| Insomnia: The Legacy of Violence - Prize Winning Documentary Films by Lexy JR
| Insomnia: Stage Limit + Songs From the Heart
| Insomnia: The OK Generation
| Insomnia: Video Babes and the BCFNMA
| Insomnia: Morphing Consumer Taste: Biosampler Music Videos
| Insomnia: The Shorts of Tintin Wulia
| Insomnia: Forum Lenteng: The Massroom Project
| Insomnia: Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook: An Installation
| Insomnia: Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook In Conversation
| Insomnia: It’s a Girl Thing
| Insomnia: The Continuum: Beyond the Killing Fields
| Insomnia: Studio Kasatmata: Homeland
| Insomnia: The Gods Must Be Hungry
| Insomnia/ Mysterious Objects The Films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul
| Insomnia/ Mysterious Objects: Mysterious Object At Noon
| Insomnia/ Mysterious Objects: Blissfully Yours
| Insomnia/ Mysterious Objects: The Adventure of Iron Pussy
| Insomnia: The Video Battles of Titiktiga
| Insomnia: Santiphap Inkong-Nam - Just a Second: The Khong Legend
| Insomnia Shots: Moving House + 80km/h
| Insomnia Shots: Goddess of the Neon City
| Insomnia Shots: Unarmed Combat
| Insomnia Shots: Lunch Time
| Insomnia Shots: Homecoming/Andy Forever by E. Chua, R. Chang
| Insomnia Shots: Locust, Eve of Adha and Exodus
| Insomnia: Tzu-Nyen Ho 2 South Seas, 3 Chairs, 4 Suits
| Insomnia: Tzu-Nyen Ho: Utama - Every Name in History is I
| Insomnia: Dramatising Ayu Utami’s Saman
| Insomnia: Sakarin Krue-On - Ancient Technologies
| Insomnia: Kai-Syng Tan Islandhopping
| Insomnia: Alfian Sa'at Mengapa ISA? Optic Trilogy/Asian Boys Vol 1 & 2
| Insomnia: The Global Soul – The Buddha Project
| Insomnia: The ism Talk Show with Najip Ali
| Insomnia: Drag Queen Galore, featuring Kumar as Agnes, Daughter of God
| Insomnia: Ayu Utami - Transcending the Culture of Shame
| Insomnia: Charles Lim In Conversation
| Insomnia: Sakarin Krue-On - Inspirations From The Temple
| Insomnia: Sakarin Krue-On Buddhism and New Technologies
| Insomnia: Ulil Abshar-Abadlla - Fundamentalism and Enlightenment
| Insomnia: Ulil Abshar Abadalla and Dr Musdah Mulia: Polygamy Today
| Insomnia: Heman Chong: The End of Travelling
| Insomnia: In Conversation with Alex Au, Alfian Sa'at and Stuart Koe
Excerpt from Singapore has pumped billions into new cultural projects - but can art be made in a test tube? By Peter Culshaw - please read the full article at http://www.sport.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/02/26/basing25.xml
...Like everything else in Singapore, the arts operation is immensely efficient...
...There are several reasons for all this activity in the arts. One is that Singapore's dull image was bad for tourism and for ex-pat businesses choosing where to base themselves. More significantly, an economy that was less dependent on manufacturing and more on information and software had to encourage innovation and creativity. However, there is a sense in Singapore of the development being a top-down phenomenon. One has the impression of officials giving directives: "You will now be creative! The country needs it!"...
Visual arts selections from Singapore Season in London 2005
http://www.singaporeseason.com/
TheatreWorks @ ICA
Institute of Contemporary Arts
INSOMNIA Season: Transcending jetlag from Phnom Penh. Bangkok. Jakarta. Singapore
Curated by Ong Keng Sen
25 February - 12 March 2005
Various Times
Opening night Guest of Honour:
LIU Thai Ker, Chairman, National Arts Council, Singapore
Often controversial, and definitely one of Singapore’s most strident voices across traditions and cultures, ONG Keng Sen is theatre director, festival curator and cultural communicator. Committed to the development of a new Asian identity for the 21st century through intercultural collaborations with other Asian artists and through talks and projects staged throughout Asia, the US and Europe, Keng Sen will embark on his first major London season at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) (following on from the ICA’s previous seasons of arts in Beijing and Taipei). He will devise Insomnia, a programme of films, installations, video, music, talks, performances and clubnights, presented by artists and arts collectives largely from Singapore and Southeast Asia and across many disciplines.
Barbican Hall Programme
4) Dizi and Orchestra (25 minutes 3sec)
Divine Melody - QU Xiao Song
Soloist YIN Zhi Yang
(TAN Swie Hian’s painting process of “The Celestial Web” will be projected stroke by stroke on screen throughout the piece)
5)Calligraphy Concerto (with cuts) (13 minutes)
The Yellow River at Hukou - In the Metre of Qin Yuan Chun
Composed by LAW Wing Fai, Poetry by TAN Swie Hian
Calligraphy TAN Swie Hian
(‘Live’ onscreen video display of Mr Tan’s calligraphy)
SPEECH BY MR LEE BOON YANG,MINISTER FOR INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AT MICA'S THANK-YOU DINNER, 17 FEBRUARY 2005, 7.30 PM AT SINGAPORE ART MUSEUM
Good evening
Members of MICA Committees
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I would like to welcome all members of MICA Committees to this evening’s reception. This reception is a small gesture on our part to thank each and every one of you for your public spiritedness in serving on one or more of the 40 MICA Committees.
MICA Committees
2 Together we have 622 members from the private and public sectors serving on these Committees to advise, plan and assist MICA in carrying out its many different functions and duties. The Committees advise us in policy formulation and implementation in many areas of the arts, information management and infocomms. In 2004, two new committees, the Arts Consultative Panel and the Arts Appeal Advisory Committee helped MDA in the draft guidelines for arts performances and in fine-tuning genres that can be exempted from licensing.
3 MICA deeply appreciates your dedication and generous contribution of time and energy to help us in formulating, developing and implementing policies for all areas under our charge.
4 Your participation in MICA Committees is an important facet of the growing people sector participation in shaping our public sector developments and policy changes. You contribute by providing a citizen’s viewpoint to the issues on our agenda whether it is dealing with some publications or films which have exceeded our usual guidelines or promoting a greater love and use of our mother-tongue. These are issues for which a simple “yes” or “no” answer is often inadequate. With your diverse background and experiences, you have helped us to assess ground sentiments and ensure smooth implementation of policy reviews and new initiatives.
5 Last year, the films, publications, broadcast and arts advisory panels gave insightful, useful views and advice on controversial content, thus enabling MDA to do a better job. There were many significant contributions by these committees, especially in rolling out the recommendations of the Censorship Review Committee 2003.
6 In the area of infocomm, the internet poses great challenges for the community. In 2004, the National Internet Advisory Committee consulted extensively with industry players, community groups like PAGi and Touch Community Services and concerned agencies such as the Ministry of Education, NIE, National Library Board, People’s Association to prepare the Cyber Wellness Report. The report outlined the core values and best practices, and contained recommendations and training materials on how these values can be propagated to the young.
Greening of a Cultural Desert
7 Each year, we have to search for an interesting venue for this appreciation reception. Last year, we held the reception at the Arts House, at Old Parliament House. This year, we picked the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) as an example of what MICA is doing for the arts in Singapore. SAM is hosting a rare and unique exhibition by world-famous Colombian-born artist, Fernando Botero. This is the first exhibition by Botero in Singapore and I must add that it was quite a coup by SAM working with VW Special Projects Pte Ltd to bring Botero to Singapore. Botero is best known for his voluptuously plump figures and whimsical inflated animal sculptures. Some of you may have already seen the huge sculptures around Esplanade or Changi Airport. This evening, we hope to give you an opportunity to view more of his sculptures and paintings. You will also be able to see some of one of Singapore leading photographer Russell Wong’s celebrated photographs of celebrities.
8 Promoting the arts and culture and raising awareness of our heritage is of course a major item on MICA’s agenda. In the 70s and 80s, not many Singaporeans and foreigners would have associated Singapore with the arts and culture. Very often we were labeled as a “cultural desert”. Today, we can proudly say that the desert has begun to turn green. Just as we are known world-wide as a garden city, highly urbanized but full of trees and colourful shrubs and flowering plants, our arts and culture scene has also blossomed.
9 Last weekend, Business Times (12 Feb 2005) interviewed a world leader in arts management, Mr Barrett Wissman, Chairman of the international arts management company IMG Artists. He made an interesting remark which I would like to share with you. In speaking about how IMG managed an A-list of international artists, he mentioned, and I quote, “our artists play in top venues around the world from Carnegie Hall to the Esplanade, whose programmers know that we can achieve very interesting things” unquote. So barely two years after its opening, the Esplanade is already recognized as a world-class venue in the league of New York’s Carnegie Hall. Indeed the Esplanade has overnight elevated Singapore’s standing in the world of performing arts. Over the past two years we have witnessed a growing stream of world class performers and companies wanting to perform at the Esplanade. In 2004, the world premier of I La Galigo, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Ballet of Spain performed to full houses. The musical, Mama Mia played to near full house for eleven weeks.
10 The transformation is not just in the performing arts but also in the visual arts and heritage arenas. Last year, we brought in a number of blockbuster exhibitions to Singapore. SAM together with the Juming Museum and iPreciation organized an exhibition featuring more than 60 sculptures by internationally renowned Taiwanese artist, Ju Ming. This exhibition attracted a feature article in Newsweek. In Sep 04, the Asian Civilisation Museum played host to the palace treasures of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled at the crossroads of Europe and Asia for over 600 years. The exhibition featured artifacts that depicted the public and private lives of the Ottoman Sultans. In the same month, we opened SENI Singapore 2004 a visual arts festival featuring contemporary Southeast Asian and Asian art. First of its kind in Singapore, it was spread over multiple art venues and public spaces. This new buzz in Singapore has caught the attention of the New York Times in a recent article comparing New York and Singapore in talent and tourist attraction through the arts. This article appeared also in the front page of Straits Times last Monday.
Arts Software
11 MICA’s challenge is to broaden, deepen and strengthen our cultural capital to realize our vision of Singapore as a Global City for the Arts. While we build up our infrastructure or hardware for the arts we are also engaged in a major effort to develop our arts software.
12 Building infrastructure to provide space for the arts is perhaps an easier task. The bigger challenge is to bring the people, Singaporeans and tourists, to the arts. In particular, we want more Singaporeans to be able to appreciate and enjoy the arts. Have we succeeded? I don’t think we can claim success yet. But we have certainly made progress. Since the Esplanade's opening, there were 2,858 performances (of which 2,000 were well-attended non-ticketed performances) and 11.8 million visitors. A recent public survey by the Esplanade released on 15 September 2004 showed that 60% of its visitors were Singaporeans, of which 77% were HDB heartlanders. Clearly the iconic Esplanade has connected with Singaporeans from all walks of life. It has acquired a buzz and is the happening place for Singaporeans.
13 After the Esplanade our next major project is to convert the Supreme Court Building and the City Hall into a world class art gallery. These buildings are equally iconic and have great historical importance to Singapore. As a world-class art gallery, these two national monuments will become more accessible to Singaporeans and fill the gap in our arts infrastructure thus ensuring that visual arts will develop in tandem with the performing arts.
14 What is perhaps lesser known is our efforts in nurturing artistic talents, broadening the audience base and increasing access to the arts. We have also made good progress in this area. For example, the Singapore Festival of Arts 2004 attracted 916,700 people, an increase of 2.6 times over the previous year. Today many arts activities are organized in parks and shopping centres for the public to enjoy for free. Last year, NAC’s arts outreach programmes drew attendance from 93,600 people.
Cultural Diplomacy
15 We will also leverage on our arts and culture to raise awareness of developments and opportunities in Singapore amongst our international partners through cultural diplomacy. In line with this approach, we will be launching our inaugural Singapore Season in London next month to present Singapore in a new and holistic manner.
16 We are committed to play an active role in encouraging, supporting and securing the participation of Singapore artists in the major events around the world.
Conclusion
17 I would like to thank members of all MICA Committees and Boards for helping MICA through an exciting year. I look forward to your continued support and contributions to see us through more exciting years ahead.
18 Have a pleasant evening and enjoy the Botero and Russell Wong exhibitions.
An informal email chat with the artist:
"I am exploring a series of 3 installation with the first opening coming
Saturday 19 at 7pm (kindly see visual attached).The 2nd installation
takes place from mid Aug - mid Sept (Maples' whispers) and
the last from Dec to Jan 06 (Wintry Blossom).
Each could stand alone on its own but essentially they are progressive.
The first deals with my recent lost and is pregnanted with memories for
my late mum. The 2nd is still in quiet comtemplative mood which is followed
by the 3rd that I will be incorporating sakura blossom, icon of spring,
in a wintry setup. The "oxymoron" serves as a positive message of
new-found/renewed strength. On another level, the (visual) water element
that is present in all 3 is symbolic of the embryonic fluids we all come from
and in Jungian (Swiss psychiatrist, 1875-1961) terms this is called
our shadow. The best way to navigate through the waters of our
shadows is to have faith and trust that all will work out to keep us from
disoriented and lost.
The location where these 3 installations will be presented is in a extremely narrow,
restricted and challenging glass showcase on the 4th level of Takashimaya."
Batik Painting
14 Mar – 4 Apr (Mondays)
Course fees: $120 for 4 sessions
(Excluding $40 for materials)
Time: 7-9pm
Venue: The Substation Classroom 1
(For registration and enquiries, please call
The Substation Box Office at 63377800.)
This practical workshop will introduce one of the oldest
traditional artforms in Southeast-Asia, through the basic
techniques of batik painting, application of wax on fabric and the
various ways of applying colour onto the fabric. Ika Zahri studied
batik with his father, Sarkasi Tzee, a respected batik artist in
Singapore. Ika's works have been exhibited in the Inspiration art
exhibition held at The Substation, New York Art Expo held in New
York and in the first Mendaki Charity exhibition. Trained in batik at
a young age, Ika is considered to be a highly promising artist of
the younger generation.
---
BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY
24 Mar – 26 May (Thursdays)
Course fees: $160 for 10 sessions
Time: 7-9pm
Venue: The Substation Classroom 1
(For registration and enquiries, please call
The Substation Box Office at 63377800.)
This popular course introduces the basic techniques and art of
photography, the handling of the camera and its related
equipment. Our instructor, Lim Seng Tiong, combines practical
sessions with strong basic theory. Bring an SLR or digital
camera for the first lesson. Lim Seng Tiong is an experienced
photographer who has mastered the art of capturing moments of
life in split seconds. Devoted to his craft, he has participated in
numerous exhibitions and contests, and has won many
prestigious awards. He was senior photographer with The
Straits Times for many years.
Hi all arts community members,
I am a writer from Heart Publications (our company produces magazine
lines such as WOW and Mens Folio, so on...). We are currently
launching a new magazine for young people from 18 to mid- twenties.
It will cover fashion, art, entertainment as well as design.
Here, i will like to seek those who have started their own theatre
groups, currently in an arts- related group, music bands,
installation art artists or anything thats cool to do write-ups on.
As many should be aware that our target market is a fast-growing
consumer for our local theatre and art productions as well, this
could be a good opportunity to publicise on your upcoming shows, or
even let younger audience know about your existence.
This applies to flagship companies and other established companies,
who might have shows coming up as well. Our new magazine will be
well-circulated in news stands and schools. I think it could open up
to youths who have not been in touch with the art scene before.
If you are interested, please feel free to contact me at the details
below. I look forward to getting to know most of you here. Thank you.
Adrian Chong
email: type paratroopersg and followed by @yahoo.com
Singapore At 51st Venice Biennale 2005
12 June - 6 November 2005
The Singapore Pavilion at the 51st Venice Biennale will feature the work of LIM Tzay Chuen. Established in 1895, the Venice Biennale is the most established international contemporary art event and widely regarded as one of the most significant. This will be Singapore’s third participation at this event.
Born in Singapore in 1972, Lim studied briefly at the then-LASALLE Art College and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, before embarking on a 3 year degree programme at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia. Since graduating in 1997, Lim has participated in numerous exhibitions in Singapore and internationally. Amongst his more notable exhibitions and projects in Singapore include those realised at the Substation (2001) and TheatreWorks (2003), while, internationally, Lim’s work has been exhibited at Polypolis at the Kunthaus Hamburg (2001), the Gwangju Biennale (2002) and the Sydney Biennale (2004).
The work of Lim Tzay Chuen questions and redefines aesthetic experience — by compelling viewers to reflect upon their experience of his work, viewers are led, to critically re-evaluate perceptions and assumptions as to what constitutes aesthetic experience. This is achieved through intricate and complex engagements with the social, economic, cultural and political processes that define the particular contexts around which his work is situated. Lim’s interventions acknowledge the transitory and fragmented nature of space and memory, and it is their engagement with the volatility and uncertainty of situations that is significant. His work rejects the construction and definition of prescribed meanings as to what comprises a work of art. Instead, the recognition of an aesthetic event derives from moments of self-discovery, often involving reflexivity and intuition.
As Russell Storer, Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney has written: “Lim’s work has, amongst other things, involved the altering of conditions within a gallery space, exhibition or catalogue so that those who encounter them are compelled to think, and rethink, this encounter. Something as simple and automatic as turning a page in a catalogue might be frustrated by an order from the artist to the printer to leave two pages uncut, so that the reader has to force them apart with their fingers; or to skip page numbers, which are then referred to in the bibliography or artist statement in the back. Are these errors, or deliberate? You are not entirely sure until you rip the pages apart to find an image of fingers performing this very action, or read the pages more closely to realise that the text flows on, despite the jump in the numbering sequence. These tiny alterations create an ambiguous space where initial confusion may lead to irritation, laughter, indifference or a spark of understanding that nothing, no matter how small, needs to be assumed or taken for granted. It also has the potential effect of slowing down the process of reception, calling for attention to be given, whether cognitively or not.”
Lim’s exhibition at the 51st Venice Biennale will be curated by Eugene TAN, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore (ICA Singapore). Established by LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, the ICA Singapore is devoted to the exhibition and research of contemporary art in Asia. In late June, Singaporeans will have the opportunity to experience Lim’s work as the ICA Singapore will present a solo exhibition by Lim. This exhibition will not merely illustrate or document Lim’s exhibition at the Venice Biennale, but instead unveil a new work by Lim, which will give audiences in Singapore the opportunity to gain insight into Lim’s work and the processes which underpin his work.
We invite you to publicise the appointment of LIM Tzay Chuen and Eugene TAN for the Singapore Pavilion at the 51st Venice Biennale. Interviews and visuals are available.
Singapore at Venice Biennale: 51st International Art Exhibition
Exhibition date : 12 June - 06 November 2005
Press preview : 09 June - 11 June 2005
Singapore Pavilion : Calle della Tana, Castello 2126,
Arsenale, 30122 Venice, Italy
Commissioner : KHOR Kok Wah (Mr)
Vice-Commissioner: Paolo DE GRANDIS (Mr)
Artist : LIM Tzay Chuen (Mr)
Curator : Eugene TAN (Dr)
Organisers : National Arts Council, Singapore
National Heritage Board, Singapore
Co-organiser : Arte Communications, Venice
For more information on the Venice Biennale please visit: www.labiennale.org/en/visualarts
You are cordially invited to the official opening of
Sur Les Lieux Du Regard
French Museums, Intimate Portraits
Photography Exhibition by Gérard Rondeau
SG Private Banking Gallery, Alliance Française de Singapour
NOW ON 2ND LEVEL
OPENING: 8 MARCH 2005, TUESDAY, 7PM
Please RSVP to type syap and followed by @alliancefrancaise.org.sg
Exploring the relationship between masterpieces and its audience, specifically in museums, French photographer Gérard Rondeau takes on the subject of ‘museum phobia’. In his photographs, one can see how the viewer comfortably slips into thoughts, yet being in the museum’s awkward space. All these, as well as what goes on behind the display of precision.
This photography exhibition has been travelling to places such as New York and Ankara, it is a great pleasure to present this exhibition to our Singaporean audience before heading off to the Grand Palace in Paris.
We're very please to have Mr Rondeau with us for the opening.
Exhibition continues till 2 April 2005.
Gallery hours: 11am to 7pm (Mon-Fri), 11am to 5pm (Sat), and closed on Sundays and Public Holidays.
Errata at NUS
Co-organised by p-10 and the University Scholars Programme (National University of Singapore)
2 to 16 March
A 'new' exhibition of
Errata: Page 71, Plate 47. Image caption. Change Year: 1950 to Year: 1959; Reported September 2004 by Koh Nguang How
which was presented in p-10 in Sep/Oct 04.
For info on the project: type http://www.p-10.org/errata/index.htm
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Discussion on multi-disciplinary collaborations
by The Necessary Stage @p-10
Date: 10 March 2005 (Thu)
Time: 8pm
Free entry, BYO drinks and food.
Limited capacity, please RSVP: +65 6294 0041 or email: type admin and followed by @p-10.org
Held in conjunction with M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 05: Art & War, this discussion will feature various art practitioners involved in multi-disciplinary performances in the festival.
Hi all,
Greendonkey will like to present to you Momorobo, a graphic design collective.
Founded in May 2004 by Morris and Eric Lee, the same duo who brought us Muiprint
a couple of years back. Momorobo is their new venture, a graphic design
collective with a wicked sense of humour.
With their unique blend of illustrations and graphics, these boys are set to
take the world. Welcome to their world of Momorobo.
http://www.greendonkey.info
Cheers,
The Greendonkey Team
www.greendonkey.info
Galerie Dauphin in now known as Goddess Art Gallery and our new contact
details are at the end of this email. Please do not hesitate to drop us
a line if you have further queries, and hope that you will update the
information soon.
Regards,
Imran Omar
Goddess Art Gallery
163 Tanglin Road
#03-08A Tanglin Mall
Singapore 247933
Phone: +65 6734 2137
Fax: +65 6333 6725
Email: type artgallery and followed by @om-goddess.com
Web: http://www.om-goddess.com
Saturday 5th March 2:30pm - 6pm
Exhibition continues until the 30th March 2005
...so long and so distant...
Karee Dahl
Solo exhibition in the Main Gallery
&
Pouch
Cassandra Schultz
Solo exhibition in the Upstairs Gallery
1 venue – ‘The Art Gallery’ NIE-NTU
2 spaces – downstairs & upstairs
2 solo exhibitions – Dahl & Schultz
Great ARTISTS & artwork
Sensational Aussie BBQ by ‘The Butcher’
Chilled Aussie WINE and ice cold BEER imported for the occasion
OPENING SPEECH by Iola Lenzi
FREE BUS to opening event – see below for details
supported by the Host venue and program
‘The Art Gallery’
Visual and Performing Arts
National Institute of Education
Nanyang Technological University
1 Nanyang Walk Singapore
Gallery Hours: Mon – Thur 10am – 5pm
Fridays 10:00am – 4:30pm
CLOSED Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays
Enquiries: [65] 6790 3557
vpa@nie.edu.sg
http://www.vpa.nie.edu.sg/visual
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FREE BUS
Convenient transportation has been arranged to and from the opening event...
DEPART Stamford Road opposite Raffles City at 2:00pm
ARRIVE ‘The Art Gallery’ NIE-NTU 2:30pm
DEPART ‘The Art Gallery’ NIE-NTU 5:00pm
ARRIVE Stamford Road opposite Raffles City at 5:30pm
PLEASE RSVP to ksdcgr@singnet.com.sg to reserve a seat on the FREE BUS
MAKING YOUR OWN WAY
MRT: Boon Lay, then Bus: 199 or 179 to NIE-NTU
DRIVING or TAXI: Take the PIE, exit at Jalan Bahar, turn right onto Jalan Bahar, then first left onto Nanyang Avenue. Once through the entrance gates take first right onto Nanyang Crescent, follow all the way around to Carpark 3. Or you can take the PIE and exit at Pioneer Road then follow Nanyang Drive all the way around to Nanyang Crescent, turn left at T-junction then right into Carpark 3.
Take elevator at end of building to level 1 and follow the path around to ‘The Art Gallery.’ It is located in the NIE central courtyard.
A MAP IS ATTACHED!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRESS RELEASE
...a 747 jumbo jet modeled from felted kangaroo fur... & ...hundreds of thousands of meters of thread...
During the month of March, “The Art Gallery” National Institute of Education [NIE] will utilize both the main and upstairs gallery spaces to showcase two exciting solo exhibitions by Australian artists Karee Dahl and Cassandra Schultz.
These exhibitions will be part of “Celebrate Australia 2005” a rich and vital programme of arts and cultural events organized by the Australian High Commission, Tourism Australia and AUSTRADE
“Celebrate Australia” an annual event, highlights aspects of Australian contemporary life being an opportunity for Australia and its Asian Pacific Ocean neighbors in and around Singapore to share in the many exciting events of which these exhibitions are a part.
“so long and so distant”: An installation work by Karee Dahl is a ‘site-specific’ work made for the main gallery at NIE. It formally plays with the architectural planning of one of Singapore’s first purpose built art galleries.
Dahl takes this concept of the white box exhibiting space, a cabinet of curiosity, left over from the 60s and 70s avant-garde art practice, as a starting point to investigate the history of the empty white spaces as the place to showcase contemporary art. [See “Stark on You: white interiors are the in thing for art spaces as they make the displays more stylish” Karl Ho Straits Times Saturday, Jan 1 2005]
As an Arts and Cultural Management graduate, as well as a practicing artist, Dahl is interested in the relationship of art practice, business, law and economics. She is interested in the mutual benefits that could be put in to play by bridging the terms aesthetics, culture, economics and trade.
Through a process of finely starched cotton thread, the installation speculates on the human condition - a delicate vision of a life mapped out in a labyrinth of policies, laws, and control.
In late 2004 the artists’ stored household and studio effects, including an art collection and personal letters, photos etc were destroyed in bushfires in Australia. The notion of attachment and the sense of belonging to her homeland Australia was essentially put into focus and this has been an integral force behind the making of this work.
“pouch” running concurrently in the upstairs gallery by artist Cassandra Schultz, similarly investigates what a sense of connection to place may hold as a signifier for identity, culture and personal history.
“As a non-indigenous Australian woman artist currently living in Singapore, my connection with place therefore lies divided between 3 separate countries, Singapore, where I have returned to live after 30 years. (I spent two years of my childhood here.) Australia, my country of birth, and England, my country of colonial origin.”
Schultz goes on to say that “in each locale, much has changed and many things exist now only as memories.” However her intention in this work is to “recognize the past as altered by the political and gendered omissions from official history.” … A shuffling between these official voices of authority and the more personal recounting of the nature of the journeys and in particular the “general absence of the female voice.”
The installation of figurines modeled in incense, commissioned by Schultz and produced by a local joss stick maker and cropped, shaved and etched kangaroo skins, honors her ancestors by replicating early colonial illustrations of Australian indigenous animals, historical maps, maritime tattoos and contemporary symbols in a faux museum dedicated to local knowledge and absent voices.
A series of hand bound books is inspired by a popular childhood game in Australia known as Chinese whispers, where by a sentence is whispered from child to child seated in a circle. The last child says out loud what they have heard; always entirely different to what was originally whispered.
Two different art practices two different shows, both attempting to share with each other and with the viewer the other space of Art making – ‘The Art Gallery”
This invitation and press release is bought to you by
KAREE DAHL
Magdalena Singapore presents:
Women's Open Space IV:
"The social and the personal in art-making,a Forum with women arts
practitioners"
Date: 2 March 2005
Venue: The Blue Room, The Substation
Time: 7.30 pm
Admission: Free, but donations welcome
Speakers: Elaina Chong, Kimberly Creasman, Charlene Rajendran, Jean Tay
The shock of sudden catastrophe in the tsunami disaster forced many of
us to re-evaluate our lives and priorities. Artists and individuals
found the question‚ What is my role in the world/society?‚ charged with
a new urgency even as relief and rebuilding efforts got underway.
A growing strand in art practice is the involvement of‚ ordinary people‚
in the making of art, or the idea of art as an act of giving to society
and, people. Artists have also drawn from social concerns, from
autobiographical, anthropological and sociological material, and taken
up a number of positions with regard to the source material: as social
critic, commentator, activist, etc.
Four speakers with very different experiences – from arts education to
playwriting, to fundraising for arts events and social causes - will
share their views and philosophies on the relationship between the
social, personal, and art practice.
About the speakers
Elaina Chong is a businesswoman with her own Marketing Communications
company, Kaiiten Communications. Previously a government scholar heading
a Public Relations team in a statutory board, Elaina's experience is
steeped in the business of sponsorship, creating marketing synergies
between companies and developing commercial viabilities for the Arts,
Fashion and Music industry in Singapore. Dedicated to community and
charity work, Elaina holds position as the Director of Youth Generations
in the Rotary Club, a member of Mensa Singapore, a grassroots leader, a
Young PAP activist and chairs the Women's Executive Committee at her branch.
Kimberly Creasman, a Dramatist, is a Permanent Resident in Singapore.
She spent the first half of her life on the other side of the world in
Los Angeles where she studied theatre. In 1997 she moved to Asia for the
second half of her life. After two years of language study in China, and
five years here, she’s still slogging away at the P3 level Chinese
syllabus. She's had to come to terms with the fact that she's not going
to succeed in a new career as a Chinese scholar, so she's thanking God
for her fallback career in Theatre (well, yes, and also thankful for a
husband with a decent income). Since coming to Singapore, she's taught
courses for adults, which includes Playwriting,
Acting, Using Drama in Worship and Drama in Pre-School Education. As
writer or director she's taken on a few projects with All Good Gifts, I
Theatre and CAN!. As an actor, her favourite roles here have been Anna
Maria in the Philip Osment play, Little Violet and the Angel (2003), and
swimming for two runs of I Theatre/Story Theatre’s Rainbow Fish as
Starfish (2002). She's enjoyed a few commercial singing gigs here as
well. The Year of the Rooster finds her working with Tapestry Playback
Theatre (Singapore), directing the Easter production for Church of Our
Saviour, and writing a children’s musical based on the Max Lucado You
Are Special series. Among her other roles, she's probably best known as
life partner to James and mom to Tyler and Cameron. If all of the above
is not enough, more biographical links to her life can be found in her
prolific weblogs
(http://kimberlycreasman.blogspot.com).
Charlene Rajendran is a teacher, writer and theatre practitioner. She is
an urban Malaysian woman, who is interested in the semiotics of location
and the aesthetics of education. She has been variously engaged in
working with young people who are keen to examine the process of
artistic expression and critical thinking through theatre. As a
performer, director, producer and workshop facilitator, she has worked
closely with Jane Pillai (a leading Children's Theatre practitioner) and
Five Arts Centre in Malaysia. As a writer for the theatre, Charlene's
work has been primarily to devise texts that reflect issues and concerns
of the group. My Grandmother's Chicken
Curry &..., devised and directed by Charlene, played to enthusiastic
youth audiences in 1998 and 1999 in Kuala Lumpur. In 2000 she was
awarded an Arts Network Asia grant to conduct ‚'Asian Labyrinths', a
drama and creative writing workshop project for young people in Manila
and Kuala Lumpur. She also writes poetry and Mangosteen Crumble, a book
of her poems, was published in KL in 1999.
Since June 2001, Charlene has been employed as a full-time theatre
lecturer in the Nanyang Technological University. Her work in theatre
has since been primarily amongst drama students at the National
Institute of Education [The Little Hero (2002); Ungood Me (2003);
Act’Cher (2004)]. She has also worked with Teater Ekamatra on two
productions: Selamat Malam Ibu (2003) and Istana 2000 (2004) as Director
and Performer. She is also currently involved as Co-Curator in a youth
arts project called Asian Youth ArtsMall, A Five Arts Centre project
supported by Arts Network Asia.
Jean Tay graduated in 1997 with a double-degree in creative writing and
economics from Brown University, USA. After returning to Singapore, she
worked for 6.5 years as an economist at the Monetary Authority of
Singapore, while writing plays on the side. Since April last year, she
stopped work to take care of her then seven-month old daughter, even as
she continues to moonlight as a playwright. Jean’s plays have been
produced in festivals in the US and in Singapore. Plays produced
include: Everything but the Brain, Plunge, Water from the Well, and The
Knot.
About Magdalena Singapore
Inspired by the Magdalena Project ethos of sharing and networking among
women in contemporary theatre, Singaporeans Verena Tay, Audrey Wong,
Jaynthi Siva, Melissa WS Wong, Rabita Jamal, Agnes Law, Koo Ching
Keaw and Adelina Ong came together in 2003 to form Magdalena Singapore,
a currently informal group that aims to encourage and promote the work
of women in the creative arts, particularly the performing arts and to
provide opportunities for women to practise their craft, showcase their
own work and experiment with different forms/disciplines.
About the Magdalena Project
The Magdalena Project (http://www.themagdelenaproject.org) is an
international network of women in contemporary theatre. It was founded
by Jill Greenhalgh in 1986 and originally based in Wales. It is
committed to increasing the awareness of women's contribution to
contemporary theatre, enabling women performers to explore new
approaches to theatre-making that profoundly reflect their own personal
experience, as well as providing opportunities for women to work
together and share/develop their work. The Magdalena Project links women
artists across five continents.
Donna Ong at Softblow
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