We round up the top highlights of this year's cultural calendar
Singapore International Festival of Arts
Helmed by festival director Ong Keng Sen, the Singapore International Festival of Arts returned this year with a theme of 'Post-Empires', a decidedly local flavour and an ambitious mini dance festival on top of it all. We especially loved Wild Rice’s Hotel and Drama Box's It Won't Be Long – The Lesson.
Thomas Pang
He's 24 years old and just finishing up his final year at LASALLE, but we were very impressed with Thomas Pang in his professional debut earlier this year. Taking on the role as Billy in Pangdemonium’s production of Tribes, he was quietly confident and portrayed a difficult character convincingly. We'll be keeping our eye on this rising star for sure.
Sukki Singapora
Sukki Singapora is beautiful, brainy and brave. Not only did she teach herself the art of burlesque by watching YouTube videos, she took on the Singapore legal system and convinced the authorities to legalise the dance form earlier this year. On top of that, she's set up a programme to bring arts to underprivileged and vulnerable kids. Can we love this lady any more?
Gillman Barracks is quiet on most days, but the arts cluster comes alive at Art after Dark, a bi-monthly party that brings together visual art, music, performances, guided tours and talks. Paintings are always easier to digest with a glass of wine and a burger, we say.
Here's a no-brainer. The National Gallery is without a doubt the most important addition to the Singapore visual arts scene this year. Spanning a whopping 64,000 square metres, it's home to thousands of works by local and regional artists from the 19th and 20th centuries.
7 letters
In what might also take the prize for Best SG50 Celebration, seven homegrown filmmakers gathered in July to release seven paeans to the city. The resulting anthology of shorts, dubbed 7 Letters, brought waves of nostalgia, with tales of family, relationships, local folklore and memories of a bygone Singapore.
The likes of Eric Khoo, Royston Tan, Tan Pin Pin and Jack Neo participated, but our favourite was Kelvin Tong’s Grandma Positioning System. It gave us mirthful moments, bawl-your-eyes-out tenderness and an exploration of the cleft between the traditional and the modern – all in just a few minutes.
The 7 Letters limited edition DVD box set is available at the Objectifs Retail Store for $200.
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