AM 2104 Art Writing

Grace Foo Kai Si (12131) Arts Management Class 5A

Night Festival - just one of the many art festivals in Singapore No, the art museum is not moving. It only appears to be. Taking art outside the conventional space of a museum and projecting it onto the faade of Singapore Art Museum, is a piece titled Lyrical Perspective by artist collective, 1024 architecture, that looks to create life with the voice of audience, combining architecture, image sound and light, blurring reality. Lyrical Perspective, is one of the few interactive visual and sound works displayed at this years Night Festival. On its fourth year now, the Night Festival is an annual arts festival that usually takes place during August. This year, the festival runs for 2 weekends 26 to 27 August and 2 to 3 September 2011. The Night Festival is an event that desires to celebrate the cultural and ethnographic richness of the Bras Basah precinct. Light installations, outdoor performances, music acts, and other visual presentations are set to lit up the area. Night Festival is also one of the many art festivals that have been incorporated into the Singapore 2011 calendar of festivals and events. Other more popular annual art festivals include the Singapore Arts Festival, Mosaic Music Festival and M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. As the end of 2011 nears, we anticipate the official

openings of the Singapore International Film Festival and Singapore Writers Festival; both scheduled to take place in September and October respectively. Since the new budget allocation for the arts in Singapore 2011, there appears to be a more strategic view to the development of the Singapore arts scene, promoting engagement in the arts among Singaporeans and making arts and culture an integral part of lives of Singaporeans. As written in the Singapore Budget 2011 Expenditure Overview, both National Arts Council (NAC) and National Heritage Board (NHB) are looking to engage the community and promote a museum-going culture, implementing initiatives mostly to encourage new and emerging artistic talents to forge a greater grassroots involvement and thus enhancing integration between the community and the Civic District. The above strategies seem to have been adopted with earnest acknowledgement albeit uncritically. An interview with TODAY (August 29 2011), reveals Goh Ching Ling, exFestival Director of Singapore Arts Festival from 2000 to 2009, and Artistic Director for Night Festival 2011, stand to focus on the need to articulate an identity in the organisation for the future of (Singapore) arts festival, adding that her personal inspiration is drawn from Singapore itself. A similar conception seems appertain to the latest instalment of Night Festival, where she mentions This years programme inspiration drew from the histories and cultures of the Black Sea, retelling the stories of the cultural crossings and maritime journeys that have fed our cultures and imaginations.

Seeing Singapore as a modern, cosmopolitan, at the cultural crossroads and a technological savvy city, she holds a keen determination to focus on the historical roots by going back and paying tribute to our forefathers who have braved the seas and have made it to Singapore. Some of the highlights in this years festival include performances by international artistic groups such as Belgiums Heart of Angels which comprises sculptors, musicians, dancers, and actors, Soundwalk, a New York based trio sound collective, and nine musicians who call themselves The Shin from Georgia, formerly part of the Soviet Union. Perhaps the only local group to present a large outdoor production this year is Cake Theatrical Productions, titled The Shape of a Dream, which took on the grounds stretching from Singapore Management University U-Square to Campus Green ends at Stamford Green.

Personally, I am overtly curious as to question if that is all our local pool constitutes one local production as part of the festival highlights amongst numerous international acts? Sure, The Peranakan Museum and Substation have had their own programs, showcasing live music and creative performances by local artists, with Substation presenting screenings of experimental film, dance and performances by local collectives. But is it not just an easy engagement to house the majority of local artists in a designated area, which in turn faces a possibility of an almost impetuous obligation to be immediate and direct for the likes of the public - to allow them the decision to either approach or avoid certain venues almost too quickly? Furthermore, both Peranakan Museum and Substation did not open its doors till late during the second weekend of the Night Festival. The main bulk of activities lasted only during the first weekend. Could this be an attribute to the lack of opportunities for more local artists to showcase their works? I can't say much because I didn't check out the other venues and I am concentrating only in Substation due to my role as a curator and artist for the roving artists program says Ezzam Rahman, artist and curator of the Roving Artists program in Substation.

Would it be as important to encourage spaces and opportunities for exchange and interaction between international and local artists besides truculently focusing on provoking and entertaining the audience? After all, the Night Festival is an open event, one that is free of charge and free for all, to experiment and explore other possibilities! quips Ezzam. The National Arts Council is known to be the main organiser for festivals that cater to wider community participation such as Singapore Arts Festival and Singapore Biennale. One of its aims is to place Singapore on the global map, as a city rich in its arts and culture. But the question here is that with the current inordinate amount of festivals, how should Singapore continue to mature as an art and culture hub, maintaining an exciting mix of festival content yet not losing its freshness and appeal? Consequently, how pertinent is the need to focus on what the media and international community focuses on, so as to determine our own direction? Perhaps one can look towards budgeting as a loose guideline. Festivals like Singapore Arts Festival and Singapore Biennale are ticketed events that might require a more fitting curatorial direction catered towards the

frequent art-goers while free events such as the Night Festival, the Singapore River Buskers Festival, and more could afford to be more colloquial and cutting-edge. Madam Tan, 40, a housewife and mother of 2, remarks, My kids enjoyed this years Night Festival, especially the light activities and childrens exhibit organised by SAM. But I think they could do better with more hype and publicity. Singaporean performance artist, Marla Bendini, 23, adds, There was a great flow of people and a nice mix of energy but this year was a bit quiet. There was a crowd but I did not feel as much energy and synergy compared to last year. Despite some criticism and snags, there are others who have had raved comments about this years Night Festival. One such attendee, Vanessa Fong, 20, gushes, I dont have much to say about the night festival, it is just awesome! This year was great because of the amount of exposure it has given Singaporeans. The Art Party featuring music and visual artists from Singapore and Le Pompon, Paris was my favourite! Great music!

Perhaps, for a start in building its own pool of audiences, the Night Festival

should set up its own website and start engaging in the fervours of the social media mania.