In its 44th year running, the Singapore International Festival of Arts is no longer about well, just the arts. And neither is it what catches your eye on the ‘gram, though you are most certainly encouraged to do so. It is about what moves us in the now — care, compassion and climate change. The latter is featured through Singapore-based chamber ensembles.
Festival Director Kripalani added, “Art serves as a mirror to our time as well as a cathartic tool to help heal and give hope. The festival will be a moment for us all to commune after a period of isolation and I am incredibly proud that Singapore has SIFA, a high-quality platform of curated experiences and shows to meet different passion points.”
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Featuring 60 live and online shows by local and international artists — when the Singapore International Festival of Arts references the latter, they do mean it. The international crop of acts come from Switzerland, Australia, USA, Lebanon, Japan, Malaysia and Philippines performing alongside hundreds of Singaporean artists and freelancers — the event is a reflection of what festivals could be in the future. It can be preferably experienced in the flesh or on digital. Or even both; a mosaic of choices.
Festival Director Gaurav Kripalani says “This festival has been programmed as a response to everything we’ve been through and the environment we live in now. Streaming performances online was what a lot of us had to resort to during lock-down, which is less than ideal. What it did do though was spur my interest in exploring 3D, interactive and responsive technologies in relationship to performance, which I believe will become an integral part of the performing arts going forward. If we had to find a silver lining to COVID-19, it is that there is a far greater appreciation for the arts and a pent-up demand for live performances.”
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Home-grown theatre companies Pangdemonium, Wild Rice and the Singapore Repertory Theatre will be collaborating onstage for the first time in The Commission whereas In Oiwa — The Ghost of Yotsuya by The Finger Players will be performed by both Singapore and Japanese actors. Opening with a concert paying tribute to Singapore jazz legend Louis Soliano, another headline commission by the Singapore International Festival of Arts includes a modern day adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters by the Singapore’s Nine Years Theatre and New York’s Siti Company.
Arts House Limited Executive Director Tan Boon Hui says “Based in New York throughout 2020, I saw at first hand the devastation the pandemic had on the arts scene with all live performances ceased and theatres closed. Both artists and audiences were out of work and cut off from the joys and consolations of art during this time of desolation. We are truly fortunate in Singapore to have the opportunity to experience the live arts at this moment. Gaurav’s final festival is one of hope, a signal for how art can help in the recovery of our society by bringing people together in theatres, concert halls as well as the virtual halls of the digital realm. It is a beacon for the new worlds of artistic presentation that are being forged by artists here and abroad in the wake of the pandemic.”
Deputy Chief Executive (Sector Development), National Arts Council (NAC), Low Eng Teong, says, “We celebrate the resilience of the arts community as we saw how quickly they had adapted to put together an online showcase last year, allowing audiences from around the world to experience the best of performing arts. Even with the ongoing pandemic, the arts continue to bring people together as we remain safely apart. With SIFA 2021, we look forward to sharing meaningful arts experiences through works created by Singapore and international artists. As festival programmes thread across both physical and digital platforms, more audiences can now come together to enjoy and experience the arts, safely.”
The Singapore International Festival of Arts runs from the 14 to 30 May and is organised by Arts House Limited, commissioned by the National Arts Council, and part of the #SGCultureAnywhere campaign. Get your tickets here.
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