Preview: you are obviously in the right place – An Artist’s Journey at The Substation

The Substation has announced their first artist walk of the year – you are obviously in the right place – An Artist’s Journey, happening weekly from 25th March 2022 to 17th April 2022.

The guided walk is an intimate experience with a small group of audience, where the artist gets to share their art practice and how this city inspires them as art makers for 90 minutes. This is a rare opportunity for the audience to get to know and follow an artist as they bring them to different locations around the city, sharing key information on their work and experiences. The artists will share their personal narratives, stories from the locations and hands-on activities are part of the programme.

“The Substation begins our 2022 programme outdoors. The pandemic has created a desire for us to engage with one another and with storytelling at the heart of these guided artist’s walks, we want to build that connection with places and people so that we get to know who we are through the eyes of these talented artists,” Yuni Hadi, Chairperson, The Substation.

To kick-start the event on 25th and 26th March 2022, artist and musician, Nadia Ali, will share her early experiences as a budding musician who started her career in local bars in Orchard Road and how those late-night activities had opened her eyes to another world, to the unfamiliar, frightening but exciting at the same time. In a male dominated industry, she had to quickly understand the trades of the music scene and learn to protect herself from un-welcomed attention that comes with audiences’ perception of female performers. Join Nadia as she shares more personal experiences and stories, and how she juggles her true love for music and the arts.

On 2nd and 3rd April 2022, join Wesley Leon Aroozoo, an arts educator, filmmaker, and author, as he shares the inspiration behind his latest book, The Punkhawala and The Prostitute. He will be unearthing unknown histories around Bugis area in early Singapore history.

“As independent artist, I am passionate to share the lesser known side of Singapore’s diverse history with people. My novel The Punkhawala and The Prostitute explores the lives of the Karayuki-sans (Japanese prostitutes) in 1800’s in Singapore which is relatively unknown to most Singaporeans. With the Substation’s first artist walk, I am excited to share my research and guide participants to imagine what it was like in Singapore back then as we trace the footsteps of the Karayuki-sans depicted in the novel,” Wesley says.

“Artists get to share their thoughts and work processes during open studios, sit down interviews and as invited guest speakers. However, in this art experience, art lovers not only get to know the artists’ practices on site but on an even more intimate level. You get to ask questions and get immediate unguarded responses from the artists who are ever willing to share their narratives,” shares Artistic Director, Ezzam Rahman.

To fundraise for this project, a donation page ‘Adopt-A-Programme: you are obviously in the right place – An Artist’s Journey’ has been set up via giving.sg. Donations of $120 or more will be acknowledged as an Adoptee of the programme on The Substation’s website accordingly.

you are obviously in the right place – An Artist’s Journey takes place weekly from 25th March to 17th April 2022. Tickets available on Peatix