Singapore and France have always enjoyed strong bilateral ties, all the way back to 1965, when France became one of the first 13 countries which recognised our independence. Even today, the two countries continue to enjoy plenty of exchange and agreement – most recently, DPM Lawrence Wong even visited France to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking of how best to build even stronger ties between both countries with a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) ahead of 2025, the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries.
So it stands to reason that all these good relations are a cause for celebration, one that is well upheld and regarded in Singapore with the annual vOilah! France Singapore Festival. Presented by the Embassy of France to Singapore, the festival is intended to immerse visitors in French culture in Singapore through partnerships between organisations from both countries, and in this year’s edition, showcases everything from artists to athletes, and all the passion that goes into making their dreams possible. Speaking to French Ambassador to Singapore, Her Excellency Minh-di Tang, we found out more about her thoughts on this year’s festival, alongside the history of our ties and its future too.
“Voilah! has been around for 15 years now, and this edition sees us shifting back to a two-part festival again, mostly because the French Film Festival is renowned enough to stand on its own, while this second part focused primarily on celebrating the diversity of French culture,” says Minh-di Tang, on this year’s edition. “From visual arts to music and sports, to talks and conferences, we wanted to show how far French culture stretched, while also ensuring that all our programmes involve Singapore partner organisations as well.”
Take for example how this year’s edition opened with local theatre company Wild Rice’s restaging of 2022’s crowd-favourite Tartuffe: The Imposter, a French classic by Molière that was reimagined and adapted by the company. “There were so many French people living in Singapore who had never stepped into a theatre to watch a local show, and the feedback was that so many of them were pleasantly surprised by what they watched,” says Minh-di Tang. “For me, I was so blown away by the extravaganza Wild Rice presented, and to me, it is important that we are able to see even classical culture in a new light. Later on, Plexus Polaire’s Moby Dick, which opens the 2024 Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA), will also be a stellar showcase of collaboration between Singapore and France.”
While some of the biggest events this year showcase such large scale, theatrical spectacles, vOilah! is also keenly aware of its goal to reach out to audiences from all backgrounds, such as more family-friendly events made accessible to all. “We have the Singapore Symphony Orchestra presenting a free showcase of French classical pieces at the Botanic Gardens for Mother’s Day, while there’s also the Cuturi Gallery at Kampong Glam, showcasing a selection of masterpieces by French artist-designer Hubert Le Gall,” says Minh-di Tang. “And of course, we also have Artletics, in celebration of the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with Singaporean and French street artists alongside skateboarders showcasing their skills, including French skateboarder Max Berguin, Champion of the France Street Skateboard 2023.”
If anything, it seems that more and more, vOilah! is expanding the scope of culture and the perspective of France beyond Paris, beyond luxury goods and beyond wine and cheese to showcase all the other wonders of culture it hosts. “We cannot always stick to what is already known, and we are always trying to showcase more different forms of art, and show that culture is everywhere and can be accessed by anyone, regardless of whether you speak French or not,” says Minh-di Tang. “Something you might not even realise is how France is also a very technologically-advanced country, where so many MRT trains in Singapore are built by French company Alstom, or how the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to two French Physicists in 2023.”
“One of the big reasons we wanted to shift back to a two-part festival was to bring it closer to coincide with events such as SIFA and the AFCC (Asian Festival of Children’s Content), and allows us to gain more traction by integrating it into these other festivals and essentially being one big showcase and celebration of French culture, and making an event of it,” says Minh-di Tang. “I think of other festivals such as the Francophonie Festival in Singapore, or the French May in Hong Kong that have similarly played important cultural roles, and established strong brands for themselves.”
And of course, being the France Singapore Festival, Minh-di Tang emphasises the importance of Singaporean partners in the festival and offers support where possible. “Many of our programmes come from organisations that approach the Embassy first and ask for support, and often, we also see French companies interested in travelling to Asia, where we end up matchmaking them with Singapore partners and helping connect them with each other, or Singaporean companies in France,” says Minh-di Tang. “We aren’t producers, but we can be facilitators and make connections happen – it’s our specialty after all, with our work in diplomatic relations.”
“I believe that culture helps people to think differently, and that’s what the festival has the potential to do – to create this awareness in people of aspects of France they may not be aware of, such as how we’re giving special focus on women’s health in this edition, with the Saving Women’s Lives gala that brings together Université Paris Cité and the Global Centre for Asian Women’s Health (GloW) from National University of Singapore to raise funds for research on women’s health issues in Asia,” says Minh-di Tang. “Elsewhere the Embassy is always considering where we can add value, and this year, you can see how we’re trying to promote other parts of the country too, say with a showcase of food from New Caledonia. There are now three flights a week to New Caledonia from Singapore, and since it’s not the first part of France you might think of, we want to value-add by promoting and making its presence more well known in the conscience of Singaporeans.”
“In future, the festival does not aim for expansion necessarily, but essentially to continue to diversify and showcase culture from all spheres,” concludes Minh-di Tang. “There is a shared will to continue strengthening the partnerships, and what is important is to continue keeping up the momentum we’ve established, and continue appealing to an increasingly wide range of audience members, adding onto and deepening their image of France, and to see it as an innovative, technologically-advanced country that is is welcoming of all talents.”
vOilah! France Singapore Festival 2024 runs from 25th April to 26th May 2024 across various venues. For more information on the festival and ticketing details, visit their website here
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