For decades, the arts have celebrated emerging voices, breakthrough talents and the next big thing. But what happens when the most radical work comes from artists who have already lived several lifetimes?

This July, T:>Works launches The AGEncy Fest, a new annual festival dedicated to artists, cultural workers and changemakers aged 60 and above. More than simply showcasing senior practitioners, the festival asks a larger question: What if ageing isn’t the end of creative possibility. but the beginning of a different kind of artistic freedom?

Held from 22 July to 8 August 2026 at T:>Works’ home at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road, the inaugural edition introduces a bold new initiative—the 60+ Commission—with writer, feminist activist and visual artist Dana Lam as its first commissioned artist.

The name “AGEncy” is more than clever wordplay. Rather than framing ageing through decline or nostalgia, the festival centres on agency, or the ability to continue making choices, creating work and shaping culture regardless of age.

It’s a refreshing departure from conversations that often reduce later life to retirement plans and wellness trends. Instead, The AGEncy Fest positions older artists as active contributors whose decades of experience allow them to ask richer, more nuanced questions about identity, memory, grief, care and renewal.

The festival is as much about process as it is about finished works, laying the foundation for future commissions, public workshops and open calls that will continue supporting creators over 60 in the years ahead.

For someone whose career has spanned journalism, theatre, feminism, literature and visual art, it’s almost surprising that Who Knows Where The Bird Goes – Dana Lam: Six Decades of Practice marks Dana Lam’s first solo exhibition. Perhaps that’s exactly the point. Rather than arriving early in an artist’s career, this exhibition arrives after decades of living, making, advocating and questioning.

Dana Lam occupies a unique place in Singapore’s cultural landscape. Many know her as one of the key figures who helped reclaim AWARE during the landmark 2009 AWARE Saga, later serving two terms as its president. Others know her as a journalist, playwright, performer or author. More recently, audiences have discovered her visual art, which earned Silver in the Established Artist category at the 2024 UOB Painting of the Year competition.

In the exhibition, visitors will encounter works spanning drawing, writing, performance, animation and installation, including newly commissioned pieces created specifically for the exhibition. Among them is Is it a Bird? Is it a Plane?, Lam’s first exploration into painstaking frame-by-frame animation, a reminder that artistic curiosity need not diminish with age.

Throughout the exhibition, recurring themes emerge naturally rather than didactically: gender, motherhood, ecological relationships, remembrance, loss and the quiet transformations that accompany a life fully lived. Instead of offering a retrospective in the conventional sense, the exhibition feels more like an ongoing conversation between different chapters of one person’s creative life.

Across every discipline she has worked in, a common thread emerges: using storytelling as a way to amplify voices that are often overlooked. That commitment makes her an apt inaugural artist for a festival built around recognising creative lives that continue evolving long after conventional career milestones.

Beyond the exhibition itself, The AGEncy Fest unfolds as a series of conversations, performances and intimate gatherings that encourage audiences to engage directly with artists and thinkers.

The opening night on 22 July features an exhibition walkthrough with curator Tan Siuli, a performance by Dana Lam titled An Homage, followed by supper and conversations that extend well into the evening.

Two ticketed salon-style events offer particularly compelling opportunities. On 25 July, Women of AGEncy brings together Dana Lam with feminist pioneers including Constance Singam, Dr Kanwaljit Soin, Dr Teo You Yenn and AWARE Executive Director Lim Shoon Yin for an intimate discussion on activism, creativity and the evolving meaning of agency across generations.

A week later, Life • Time • Practice pairs Dana Lam with artist-curator Shubigi Rao to reflect on what decades of sustained artistic practice reveal—asking whether artistic value might be measured by depth and endurance rather than novelty alone.

These sessions feel less like panel discussions and more like opportunities to witness conversations between people who have collectively shaped Singapore’s cultural and intellectual landscape.

The festival’s spirit extends beyond the gallery. On 30 July, jazz vocalist Jacintha reunites with Frances Lee and pianist Tan Weixiang for a one-night-only reprise of songs from Lush Life at Cool Cats.

Featuring the music of Dick Lee, the fundraiser supports The AGEncy Fund’s Open Call, helping finance grants for artists aged 60 and above and their intergenerational collaborators.

Singapore’s population is ageing rapidly, yet cultural narratives around ageing often struggle to move beyond healthcare, retirement or economic productivity.

The AGEncy Fest proposes something different, where it argues that later life can be a period of experimentation rather than conclusion. That accumulated experience can become creative capital. That wisdom deserves investment, not merely celebration.

In doing so, the festival quietly challenges assumptions embedded within contemporary culture, where innovation is frequently associated with youth and visibility with novelty. Instead, The AGEncy Fest asks audiences to imagine what becomes possible when artists are given not only time, but trust. And if this inaugural edition is any indication, the answer may be some of the most thoughtful work Singapore has yet to see.

The AGEncy Fest runs from 22nd July to 8th August 2026 at T:>Works, 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road Exhibition entry is free with registration. Selected talks and fundraising events are ticketed. More information available on T:>Works’ website