An Interview with Joanna Dong on risk taking and reinvention in her immersive sound and sculpture performance ‘BIG BIG small small’

For Joanna Dong, better known as a jazz vocalist and local musical star, the shift into experimental, interdisciplinary performance isn’t a reinvention so much as a return to something unfinished. Long before she became widely recognised through television and large-scale performances, she was already drawn to work that resisted neat categorisation, pieces that blurred sound, movement, and space into something less easily named. “Going into … Continue reading An Interview with Joanna Dong on risk taking and reinvention in her immersive sound and sculpture performance ‘BIG BIG small small’

Art: Hiroshi Sugimoto – Form Is Emptiness explores time, consciousness and seeing at SAM @ Tanjong Pagar

One of the first impressions inside Hiroshi Sugimoto: Form Is Emptiness is not visual in any straightforward sense, but atmospheric. The galleries seem to slow the body before the mind has time to interpret what is happening. Sound falls away into a low, diffuse hush, not quite absolute silence, but instead the softened acoustics of carpeted distance, of people unconsciously lowering their voices as they … Continue reading Art: Hiroshi Sugimoto – Form Is Emptiness explores time, consciousness and seeing at SAM @ Tanjong Pagar

Books: Raphaël Millet’s ‘Singapore – A Cinematic Portrait’ reimagines 125 years of life on screen

What does a city look like when you trace it not through maps or monuments, but through cinema? A new publication from the Asian Film Archive and film scholar Raphaël Millet offers a striking answer: Singapore, reframed as a living, evolving character across more than a century of film. Launched on 21 May 2026 at Oldham Theatre, Singapore: A Cinematic Portrait is a richly illustrated … Continue reading Books: Raphaël Millet’s ‘Singapore – A Cinematic Portrait’ reimagines 125 years of life on screen

★★★★☆ Theatre Review: 6 Microlectures on Genocides (May 2026) by theriverproduction

Anxious, tightly constructed theatre that confronts the limits of speech, empathy, and artistic response in the face of ongoing catastrophe. Singapore’s relationship with the Israel–Palestine conflict is shaped by a long-standing posture of official neutrality, coupled with tight constraints on public political expression. In practice, this has produced a civic environment where public commentary on the conflict is often carefully circumscribed, reflecting both domestic concerns … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: 6 Microlectures on Genocides (May 2026) by theriverproduction

NAC, UOL and PPHG forge three-year partnership to expand arts experiences in their commercial and hospitality spaces

The National Arts Council (NAC) yesterday signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with UOL Group Limited (UOL), and its subsidiary Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG), collectively referred as the Group, to integrate the arts more deeply into Singapore’s commercial and hospitality spaces. The MOU was signed in conjunction with the International Society of Performing Arts (ISPA) 2026 Singapore Congress, held from 19 to 22 … Continue reading NAC, UOL and PPHG forge three-year partnership to expand arts experiences in their commercial and hospitality spaces

Singapore Takes Centre Stage as Global Performing Arts Leaders Gather for ISPA 2026 Congress

Singapore’s arts scene stepped into the international spotlight this week as more than 400 performing arts leaders from over 40 countries arrived for the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) 2026 Singapore Congress, the first time the global gathering has returned to Southeast Asia in more than two decades. Held from 19 to 22 May and hosted by the National Arts Council, the Congress … Continue reading Singapore Takes Centre Stage as Global Performing Arts Leaders Gather for ISPA 2026 Congress

Art: Siew Guang Hong on biology and the politics of the unstable in his debut solo exhibition ‘the body improper’

This May, Richard Koh Fine Art (Singapore) presents the body improper, the first solo exhibition by Siew Guang Hong with the gallery. Bringing together 19 works across expanded photography, sculptural print, and performance, the exhibition unfolds as a sustained investigation into the body not as a fixed biological unit, but as something continually assembled, destabilised, and re-projected through ecological and conceptual systems. Across the exhibition, … Continue reading Art: Siew Guang Hong on biology and the politics of the unstable in his debut solo exhibition ‘the body improper’

Preview: 6 Microlectures on Genocides (May 2026)

Six voices. Six short, sharp shocks of theatre. One urgent question running underneath it all: what do we do when the world is on fire and language itself starts to feel inadequate? After an initial showing earlier this year, 6 Microlectures on Genocides is back for a limited return to Singapore (21–23 May), a work that refuses easy answers and instead leans into discomfort, contradiction, … Continue reading Preview: 6 Microlectures on Genocides (May 2026)

Art: UOB Painting of the Year set to elevate artistic excellence in its 45th edition with a festival and more

For decades, the UOB Painting of the Year competition has quietly shaped the careers of some of Southeast Asia’s most respected artists. Now, as it enters its 45th edition, the long-running art prize is stepping beyond the traditional competition format — and into the wider community. This year, UOB will launch its first-ever arts festival in Singapore, transforming what was once largely an industry-facing awards … Continue reading Art: UOB Painting of the Year set to elevate artistic excellence in its 45th edition with a festival and more

Preview: Singapore’s maritime history comes alive at Singapore HeritageFest 2026

There’s something about the sea that feels inseparable from Singapore. Maybe it’s the hum of ships on the horizon, the stories tucked into old piers, or the flavours and cultures that arrived on these shores over centuries. This May, that connection takes centre stage as the Singapore HeritageFest 2026 returns with a sweeping, islandwide celebration of maritime life: past, present, and still unfolding. Running from … Continue reading Preview: Singapore’s maritime history comes alive at Singapore HeritageFest 2026