Preview: Rainforest Fringe Festival 2018

KUCHING, SARAWAK – After a successful inaugural edition in 2017, Sarawak’s Rainforest Fringe Festival (RFF) returns this July for a second outing, here to promote and showcase the very best of Sarawakian art, craft, music, theatre, fashion, food, film, photography, and culture! Taking place from 6th – 15th July across various venues in Kuching, this year’s festival kicks off with SARAWAK: An Indigenous Journey, a new homegrown production … Continue reading Preview: Rainforest Fringe Festival 2018

25th Singapore International Piano Festival: Seong-Jin Cho (Review)

The Korean boy genius and Chopin/Debussy expert opens the 25th Singapore International Piano Festival. Maintaining a festival for 25 years is no mean feat, signifying how far the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s Singapore International Piano Festival (SIPF) has come all this time. Delivering the opening address, SIPF artistic director Lionel Choi expressed how much the festival has grown, with the sheer amount of pianists and achievements … Continue reading 25th Singapore International Piano Festival: Seong-Jin Cho (Review)

Storyfest 2018: A Treasury of Transformative Tales

When I think of stories, one of the first things I immediately associate them with is Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Besides being a collection of stories of the Greek gods and goddesses, I also think about the title itself, and how the act of storytelling is one that allows for metamorphosis. Deceptively simple, storytelling requires the storyteller to weave and transform their words, their body, their voice … Continue reading Storyfest 2018: A Treasury of Transformative Tales

Singapore International Piano Festival: An Interview with Pianist Seong-Jin Cho

Presented by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the 25th Singapore International Piano Festival begins this week, where several acclaimed pianists will be making their Singapore debuts, from the likes of the legendary Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich to Vietnamese-Canadian pianist Dang Thai Son. Opening the festival this year on 7th June is young South Korean prodigy Seong-Jin Cho. Born in 1994, he became the youngest-ever winner of Japan’s … Continue reading Singapore International Piano Festival: An Interview with Pianist Seong-Jin Cho

[Editor’s Pick] Highlights of Storyfest 2018 – #BeLegendary

The second edition of the Storytelling Centre’s Storyfest returns this weekend, with 17 programmes, 21 storytellers and countless stories to be told at the Arts House. Storytelling is no easy business, and as an ancient oral tradition, it gives power to the spoken word and draws strength from the human voice, something we clearly experienced as we watched Storyfest creative producer Kamini Ramachandran herself perform … Continue reading [Editor’s Pick] Highlights of Storyfest 2018 – #BeLegendary

Preview: Italian Film Festival 2018 (Singapore)

The 2018 Italian Film Festival is back to showcase the very best of new, contemporary Italian film! Taking place from 31st May to 9th June, expect six new films to be screened at Golden Village Plaza, alongside a retrospective of auteur Luca Guadagnino’s Desire Trilogy at The Projector, including smash critical and commercial hit LGBT film Call Me By Your Name (2017), alongside earlier films I Am Love (2009) … Continue reading Preview: Italian Film Festival 2018 (Singapore)

Macao Arts Festival 2018: An Interview with Choreographer Cheng Tsung-lung (Cloud Gate 2)

Closing off the 29th edition of the annual Macao Arts Festival is Taiwanese dance company Cloud Gate 2 with their performance 13 Tongues. First commissioned for the Taiwan International Festival of Arts in 2016, the work is inspired by the 1960s performer “Thirteen Tongues”, a street artist from Taipei’s oldest district. As an artist known for portraying multiple roles as he performed characters of all ages and genders, 13 … Continue reading Macao Arts Festival 2018: An Interview with Choreographer Cheng Tsung-lung (Cloud Gate 2)

Preview: M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2018

The M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival returns in 2018 with its 9th edition this June, bringing in shows from both local and regional independent dance artists. Presented in collaboration with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, this year’s Festival runs from 9th June to 5th August 2018 and presents both bold, new and original works, as well as restagings of previous, acclaimed pieces, spanning a total … Continue reading Preview: M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2018

EUFF 2018: A Meeting with Paavo Westerberg, Director of The Violin Player (Finland)

It’s not everyday one gets invited to Finnish Ambassador Paula Parviainen’s own residence for lunch. Arriving at the brightly lit apartment in the afternoon, we were impressed by the gorgeous view and aptly decorated walls with paintings by Finnish artists. During lunch itself, plates bearing Moomin characters were even used, very appropriate, considering how they’re some of the most popular and recognisable characters originating from Finland. … Continue reading EUFF 2018: A Meeting with Paavo Westerberg, Director of The Violin Player (Finland)

Amek Gambar – Taking Pictures at the Peranakan Museum

They say a picture tells a thousand words, and in each and every one of the photos of Peranakan Museum’s latest exhibition, you’ll find an entire history housed in each subject’s face and their surroundings. Titled Amek Gambar, literally translating to ‘taking pictures’, the exhibition traces over a century and a half of the history of photography in Singapore and Southeast Asia, with many of … Continue reading Amek Gambar – Taking Pictures at the Peranakan Museum