Back with a Vengeance – the Navy Open House

Changi Naval Base opens its doors to the public this weekend for the much anticipated Navy Open House which on the evidence of a preview of it I was  fortunate enough to get to see, will be one packed with lots of fun and excitement for anyone heading to the event. The preview which provided a sneak peek into the Open House, hosted by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), also included an opportunity to take a short voyage on the RSS Vengeance, a Missile Corvette (MCV) which can achieve speeds of above 30 knots – one of several rides on RSN’s naval assets the public can look forward to be treated to over the two day event.

The RSS Vengeance Missile Corvette (MCV) is one of the RSN’s naval assets that the public will have an opportunity to take a cruise on.

The Navy Open House on 18th and 19th May promises to be an event for all to look forward to.

One highlight of the Open House must be the exhilarating Dynamic Display. The display which is on twice during the day sees divers from the elite Naval Diving Unit being dropped into the sea by hovering Chinook helicopters in order to stage a daring rescue bid which culminates with the divers storming a  ship. The display which commences with the firing of a Typhoon gun,  also has other assets on display, including a sail past of the newly commissioned Archer Class submarine, a Seahawk dropping a sonar to conduct a submarine hunt, and rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) and a Fast Craft Utility (FCU) used when the divers are in action.

A Chinook dropping naval divers to stage a rescue mission – part of the Dynamic Display segment.

The segment starts with a Typhoon Gun being fired.

A RHIB carrying divers.

Naval divers storming a ship.

A Seahawk seen during the Dynamic Display – flying over one of the RSN’s Frigates.

An Archer Class submarine with a Frigate.

The opportunity to have a ride on the MCV will surely be to be a popular one. Besides the MCV there rides on board several other naval assets, the Mine Countermeasure Vessels (MCMV) and Patrol Vessels (PV), to consider. The rides will give participants a glance into life on board and an appreciation of how some of the navy’s shipboard operations are conducted. Visitors are also able to opt for a ride across the waters of the base on some of the RSN’s amphibious assets including the Fast Craft Utility (FCU) and the LARC V (a “Duck Tours” type craft). Due to the limited capacity on these rides, registration during the Open House will be required and selection will be carried out through a ballot.

Visitors can ballot for a place on a cruise onborad vessels such as the MCV.

The MCVs.

The navy relies a lot more on traditional navigational aids such as paper charts.

The crowded wheelhouse during a harbour operation.

At the berth side, there will also be a chance to go on board several of RSN’s assets including the Frigates, Landing Ship Tank (LST), MCV, PV and MCMV which will be open for public visits. There is also a possibility that some of the foreign naval vessels which are in town for the International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX) will also be open to the public – including the state-of-the-art US Navy (USN) Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Freedom.

There is an opportunity to go on board some of the ships at berth.

Visits may also be possible to foreign naval vessels such as the USN’s LCS.

To complete the experience, there are also a couple of tents where visitors can find out more about the RSN, its assets, how it operates and understand more of what life is like on board. The Mission and Capability Tent provides insight into the 3rd Generation RSN’s capabilities through its equipment and how it integrates them. Displays include a missile exhibition, 3D models of the assets, and some very interesting equipment. Those which caught my eye are the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV – which can also be deployed in a sacrificial manner as a mine detonator when armed with an explosive head); both deployed by the MCMVs. Also of interest is a fixed wing Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) which extends the capability of the MCVs – due to the limited deck space on the MCV, the ships are equipped with a specially designed recovery net to allow the UAV to be recovered.

Staring a UAV right in the eye – the surveillance payload of the MCV’s UAV.

A face underwater – the surveillance module of the mine-hunting ROV used by the MCMVs.

A welcome provided into one of the tents.

Inside the Mission and Capability Tent.

The second tent is the Experience Tent which provides an opportunity to go on board on a rope ladder and fire a gun which shoot paintball pellets at targets. Once inside, visitors also get to see a shipboard surgical team in action in a mock-up of a state-of-the-art mobile surgical theatre which some of the larger vessels can be fitted out with. Another mock-up is that of the inside of a submarine where not only is there an opportunity to have a feel of what the inside of one is like, there is also a chance to hear first-hand of what living in the confines of one is like from one of an exclusive class of naval servicemen – a submariner.

A mock-up of a surgical theatre inside the Experience Tent.

A very real looking surgical procedure demonstrated by the surgical team.

If all that isn’t enough to occupy the visitor, there is also a “Family and Fun” Tent where game stalls and video simulators can be found. The little ones can also look forward to have their photos taken in uniform as well as be entertained by roving buskers, and get their hands on balloons and souvenirs at the Navy Open House.

Visitors will have a chance to take aim and fire.

The Navy Open House will be held on 18 and 19 May 2013 at Changi Naval Base. To get there, visitors will need to hop onto a shuttle bus from Singapore Expo which will run from 8 am to 4.30 pm on 18 May and from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm on 19 May. For more information do visit the Navy Open House website
http://www.mindef.gov.sg/navyopenhouse/
and the Navy Open House Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/singaporenavy
.

Finding out mummy’s little secrets

From Saturday 27 April 2013, visitors to Marina Bay Sands’ ArtScience Museum will get to step some three thousand years back in time into the fascinating journey which is somehow filled with much intrigue and mystery that is taken by the ancient Egyptians into the netherworld.

A funerary stela at Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb. The exhibition provides visitors with a journey into the Ancient Egyptian netherworld.

The exhibition, for which the ArtScience Museum has partnered with the British Museum which has a long association with the study of Ancient Egypt and the world’s largest collection of objects from the period, is one that not only brings artefacts such as mummies, mummy cases, and funerary objects into a museum setting, but also peels away at the veneers which reveal the many secrets associated with the Egyptian view of the afterlife. A huge bonus is the opportunity the exhibition provides to look right inside a 3,000 year old mummy, that of a high priest of the Temple of Karnak, Nesperennub, through a 21 minute 3D movie which made its debut at a media conference held at the musuem yesterday, to discover the secrets that the well preserved mummy, still tightly wrapped in its elaborately made and decorate cartonnage cage, holds.

Step into the world of Ancient Egypt at the ArtScience Museum’s exhibition Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb.

The film which I thought is the highlight of the exhibition, is one that could only be made through state-of-the-art CT scanning technology. This allows a non-intrusive “unwrapping” of the mummy to be made without any damage to the cartonnage or the delicate tissues of the mummy itself and provides a better understanding of the priests life and death. The resulting 6,500 images that were produced during the extensive scanning was combined with computer visualisation techniques and made into the very insightful 3D film narrated by acclaimed actor Patrick Stewart. The film is included with the admission into the exhibition.

The mummy of Nesperennub – the subject of the 3D movie.

Mr Neal Spencer, Keeper of the British Museum; Mr Ross Leo Associate Director of the ArtScience Museum; and Dr John Taylor, Assistant Keeper of the British Museum at the media conference.

With more than 100 artefacts which includes 6 mummies on display, the exhibition is in itself one that will surely captivate. The printed backdrops at the first two of the five galleries, Ancient Egypt and Life in Ancient Egypt, takes the visitor into the world where the journey into the netherworld begins – the world of the living or at least the one which is visible to the living. The artefacts in these two galleries include replicas of the famous Rosetta Stone and the head of a statue of King Amenhotep III, as well as mummies of a cat, an ibis several figurines and a water receptacle and ladle that would have been used for purification rituals by a priest like Nesperennub

The Life in Ancient Egypt Gallery takes you into the world where the journey into the netherworld begins – in the land of the living.

Another view of the Life in Ancient Egypt Gallery – with its huge backdrops which take you right into Ancient Egypt.

A replica of the British Museum’s Head of Amenhotep III at Ancient Egypt.

A water receptacle.

The mummy of a cat.

And that of an ibis.

The key of life – an ankh.

A stela with the depiction of the god Amun-Ra.

The gallery which I found most intriguing is the Living Forever gallery – which looks at how the Egyptians send off the dead into the afterlife, what they provided for, and the beliefs and practices involved through the many interesting artefacts that are on display. One that was very interesting is a papyrus which is a page containing the judgement scene from the Book of the Dead – on which the concept of Judgement (a recurring theme in many religions) is seen from the Ancient Egyptian perspective where the heart which was thought to weigh as much as a person’s wrong doings upon death is balanced with a feather of truth.

A papyrus with the Judgement Scene from the Book of the Dead.

That concept also reveals a little more about some of the objects that would be placed in the mummy such as amulets meant to protect the spirit in afterlife. Mummification which involves the removal of the dead person’s organs and the preservation of them in jars or in the time of Nesperennub, wrapped in linen and placed back in the body cavity, would have left the heart preserved in place –  the heart was thought to be the most important organ (the brain was thought to be insignificant and was drained away). Among the amulets on display are several scarab beetle shaped ones representing the heart which are placed next to the organ, including one inscribed with a verse. These are designed to protect the heart at Judgement – so that it doesn’t reveal the misdeeds of the person.

Heart amulets (in the shape of the scarab beetle – thought to represent the heart) to protect the person during Judgement.

Another important item found in the tomb of those of higher status is that of the Shabti – small figurines which are servants bestowed on the dead person for his afterlife – so that work on the fields could be carried out by them and a coffin in which the figurines are placed in. Interestingly we find out, a total of 401 Shabti would accompany a person into afterlife – one for each day of the year plus additional ones required by the complex system of supervisors the Ancient Egyptians had in place to manage their servants.

Shabti on display.

A close-up of the Shabti.

Also on display in Living Forever, are several Stelae, as well as a few mummies including that of the linen wrapped mummy of Shepenmehyt, the mummy of Tjayasetimu in its cartonnage case, the mummy of Padiamenet, and a model of a funerary boat – used to carry the dead of high status down the Nile. An interesting thing I learnt in hearing about the boat was the practice of burying the dead on the western side as the sun sets in the west and it was the belief that it makes a journey through the netherworld

Round-topped funerary stela of a descendant of Takelot III.

Mummy of Padiamenet showing an undecorated extension at the foot of the cartonnage.

The inner coffin of Seni. At the time of Seni, the more well to do would have had their inner coffins encased in a stone outer coffin.

The mummy of Tjayasetimu in a cartonnage case, with the mummy of Shepenmehyt next to it.

The mummy of Shepenmehyt.

The model of a funerary boat with a spell translated from the Book of the Dead.

End of a wooden coffin.

It is in one or the two remaining galleries where an interactive area – the Embalmer’s Workshop can be found. That is where exhibition-related workshops included in the price of admission, are conducted. One of the workshops, The Secrets of Embalming, provides visitors with a demonstration of the very embalming and preservation process – which together with the very elaborate mummification process can take as long as 70 days to complete.

The Secrets if Embalming Workshop.

Showing how the brain is drained through the nasal passage using a brass hook like implement.

The other workshop, Amulets for the Afterlife, is one that would interest many. The hands-on workshop provides an opportunity to make clay-baked amulets – similar to the ones placed in the mummy or in the linen of the mummy as it is wrapped to protect it in its afterlife. The younger visitors might also be interested to know of the Activity Quest – which provides children of three different age ranges with the chance to take a journey through Ancient Egypt through a series of challenges in each of the galleries, armed with quest bags filled with tools for the mission – which families or school-groups can loan during the visit. The bags are aimed at children of three different age groups: those of ages between 3 and 6, primary school children of ages 7 to 12 and secondary school going children of ages 13 to 16.

A peek into the contents of the activity filled quest bag.

The last gallery, the Mummy of Nesperennub is where the story of his journey into the afterlife comes to its conclusion and where we find his mummy in a beautifully decorated cartonnage case, the coffin in which the mummy was placed in, as well as a reconstructed head of Nesperennub … a head you will find out why from the 3D movie, on which a clay bowl was attached to.

The coffin of Nesperennub.

Detail on the painted cartonnage case of the mummy of Nesperennub.

A reconstruction of the head of Nesperennub.

Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb exhibition is scheduled to run from 27 April to 4 November 2013 at the ArtScience Museum. For information on the exhibition and admission charges to the exhibition, do visit the ArtScience Museum’s website.  To mark the opening weekend of Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb, the British Museum’s Dr. John Taylor will conduct four guided tours and two lectures on ancient Egypt at ArtScience Museum, all of which is complimentary to exhibition ticket-holders. Through the guided tours, Dr. Taylor will provide exhibition insight and details regarding ancient Egyptians’ beliefs, customs and how they worshipped.  His lectures will include a look into the evolution of modern mummy research and an in-depth presentation on ancient Egyptian rituals.

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Opening Weekend Programme:

Saturday, 27 April 2013

Curator’s Guided Tour

(11:30am and 5:30pm; beginning at the first gallery of Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb)

Join Dr. John Taylor from the British Museum as he leads you through the exhibition, revealing fascinating facts about the life and beliefs of ancient Egyptians.

Curator’s Talk

(2:30pm – 3:30pm; held on Level 4 of ArtScience Museum)

Investigating Egyptian Mummies Through Virtual Unwrapping

Dr. John Taylor from the British Museum will trace the development of mummy investigation from its early days to the non-invasive methods of today.

Sunday, 28 April 2013

Curator’s Guided Tour

(11:30am and 5:30pm; beginning at the first gallery of Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb)

Join Dr. John Taylor from the British Museum as he leads you through the exhibition, revealing fascinating facts about the life and beliefs of ancient Egyptians.

Curator’s Talk

(2:30pm – 3:30pm; held on Level 4 of ArtScience Museum)

The Horizon of Eternity: Living and Dying in Ancient Egypt

Dr. John Taylor from the British Museum will describe in detail the importance of rituals and the relationship between men and gods in ancient Egypt.

For a complete listing of dates and times with all ArtScience Museum programming, please visit: www.marinabaysands.com/ArtScienceMuseum.

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The spirit of Chingay 2013

Themed “Fire in Snow”, Chingay this year celebrates the strength of the human spirit in the face of life’s challenges. Presenting a spectacle (as it always does), with fire representing resilience, bravery, perseverance, passion and determination. This will be placed in contrast with snow representing challenges and hardships. Exemplifying the spirit of this year’s Chingay will be not just the resilient Singaporeans who would be honoured during Chingay, but also the participants who have collectively put in many hours of tireless efforts including rehearsing through last evening’s pouring rain to bring the show to the audience tonight and tomorrow night. Besides being part of the audience, Chingay 2013 can also be watched live at this link.

Participants rehearsing through the pouring rain – exemplifying the spirit of Chingay 2013.

Mr Nah Juay Hng, Chairman of the Chingay Parade Exco with Peng Qia Qia (澎恰恰), Hong Rong Hong (洪荣宏), Yang Lie (杨烈) and Billy Wang (东方比利) as well as some of the resilient Singaporeans who will be honoured at the event.

The transformation of Chingay over the years

The Chingay Parade in Singapore as we know it today had its beginnings in the wake of the total ban on firecrackers which once were a must-have at any Chinese New Year celebration. That was back in 1973 – the parade was a relatively simple one which had been put together by the People’s Association and the Singapore National Pugilistic Federation, and saw a procession of lion dancers, giant flag bearers, dragon dancers, stilt walkers, clowns and juggling acts down a 3 kilometre route that took them from the old Victoria School to the end point at Outram Park. Being very much a celebration connected with the Chinese New Year, it was a very Chinese-centric passing some of the streets of Chinatown along the way. A resounding success in its first year, the decision was made to make it an annual affair and the four decades of Chingay, saw it first move into the housing estates starting with Toa Payoh in its second year, before it was moved to Orchard Road in 1985. In that time, the parade also took on first a multi-cultural flavour and then an international flavour – moving from being a street parade not just for Singaporeans but also for visitors to the island.

The carnival -like street parade Chingay is today. A less than traditional looking stilt-walker seen during the rehearsal for Chingay 2013.

More traditional stilt-walkers from a Chingay Parade in the 1980s seen along Orchard Road.

The origins of Chingay are not actually in the carnival-like street parade that we are treated to today. Chingay in its original form is very much what has been described as a Hokkien Chinese tradition, once held usually in conjunction with religious festivals with a usual parade of deities, and it is in this form that it is still very much celebrated across the causeway in Johor Bahru on the 21st day of the Chinese New Year. The parades were known to be held in Singapore as far back as in the 1880s, with participation not just by the Hokkiens, but also by the main dialect groups that made up the immigrant Chinese population.

The annual event has over the years taken on a multi-cultural and more international appearance.

The Japanese community in Singapore has been well represented over the years.

A Straits Times report of 1 February 1902 describes the parade as “being accompanied by all the usual banners, flags, toms toms, bands, magnificently and grotesquely made out individuals, and figures”. The report further describes the parade: “barbaric splendour was manifested to extravagance and thousands of spectators flocked to all points to witness it. Numbers of pretty Chinese girls brilliantly and richly dressed sat on perches ten feet high, surrounded by flowers, and borne on the shoulders of bearers”.

The early parades would typically feature traditional performers such as flag bearers.

Chingay in 1985 seen passing Peranakan Place along Orchard Road.

Parades in their original form were ones which perhaps were an expression of identity and on which no expense was spared, were discontinued after December 1906, when at a meeting of the Hokkien clan it was decided that the raising of public funds should properly be devoted to the promotion of children’s education instead rather than in the extravagance of a street procession.

The colourful celebration that is today’s Chingay.

Chingay these days has perhaps come a full circle – at least in the sense of the extravagance. Each parade is now one to look forward to as a spectacle – planning we are told for the parades start as early as some fifteen months before each one is held. No longer a what can be seen as a spontaneous celebration on the streets, the preparations for Chingay these days involve a massive effort, not just from the organisers but also from the performers with many rehearsals required to perfect what has essentially become a staged performance which of late has included effects which bring out the spectacular – much like how National Day Parades are now staged. In that – the Chingay parades are now ones as with National Day Parades which should not be missed. Unlike National Day Parades for which tickets are often hard to come by, tickets for Chingay are available for purchase – these, I am given to understand are selling fast. Tickets may be purchased from SISTIC (see website). More information on ticketing and on the parade can be found at the Chingay 2013 website. For photographs of a preview of Chingay 2013 – please visit my previous post on Chingay 2013.

Stilt-walkers resting along the Orchard Road route in 1985.

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Some highlights of Chingay 2013:

• Grandest Cultural Opening – 文天祥之“正气歌” Song of Righteousness by renowned Wen Tian Xiang, Song Dynasty (Cultural collaboration between artistes from Singapore and Fuzhou), with Chingay Taichi Sword Showcase
• World’s Biggest Peach Blossoms, “桃夭” Performance
• First-Ever Combined Chinese Opera Performance of Lady Generals of The Yang “杨门女将” jointly presented by Teochew, Hokkien and Cantonese Opera Groups in Singapore
• Programme will involve at least 5,000 students and Singaporeans to write calligraphy based on the poem “Song of Righteousness” 五言诗：正气歌

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Fire in snow lights up the Lunar New Year

While many in Singapore feel that the annual Chingay parade, now in its 41st year, has moved away from its original purpose of a street parade for the masses first celebrated in 1973 to make up for a total ban on the long held tradition of letting off fireworks during the Lunar New Year, the parade is without a doubt still very much a celebration of what Singapore is and what perhaps Singapore has become. The parade has in its recent editions become a show of the spectacular, combining a street-like parade in which the people from all major races and from all walks of life participate, with a well-orchestrated show of lights, music and effects which never fail to dazzle the audience. The theme of this year’s parade, “Fire in Snow”, will on the evidence of Saturday’s rehearsal, no doubt be as dramatic, if not more so, than last year’s water show was, with the opening scene seeing some 3000 performers light pots of fire, which turns the 360 metre parade route at the F1 Pit Building into a spectacular sea of light. The parade’s dramatic opening is matched by an equally staggering finale during which the parade’s audience and participants will be showered in falling “snow”, in which falling soap and pieces of paper brings the parade to a sensational close.

Chingay brings together members of the various communities in Singapore in an annual street celebration.

The opening scene sees the lighting of pots of fire.

The spectacular closing sees “snow” falling on the parade.

Saturday’s rehearsal, which was opened to members of the media, also had some 8,000 students in its audience. The students, representing some 56 schools, were there to participate in a National Education (NE) show to educate students about multicultural harmony. This is the first time students an NE show, usually associated with National Day Parade rehearsals, is being held in conjunction with the Chingay Parade rehearsals. The six-part parade will see some 10,000 performers representing some 120 organizations and will include a Chinese classical featuring 450 young performers from Singapore and China; a combined Chinese Opera Show with 300 members of local Teochew, Hokkien and Cantonese opera troupes who will perform to the strains of Phantom of the Opera; Tai-chi Swordmasters; and the participation of a 1,000 strong PAssion Zumba Community which includes the youngest participant in the parade who is only 4.

The largest Chinese Classical Dance in the show’s history sees 450 young dancers from both Singapore and China peform.

A close up of the Chinese Classical Dance segment.

Tai-chi swordmasters.

The parade will be held on Friday 22 February and Saturday 23 February this year. More information including that on ticketing can be found at the Chingay 2013 website.

Members of the Queenstown CC Cantonese Opera troupe pose for a photograph before the rehearsal.

Student performers dressed in Chinese Opera costumes practicing before the parade.

The youngest participant who is 4.

Ms Elaine Tjon a member of the PAssion Zumba Community sharing her experience at the media conference.

Student participants at the media conference.

Mr Nah Juay Hng, Chairman of the Chingay Parade Exco speaking.

Members of the Japanese community.

Float carrying more participants from Singapore’s Japanese Community.

The NE Show audience – schoolchildren expanded a lot of energy during the parade.

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More photographs from Saturday’s rehearsal:

Dances with urns

With the two week long Singapore Arts Festival drawing to a close on 2 June 2012, there still are a host of interesting happenings in and around the Festival Village to catch. One installation which I found rather intriguing – after watching a full dress rehearsal, is one that will take place at the Open Lawn (just next to the Lim Bo Seng Memorial) on just two evenings at 8pm (tonight 31 May and tomorrow 1 June). The installation, Dream Country – a lost monologue, involves some 41 women – the six collaborators behind it and 35 women of age 17 to 58 years, interacting with 35 clay urns. The performance is inspired by Dream Country, a monologue written by Malaysian playwright Leow Puay Tin. In this piece, the monologue is lost, living on in a dance which sees a depiction of birth, life and death during which interaction involves not only the urns, but also some elements such as water and earth – leaving the rest very much to imagination of the audience. More information is available at the festival’s page on the installation DREAM COUNTRY — a lost monologue.

Dream Country – a lost monologue involves scenes depicting birth, life and death as 41 women dance with 35 urns.

Elements such as water and earth are very much a part of the installation.

More scenes from Dream Country – a lost monologue:

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About The Singapore Arts Festival

The Singapore Arts Festival began in 1977 as a national showcase celebrating the local arts of Singapore’s diverse communities. Over the last three decades, the Festival organised by the National Arts Council, has played a symbiotic and catalytic role in the development of the artistic and cultural life of Singapore. It has influenced the work of artists and generated a growing public demand for the arts, spawning new capital platforms, events and movements that help underpin the lively cultural scene in Singapore.

The Festival saw its turning point in 2010 as it embarked on a new phase of development under the leadership of Low Kee Hong. Key changes and initiatives include turning this international arts platform into a Creation and People’s Festival with a vital year-long participation programme, continuing to sustain the Festival’s engagement with the public beyond individual shows staged during the Festival period. The commune events and activities are tailored for four groups: new audiences — people who may not have encountered the arts; arts lovers — people who buy tickets to performances; arts makers — artists and teachers who inspire their students through the arts; and arts volunteers — people who have the heart to make a difference.

The Singapore Arts Festival has now become an international showcase of ideas, art and discourse with a distinctive Asian flavour, known for its bold and innovative discussions between vernacular and contemporary art.

Singapore Arts Festival 2012: Our Lost Poems

The 2012 Festival will be held from 18 May – 2 June 2012. This edition of the Festival completes the trilogy of themes set out two editions ago – Between You and Me (2010), I Want to Remember (2011), Our Lost Poems (2012). Over these 16 days, the city comes alive with an infusion of performances at the Festival’s hub – the Festival Village @ Esplanade Park and other key venues. There is something for everyone this year, from ages 1 to 100.

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Hundreds of screaming girls and a show of hands

I was at Clarke Quay last evening to catch some wonderful independent acts perform live on stage at the first day of the 3-day Music Matters Live event. It being K-Pop Night Out, hundreds of screaming girls holding placards and iPads coloured the scene around the Main Stage. Among the performances that I caught were indie-folk duo Minor Soul from Hong Kong – who are produced by Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, Natasha Duarte from Australia who was performing for the first time outside of Australia, and K-Pop’s Rhythm King and seven member BTOB.

Indie-folk duo Minor Soul who are produced by the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart.

Natasha Duarte from Australia.

Guitarist for Natasha Duarte.

Rhythmking.

Rhythmking Fans.

BTOB.

There were hundreds of screaming girls!

There was a show of hands in more ways than one!

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PRESS RELEASE

Music Matters 2012: A Diverse Live Experience

The show will be kick-started on the main stage by a hip hop showcase from Korea on May 24. Drunken Tiger, a pioneer of the genre, will be performing alongside the ‘Queen of Soul’ t Yoon Mi Rae. They will be accompanied by heavyweights such as the hot idol group M.I.B, rapper and hip hop prince J’Kyun and DJ Clazzi of the experimental genre-defying project Clazziquai. One half of dynamic hip hop duo 2wins, Rhythmking will also be appearing as well as BTOB, an energetic vocal group with seven members and a massive fanbase.

Aussie BBQ will be held at Beer Market on May 25 and will feature some of Australia’s best talents. Epic stadium rockers Pandorum, rising alternative rock band This Sanctuary and the classically trained singer-songwriter Kate Miller Heidke. Canada will also have a strong presence in Music Matters Live. Following last year’s arrival of Simple Plan on Singapore’s shores, Canadian Blast will be held at Cuba Libre featuring soulful singer and acoustic performer Peter Katz, alien surf rockers Hill & The Sky Heroes, rapper Manafest and USS, one of Canada’s top indie rock acts.

Singapore will also be well represented. Inch Chua, who has performed at massive festivals such as SXSW, will be featured. The local line-up also includes The Great Spy Experiment, who quite recently rocked the stage at Singapore Day in New York City and The Auditory Effect, a band whose music is a dynamic fusion of high energy, style and groovy beats.

All performances will be held at the main stage at Clarke Quay, Beer Market, China One, Crazy Elephant, Cuba Libre, Forbidden City by Indochine, Shuffle and The Arena. Gigs start at 7:30pm and end at 2am. For updates on the gig schedule, visit
http://www.facebook.com/MusicMattersLive
.

This music festival aims to showcase to Singapore and the region many of today’s greatest breakthrough bands, irrespective of national and cultural differences. Access to most acts will be free, encouraging attendees to open their minds to a journey of musical discovery. No one will be left out as all the line-up for the main stage will be broadcast live over Youtube for the first time, making the audience limitless.

Aside from the themed nights on the main stage, expect standout performances from festival favourite Midnight Youth (NZ), indie-folk twosome Minor Soul (HK) who are produced by the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, post-punk act Aftermiles (Indonesia) and many, many more.

Music Matters Live is just one segment of All That Matters, a convention and platform for discussion on music, technology and media. The programme is filled with talks by esteemed members of these industries including Bob Ezrin, the legendary producer who has worked with the likes of Pink Floyd on their landmark album ‘The Wall’ and KISS. Further information and the full schedule can be found at WWW.ALLTHATMATTERS.ASIA.

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Being chased by vampires on top of a hill

My last encounter with a “vampire” was one that occurred in my childhood. It was in the dark of night that a vampire, suspiciously resembling the ones that Christopher Lee depicted in the many Dracula movies that we got a diet of on the television at the end of the 1960s, appeared to me. The vampire wearing a toothless scowl, had in his deep voice, asked for me to return his fangs which he insisted I had stolen, back. Then, mock vampire fangs which fit over the teeth like a mouth guard were the rage – they cost then a very affordable 5 cents and along with many of the boys of my neighbourhood, I had one of them. As funny as the encounter, which came in a bad dream whilst I was fast asleep, does now sound, I terrified and promptly disposed of the mock vampire fangs as soon as I was able to and I never in my childhood allowed myself to sit through a vampire (or pontianak) movie ever again!

An encounter with a vampire at Old School.

The next encounter that I was to have some forty years after that first – one that I volunteered for, safe in the knowledge that there was no way that the vampires I was to encounter were going to ask for their teeth back. This encounter was a staged one – literally, being a rehearsal for THEY ONLY COME AT NIGHT: PANDEMIC, a site-specific and interactive multimedia installation at Old School for the Singapore Arts Festival 2012. Pandemic is set in what is described as an “apocalyptic wasteland” that is Singapore, six months after a final battle which saw the few remaining vampire hunters lose the battle against the spreading vampire pandemic. There are a few survivors who somehow survived, of which the audience is part of, following a character – former industrialist Maggie Tan who with some 150 survivors, make their way on an adventure to the headquarters of the quasi-religious group – Quiddists, which is led by the charismatic Chester Rickwood, at the Old School. There the audience will be immersed in a struggle as much against the vampires as with the various personalities involved – being forced to choose who they wish to follow … knowing that the bloodthirsty creatures of the night will eventually get to them.

Headsets for the audience.

And instructions so that the audience does not stray.

The entrance.

With what seemed like the promise of an experience that perhaps would be more complete than that of amusement park haunted house, I agreed to attend the rehearsal. Equipped with the necessary gear that included a media player and headsets, a map and an emergency light, I followed the crowd through the entrance to the headquarters of the Quiddists, half expecting to be frightened out of my wits. On the walk through there certainly were attempts to create signs of presence of the supernatural – bloodstains and bloodied clothes, circles cast on the ground with chalk and smoke trails with the smell of incense hanging in the air – to protect against the forces of the netherworld. It wasn’t, as I understand, meant to be frightening – just to raise fear levels a little so that the audience would be in a state that allows participation.

The passageway …

Signs of a vampire pandemic?

Scenes of carnage along the way …

Lighting up the darkness.

Participation comes as the audience is introduced to the plot through the main characters who range from a young CEO who had seen the apocalypse coming, Chester Rickwood, to a couple of battle weary vampire hunters. The plot was interesting on its own and certainly provided an excellent platform for participation. This except for being in the thick of what was going on and being made to feel a sense of urgency in being moved from one place to the next, unfortunately did not really take place, and I felt I was watching rather than participating for good part of the dialogue that took place among the characters.

The audience gets to participate in some way…

Maggie Tan (elevated left) and Grace (right).

Chester Rickwood.

Morton, Maggie Tan’s right-hand man.

Quinn? The legendary vampire hunter.

Grace, a disturbed vampire slayer.

Quinn and Maggie Tan.

The audience being made to move with a sense of urgency.

In all, the hour-long performance does serve to entertain although not in the way I envisaged and is worth an evening out, if not for the performance, at least for the workout and the feel of what may well be a haunted part of the old Methodist Girls’ School that will soon make way for the inevitable – not the pandemic of bloodthirsty fanged cousins of Dracula, but one of the glass, steel and concrete tower blocks that have spread around a once magical hill like a virus. THEY ONLY COME AT NIGHT: PANDEMIC will open this evening and is on until Sunday (22 to 27 May 2012) with two performances each evening. More information including on that of ticketing is available at the Singapore Arts Festival website.

The final scene.

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THEY ONLY COME AT NIGHT: PANDEMIC

…Saving the world from an intoxicating vampire virus.

You heard about them previously – mysterious attacks in dank underground car parks and bloodsucking creatures from ancient Europe seemingly taking root in today’s modern times – and you ignored them.

Now, the vampire virus has become an unstoppable pandemic.

The final battle was fought in Singapore, where the world’s remaining vampire hunters fought valiantly to the end for mankind. And lost.

Or perhaps not. Six months after the dust has settled, survivors surfaced. Some lived through sheer grit. Some just got lucky.

Some are not even sure how they made it through but are grateful anyway. You are one of the blessed.

Together with former industrialist Maggie Tan and 149 other survivors, you trudge through an apocalyptic wasteland. The destination: the Old School, the headquarters of the quasireligious group – Quiddists – led by the charismatic Chester Rickwood, who believed in channelling the natural energy of his followers.

Although undefended, the Old School lasted much longer than other strongholds. Can it possibly hold the key to questions that need to be answered? How did Rickwood’s Quiddists last so long?

How did the vampires finally overcome Rickwood’s commune? And what on earth is to be done now?

You and the team have some time to unearth the answers. But not too much. The creatures will discover your existence, and when they do, they will come for you.

GO FOR THEY ONLY COME AT NIGHT: PANDEMIC…

…if you are excited about new experiences, and fancy the idea of an interactive and multimedia installation.

…if you enjoy unique site-specific projects with specially crafted storylines.

…if you love the concept of vampires.

Singapore. Singapore. Where it must end.

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About The Singapore Arts Festival

The Singapore Arts Festival began in 1977 as a national showcase celebrating the local arts of Singapore’s diverse communities. Over the last three decades, the Festival organised by the National Arts Council, has played a symbiotic and catalytic role in the development of the artistic and cultural life of Singapore. It has influenced the work of artists and generated a growing public demand for the arts, spawning new capital platforms, events and movements that help underpin the lively cultural scene in Singapore.

The Festival saw its turning point in 2010 as it embarked on a new phase of development under the leadership of Low Kee Hong. Key changes and initiatives include turning this international arts platform into a Creation and People’s Festival with a vital year-long participation programme, com.mune to sustain the Festival’s engagement with the public beyond individual shows staged during the Festival period. The commune events and activities are tailored for four groups: new audiences — people who may not have encountered the arts; arts lovers — people who buy tickets to performances; arts makers — artists and teachers who inspire their students through the arts; and arts volunteers — people who have the heart to make a difference.

The Singapore Arts Festival has now become an international showcase of ideas, art and discourse with a distinctive Asian flavour, known for its bold and innovative discussions between vernacular and contemporary art.

Singapore Arts Festival 2012: Our Lost Poems

The 2012 Festival will be held from 18 May – 2 June 2012. This edition of the Festival completes the trilogy of themes set out two editions ago – Between You and Me (2010), I Want to Remember (2011), Our Lost Poems (2012). Over these 16 days, the city comes alive with an infusion of performances at the Festival’s hub – the Festival Village @ Esplanade Park and other key venues. There is something for everyone this year, from ages 1 to 100.

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The Jade Bird takes flight

The latest addition to the portfolio of Singapore’s much celebrated and highly acclaimed composer, Mark Chan, The Flight of the Jade Bird, made its debut at a VIP Preview last evening. Described as “part concert, part opera, part story-telling”, the exclusive viewing of the special commission for the Singapore Arts Festival 2012 for which Chan received a National Arts Council – Arts Creation Fund award, was attended by guests that included His Excellency President Tony Tan Keng Yam; Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs; and Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs.

A view of the stage during a rehearsal session.

“And the Bird said to the Boy, keep this Jade with you and if you are in trouble, rub it and call out my name. I will hear and I will return as fast as the wind can carry me.”

The story revolves around an ancient bird, the Jade Bird, who is known by the name Courage. We learn of an inner name, Despair, only because of Facebook and Twitter – trappings of the modern world that like that of the Jade Bird’s world threatens tradition. The bird, the last one of seven ancient birds still left, dwells in a sanctuary – a mythical palace which modern times has use of not as a museum but a theme park. It is in an inner chamber of the palace, that despite there not being WiFi and a fear stemming from the myths he has been told about the place, a young boy meets the Jade Bird. Struck by the innocence and the frankness of the young boy, expertly played by a 14 year old Singaporean boy soprano, Matthew Supramaniam, the Jade Bird develops a friendship with him. He sleeps – for the first time in 7000 years, having been told by the young boy that sleep was needed to be able to dream. Without dreams, the Jade Bird is told, nothing new would be able to enter one’s life.

Boy soprano, Matthew Supramaniam, a 14-year-old Singaporean who currently is based at Eton College during a rehearsal session. Matthew provides the musical voice of the Young Boy.

The tale in itself has the makings of an epic. Incredible as it is, it is a story that attempts to examine the contrast and contradiction of tradition in a modern world – a familiar theme in society today. The contrasts and contradictions do not end there – it is in the telling of the tale where this is especially evident, perhaps in keeping with its theme. The visual discord that is apparent with a musical ensemble seemingly competing for attention with the singers who give a voice to the characters, as well as with a narrator and a dancer who is the Jade Bird does serve to leave the audience confused as to what the performance is about. The music seemingly a harmonious discord of instruments of both eastern and western traditions, adds to the confusion, and for a while I struggle to come to terms with what was on stage both from visual and aural perspective.

Music Director Belinda Foo with the western and eastern string players, Leslie Tan, Tang I Shyan, Wong On Yuen and Sunny Wong at a rehearsal.

As I sat watching the spectacle of coloured lights falling on the stage, I decided to close my eyes and focus on the strains that filled the hall. It was in the light of the darkness that faded the prejudices that comes with seeing, I realised it wasn’t the discord that I had imagined, but a harmony that made use of the contradictions. That perhaps was what the work and the theme of the story was all about and what I needed to appreciate the beauty of work for what it was, described by Mark Chan as a being very much like a “Chinese Shan Shui painting where man is one small figure, existing together with other figures, trumpeting out their own self-importance again and again, loudly and in no uncertain terms”.

Cellists Leslie Tan and Tang I Shyan.

Margie Tong on Percussion.

It was then, that I began to take some pleasure in the performance, listening intently to the powerful narration provided by Kee Thuan Chye, complemented by the haunting yet beautiful strains of the instruments and voices. The music however did seem a little too unsurprising as the performance went on and made the first part, which only drew to a close after some 90 minutes of what was a 120 minute performance, seem all too long. The second part of the performance with the drama of a tussle over the Jade Bird, was certainly much easier to appreciate.

Kee Thuan Chye, the narrator.

Father and son Erhu team Wong On Yuen and Sunny Wong.

The highlight of the performance was for me the beautiful voice of the Young Boy provided by Matthew Supramaniam, a student of Eton College who has been described as the boy with a golden voice. I had the opportunity to meet an exhausted Matthew and his family at the reception after the preview and realised that behind that assured and controlled voice is a teenager that is no different from any teenager. To celebrate Mark Chan’s musical and story-telling genius – and to have a chance to hear the golden voice of Matthew in it certainly is good reason to catch the show which goes on for only two days until tomorrow (19 May 2012). This evening’s performance, includes a dialogue after the show. For more information on the show, do visit
http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/event/the-flight-of-the-jade-bird/
.

Matthew in a more relaxed mood at the post VIP Preview reception with his proud parents Margaret and Paul, and equally talented brother Timothy.

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About The Singapore Arts Festival

The Singapore Arts Festival began in 1977 as a national showcase celebrating the local arts of Singapore’s diverse communities. Over the last three decades, the Festival organised by the National Arts Council, has played a symbiotic and catalytic role in the development of the artistic and cultural life of Singapore. It has influenced the work of artists and generated a growing public demand for the arts, spawning new capital platforms, events and movements that help underpin the lively cultural scene in Singapore.

The Festival saw its turning point in 2010 as it embarked on a new phase of development under the leadership of Low Kee Hong. Key changes and initiatives include turning this international arts platform into a Creation and People’s Festival with a vital year-long participation programme, com.mune to sustain the Festival’s engagement with the public beyond individual shows staged during the Festival period. The commune events and activities are tailored for four groups: new audiences — people who may not have encountered the arts; arts lovers — people who buy tickets to performances; arts makers — artists and teachers who inspire their students through the arts; and arts volunteers — people who have the heart to make a difference.

The Singapore Arts Festival has now become an international showcase of ideas, art and discourse with a distinctive Asian flavour, known for its bold and innovative discussions between vernacular and contemporary art.

Singapore Arts Festival 2012: Our Lost Poems

The 2012 Festival will be held from 18 May – 2 June 2012. This edition of the Festival completes the trilogy of themes set out two editions ago – Between You and Me (2010), I Want to Remember (2011), Our Lost Poems (2012). Over these 16 days, the city comes alive with an infusion of performances at the Festival’s hub – the Festival Village @ Esplanade Park and other key venues. There is something for everyone this year, from ages 1 to 100.

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The Merlion in a wrestling ring

Head over to the Esplanade Park if you are looking for some unusual fun and entertainment this weekend. For two weeks from 18 May to 2 June 2012 will be abuzz with a host of activities and performances as the Festival Village of the Singapore Arts Festival 2012 invades the once popular destination for family outings and for a satay feast. The activities and performances are aimed to reach out to as the Festival organisers would have it, anyone from ages 1 to 100, which will tease the senses and delight the soul, and I did have the opportunity to see did tease and delight my soul and senses at a preview of a few of the highlights last evening.

XII – in search of 13. The Merlion flooring the Getai Queen.

Singapore Arts Festival GM, Low Kee Hong, giving speaking at a media preview of the Festival Village.

After the introduction to this year’s Singapore Arts Festival and the Festival Village on the Café Rooftop which provided a wonderful view not just of the Festival Village but also of Marina Bay, the group were soon brought down to earth to have a sneak peek at what the Festival Village will have on offer. The white of the marquees and the yellow of the festival’s paraphernalia was clearly evident. The comings and goings of people the white and yellow must surely have attracted when mixed in certainly brought a buzz to the Esplanade Park that hasn’t been seen for some time. The first act that we were introduced to, XII – going on 13, was one held in a ring – a wrestling ring that is. While what was to go on in the ring definitely wasn’t WWE, it did involve some heavyweights – in the form of twelve icons of Singapore, in a fight to determine as the festival guide puts it “the ultimate National icon amid a backdrop of myths, stories and drama where the Lim Bo Seng Memorial stands”. In the first match-up, the Merlion swiftly and without so much fuss, floored the Getai Queen – in what was probably not an even match-up …

Couldn’t help but notice the fascinating movement of 41 women interacting with 35 urns nearby in DREAM COUNTRY – a lost monologue.

Next up, not before I got distracted by the 41 women moving around 35 large urns in the clearing nearby (DREAM COUNTRY – a lost monologue) , was a pop by the Kids Art Village. After a short introduction, we were treated to a performance by some really adorable children 3 to 8 years old from Kids Gallery Singapore in their interpretation of Dr Dolittle, Talking with the Animals. The Kids Arts Village offers activities and performances that will certainly appeal to children as well as the kids in some of us. Some other highlights found at the Kids Art Village include Tangle – which will have many tangled in ribbons and Spooky Stories by Children.

Talking with the Animals – an interpretation of Dr Dolittle by children 3 to 8 years old from Kids Gallery Singapore … see various acts and participate in various events that will reach out not only to children, but also to the kids in some of us at the Kids Art Village.

Talking with the Animals.

Tangle.

Having to be whisked away to catch a rehearsal of Mark Chan’s The Flight of the Jade Bird, I wasn’t able to catch much of the last part of the preview. That involved the appearance of the mythical centaur – the half man / half horse creature that we discover, may not be so different from us in a performance entitled FLUX. The dance routine of man and horse that I did manage to catch before heading off looked thoroughly captivating – reason enough for me to head back down over the two weeks to catch the full performance of this as well as to further tease my soul and delight my senses in discovering what else the Festival Village has to offer.

FLUX introduction.

FLUX.

FLUX

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About The Singapore Arts Festival

The Singapore Arts Festival began in 1977 as a national showcase celebrating the local arts of Singapore’s diverse communities. Over the last three decades, the Festival organised by the National Arts Council, has played a symbiotic and catalytic role in the development of the artistic and cultural life of Singapore. It has influenced the work of artists and generated a growing public demand for the arts, spawning new capital platforms, events and movements that help underpin the lively cultural scene in Singapore.

The Festival saw its turning point in 2010 as it embarked on a new phase of development under the leadership of Low Kee Hong. Key changes and initiatives include turning this international arts platform into a Creation and People’s Festival with a vital year-long participation programme, com.mune to sustain the Festival’s engagement with the public beyond individual shows staged during the Festival period. The commune events and activities are tailored for four groups: new audiences — people who may not have encountered the arts; arts lovers — people who buy tickets to performances; arts makers — artists and teachers who inspire their students through the arts; and arts volunteers — people who have the heart to make a difference.

The Singapore Arts Festival has now become an international showcase of ideas, art and discourse with a distinctive Asian flavour, known for its bold and innovative discussions between vernacular and contemporary art.

Singapore Arts Festival 2012: Our Lost Poems

The 2012 Festival will be held from 18 May – 2 June 2012. This edition of the Festival completes the trilogy of themes set out two editions ago – Between You and Me (2010), I Want to Remember (2011), Our Lost Poems (2012). Over these 16 days, the city comes alive with an infusion of performances at the Festival’s hub – the Festival Village @ Esplanade Park and other key venues. There is something for everyone this year, from ages 1 to 100.

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The coming of light at Marina Bay

Come Friday (9 March 2012), Marina Bay will be aglow, bathed in the colours of lights that will transform the area into a greater spectacle than it already is. Friday sees the opening of the sequel to the highly successful first edition of Asia’s only sustainable light art event of two years ago, i Light Marina Bay 2012, which on the evidence of a media preview of the event – Asia’s first and only sustainable Light Art Festival held last evening, is one that will be a feast for the senses.

i Light Marina Bay 2012 brings a spectacle of colour and light to the already spectacular Marina Bay.

Organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and with festival direction provided by Smart Light, this year’s edition will feature 22 works which will be by Asian based artists and designers. This is in line with the festival’s theme of “Light Meets Asia”. Beyond the theme, the festival aims to also promote sustainability and the use of energy-efficient technology – a message that the 31 works selected for the festival will carry. A total of 17 countries are represented in the 31 works, which were selected from some 100 submissions. 21 of the works are festival commissions.

Ms Mary-Anne Kyriakou, the Festival Director and Mr Mark Goh, Deputy Director of URA’s Place Management Department, speaking at the media preview.

As the area around which the 31 installations is large, the media preview, led by Festival Director Ms Mary-Anne Kyriakou, covered some of the highlights of the festival. One of the highlights Key Frames – a delightful installation set by the Float @ Marina Bay which has not just 30 light stick figures in various poses seemingly dancing in a routine choreographed to the music, it makes the viewer want to also dance with them. The installation is by French light artists, Groupe LAPS, which hails from the World’s largest light festival, Lyon’s Fête des Lumières.

Lighted stick figures are brought to life in a choreographed display by the Float @ Marina Bay. The light and sound show, Key Frames, is the work of Groupe LAPS from the World's largest light festival, the Fête des Lumières, Lyon.

A full exposure of Key Frames.

The highlights also included some of the more eye-catching installations – those that involved projections on two of the new icons of Singapore that are hard to miss. One is that of the interactive projection on the Merlion, Light of the Merlion – the work of Portuguese projection artists, OCUBO, which I did not have an opportunity yet to photograph. With Light of the Merlion, visitors are able to control light projections on the surface of the Merlion through an interactive touch-screen at Merlion Park. The other installation that certainly cannot be missed is the animated projection on three fingers of the ArtScience Museum, which uses 3D digital mapping technology – best viewed from The Helix (bridge), which is the work of local projection artists Hexogon Solution. The work, entitled Garden of Light, is also the largest projection at the festival. Hexogon Solution is one of eleven Singaporean artists whose works would be seen at the festival.

A close of the animated projection on the ArtScience Musuem.

Three interesting works can also be found in a rather unconventional space – under the seating gallery of seating gallery of The Float @ Marina Bay. The first, Sweet Home, is a site-specific work by Swedish based Serbian artist Aleksandra Stratimirovic is an adaptation of an original work created for Belgrade of Light 2011. The work aims to make ugly places pretty – the original work in Belgrade was an attempt to bring warmth and a homely atmosphere to one of the most polluted, busiest and exciting streets in Belgrade. For i Light Marina Bay 2012, Sweet Home, supported by Philips Lighting, attempts to use the colourful forms of the lanterns used in the installation to spread warmth and homeliness in the urban environment. The second installation here is American artist Dev Harlan’s Parmenides I. This is a large-scale geometric sculpture which incorporates a 360 degree projection mapped video which was previously exhibited at the New Museum’s New Ideas for the New City Festival in New York. The work features hypnotic 3D projections of swirling abstract patterns that gives a sense of movement, colour and form. The third, Crystallised by Andrew Daly and Katherine Fife from Australia, is one to look up to. The work which is an abstraction of the starry night sky, is an installation of five thousand hollowed-out and edge-lit acrylic rods which attempts to create a glowing internal landscape like a ceiling of a cave with glittering stalactites. It is under this that visitors walk and reflect on the impact of poorly considered lighting on city life.

Dev Harlan's Parmenides I.

The glowing internal landscape under which visitors walk and reflect on the impact of poorly considered lighting on city life - Crystallised by Andrew Daly and Katherine Fife.

Several installations are also located across the bay at the Promontory and the Waterfront Promenade. This includes After Light – which makes use of shipping containers the ends of which projections are made on which will examine the significance of light in New Zealand, from where the group behind the installation, StoryBox hails, and across cultures to Asia. The containers will also incorporate two site specific installations inside the containers that feature the work of budding talents from Singapore’s La Salle College of the Arts and School of the Arts. The area will also feature the glow of cocktail stirrers that have been transformed by French/Filipino artist Olivia d’Aboville into a glowing reef of coral-like sculptures that encourages visitors to interact with, much as a coral reef attracts life under the sea to do so, entitled Coral Garden. Other works in the area include Planting Shadows by Singapore’s Vertical Submarine; Thai sculptor Be Takerng Pattanopas’ Gap the Mind; the orange-red glow of France’s BIBI’s Bibigloo; Receptacle by Cambodia’s Marine Ky; Uh by the Propeller Group from Vietnam and one that is definitely should not be missed – Classification Pending by Craig Walsh from Australia which has 3D animated projections of artificial marine life forms on the waters of the bay.

Installation being carried out for After Light, by Story Box from New Zealand.

The coral garden at the Promontory - Coral Garden by French/Filipino artist Olivia d’Aboville.

Over the Marina Bay City Gallery, The Gate promises to be a huge attraction with its red beams of light. The work of Li Hui, which uses a powerful symbol of a portal which the red beams lead to – a passage perhaps to enlightenment, is one that we are not able to pass through. It suggests that enlightenment is a goal that cannot be attained.

The Festival Director Ms Mary-Anne Kyriakou speaks through the red beams of light of Li Hui's The Gate.

Li Hui, whose silhouette is seen at the right, speaking about his work.

An exit it is not. The Gate which can be seen to look at enlightenment as a goal that can never be achieved, is one that we are not able to go through.

Along the waterfront promenade leading to Marina Bay Sands and in front of Marina Bay Sands are a series of 9 other installations, which include two works by Singaporean artist we were introduced to – a squid like creature 5QU1D by Ryf Zaini and the work of Zulkifle Mahmod named Deck Journey. The series of 31 installations are spread around the bay and would definitely take much more than an evening to fully appreciate. One, the work of another Singaporean artist Angela Chong, Tree Stories, is found somewhat off the beaten track over at Esplanade Park. Tree Stories involves illuminated text on tree trunks which encourages interaction in the form of dialogue between the reader and the tree. Besides Tree Stories and Light on the Merlion, there are also several other installations that invite interaction – something that would appeal especially to the kids. These include several located in and around the seating gallery at The Float @ Marina Bay – White Rain by Japan’s Takahiro Matsuo, Urban Makyoh by UK based “lighting guerillas” Light Collective and Immersion by Martin Bevz and Kathryn Clifton from Australia. Several are also located over at the waterfront in front of Marina Bay Sands – The Light Dam by Taiwan’s Uno Lai, Illumination Disorders II by Singapore’s Tay Swee Siong and Bio Shell by Shinya Okuda of Japan. Installations can all be visited free of charge and will be on from 7.30pm to 11pm nightly.

Ryf Ziani and 5QU1D.

Zulkifle Mahmod's Deck Journey.

A series of activities and events has also been arranged during the festival which include free guided tours, workshops and also a photography competition in which participants will have a chance to win prizes worth up to $10,000 sponsored by LUMIX (who have also kindly lent LUMIX cameras for the Photo AmBayssadors and Official Bloggers to use during the period of the festival. More information can be found at the i Light Marina Bay 2012 website.

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All photographs in this post have been taken with a LUMIX GF-3.

Chingay returns with a big splash!

Those who remember the very first Chingay in 1973 will remember it as a parade of lion dances, giant flag bearers, dragon dances, stilt walkers, clowns and juggling acts that took a 3 kilometre route from the old Victoria School to Outram Park. Those were the very first step of what has now become a continuing journey that is now into its 40th year. That first parade featured some 2000 performers that moved along from Tyrwhitt Road, passing Jalan Besar, Bencoolen Street, Bras Basah Road, North Bridge Road, South Bridge Road, Upper Cross Street, New Bridge Road and Outram Road, all of which had been lined with crowds that had gathered in anticipation. Introduced initially to make up for an imposition of a total ban on firecrackers, the parade which had been organised by the People’s Association and the Singapore National Pugilistic Federation, was such a success that it was made into an annual event. Over the years, the Chingay in Singapore has become a highly anticipated event on the calendar, and has evolved into the colourful night-time spectacle featuring participants from far and wide that we and audiences elsewhere look forward to.

Chingay celebrates its 40th year with the 2012 edition of the annual parade which will usher in the Year of the Dragon.

A scene from the opening segment in which the People's Association Youth Chinese Orchestra's Music Director & Conductor , Mr Ng Seng Hong performs on the erhu.

To mark the 40th edition of the Chingay, the organisers this year have lined up a treat that will certainly prove to be an unique and extraordinary experience – one that will be moved off dry land and into a specially created waterway at the F1 Pit Building. I had the privilege of being treated to a preview of this during Saturday’s full dress rehearsal which was preceded by a briefing to the media chaired by Mr Nah Juay Hng – the Chairman of the Chingay Parade Singapore 2012 Exco. Together with a panel that included Mr Kazuo Sugino of The Japanese Association, Singapore and Mr P Thirunal Karasu of Narpani, Mr Ng provided members of the media with an insight into this year’s parade which will see some 8000 participants splashing their way through a 360 metre waterway. Along with the participants, numerous floats will also make their way down the waterway through the parade’s 8 themed segments.

To mark the occasion of the 40th Chingay, the parade will take place in the glow of a show of light effects along a 360 metre waterway.

Participants moving along the 360 metre waterway.

Participants splashing their way through the waterway.

Participants representing NUS having a splashing good time.

Dubbed as “A Waterway Parade of Love and Care”, the parade will also see the active participation of the Indian community. Joining hands, both new citizens and long time Singaporeans from the community will present “Kaathal Doothu” – “Messengers of Love” with a 250 strong contingent. The parade will also feature performers from elsewhere, notably Japan, China and Indonesia, as well as local troupes and various community groups. The Japanese contingent will comprise 330 members and aims to spread a message of care and love with a 9.5 metre lantern structure that will be accompanied by the strains of the evergreen Japanese song “Ue O Muite Aruko” – more commonly known elsewhere as “Sukiyaki”. The Chinese contingent this year will include 300 young ladies – schoolgirls, as well as dancers from the Red Star Dance Troupe who will feature in a performance entitled “Ta Ge”.

This Chingay will also see the participation of the Indian community with a mix of both long time citizens and newly arrived ones.

A 9.5 metre high lantern will feature in the performance by the Japanese contingent.

300 young ladies from China's schools and its Red Star Dance Troupe will give a performance entitled “Ta Ge”.

The parade this year which ushers in the Chinese Year of the Dragon will also see an abundance of representations of the mythical creature. An opening all dragon segment will see an artistic dragon float, numerous dragons representations, as well as dragon dances form both Singapore and China. The penultimate segment will also see 28 community dragons representing various community grassroots groups in Singapore making an appearance before what will be a very grand finale which will see some 3000 performers and culminate with a rendition of “爱让你看到” or “Love Will Make You See” – the parade’s finale theme song by three popular lead singers, Yang Hai Tao, Joi Chua and Vera.

Ushering in the Year of the Dragon, Chingay will feature numerous dragons.

Fire, water and swirling dragons - Chingay has come a long way since its inception in 1973.

A fire breathing dragon makes an appearance.

The grand finale will see some 3000 performers along the waterway.

On the evidence of the what we were treated to during the full dress rehearsal complete with the well-choreographed lighting effects and dragons swirling to the glow of orange from burst of flames, the parade is one that will be nothing short of spectacular, and definitely one that will be hard to forget. This year’s unique parade on water is also one that is not to be missed and one that I would look forward to with the same anticipation as I did as as that child of eight that I was to that very first Chingay close to four decades ago.

The opening segment will see "Brides of the World" strutting down a catwalk on the waterway.

Faces from the Full Dress Rehearsal

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How to catch Chingay 2012

Tickets for the event which will take place on 2 days – 3 and 4 February 2012, are, as of the day of the media briefing, 80% sold for what is expected to be a sold out event. Information can be found at the Chingay 2012 website (click here). Those unable to obtain tickets are able to catch the parade at a non-waterway section of the 800 metre parade route at free standing areas at the Marina Promenade behind the Singapore Flyer.

The event will also be broadcast live over the two days and see international coverage with stations from Japan, China and Taiwan broadcasting to audiences in their respective countries, as well as see it being beamed live through Chinese internet TV network PPTV which is target at audiences in China, as well as those worldwide – making a live streaming of the event available to a variety of internet enable devices. To catch a live webcast of it, please visit the Chingay 2012 website (click here).

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Make a date with Carole Bouquet in Singapore this December

A treat awaits fans of French Cinema in Singapore this December when a rendezvous, not just with film, but also with celebrities of French Cinema, takes place at the Societe Generale Private Banking 1st Rendezvous With French Cinema. Organised by Unifrance, Institut Français and Alliance Française de Singapour, the festival will showcase the best of contemporary French Cinema, and will see over 20 films being screened at GV Vivocity, Lido, Cathay, and the Alliance Française Theatre.

Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo in 'The Artist', which will open the film festival.

The launch of the film festival, which will be held from 8 to 13 Dec 2011, was announced at a press conference yesterday. The conference, which was held at Societe Generale Private Banking’s offices in One Raffles Quay, was hosted by the model and TV personality Linda Black, who, together with a panel that made up of His Excellency Olivier Caron – the French Ambassador to Singapore, Mr Liew Choon Boon – Senior Director Industry and the Arts, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA), and Mr Olivier Gougeon – Regional CEO, Societe Generale Private Banking, provided details of the festival. H. E. Caron in his address, spoke of the festival, besides promoting French films to Asian audiences, also serving as a platform for networking and for collaboration between the French and Asian film industries. To facilitate this, the festival which is being launched in partnership with the Asian Television Forum (ATF), Asia’s leading content market with the ATF bringing in 12 sales agent companies from France. The Gala Opening of the festival will also see the launch of ATF 2011.

The gorgeous Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey in La fille du puisatier (The Well-Digger’s Daughter). The actress would be part of the artistic delegation that will be in Singapore for the festival.

To provide an appreciation of what will be on offer, trailers of selected movies that will be screened at the festival were shown at to the audience. This included what will be the opening movie of the festival, The Artist, a silent movie set in Hollywood between 1927 and 1931. The film is directed by Michel Hazanavicius and looks at the decline of a male star as the silent movie era made way for the talkies. The Artist stars Jean Dujardin, one of France’s leading actors, who took the accolade of the Best Actor Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival for his role in the film.

The official festival trailer.

The festival will feature new film releases, some of which will be making their Asian premiere in Singapore. Amongst the films is a delightful one that is set in Provence around the time of the First World War, which I actually had the good fortune of watching on a flight back to Singapore very recently. The movie, The Well Digger’s Daughter, sees the directorial debut Daniel Auteuil, a celebrated French actor, in a remake of a 1940 Marcel Pagnol classic of the same title. Auteuil plays a well digger Pascal Amoretti in the movie which also sees the making of the very sweet Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey as an actress playing Amoretti’s daughter, Patricia. A synopsis of the movie as well as that of the others that will be screened at the festival can be found at this link. Other films that are making their premiere include Special Forces by director Stéphane Rybojad, Point Blank directed by Fred Cavayé, A Happy Event directed by Rémi Bezançon and Free Men by director Ismaïl Ferroukhi.

Point Blank directed by Fred Cavayé will be one of several films that will have their Asian premiere in Singapore.

The festival programme will also see the visit to Singapore of an artistic delegation which Bergès-Frisbey, Cavayé, Rybojad, Bezançon and Ferroukhi will be a part of. The delegation would be led by Carole Bouquet, the leading lady of French Cinema, to whom homage is being paid to during the festival through a retrospective segment that features five of her films. Bouquet would be a familiar face to Bond fans here for her role in the 1981 James Bond movie, For Your Eyes Only. The delegation would also include directors Mathieu Demy of Americano and Rithy Panh of Shiiku, as well as actor Pio Marmaï from A Happy Event and actress Ludivine Sagnier of Swimming Pool fame who acts in the film The Beloved. The audience will have a chance to meet and interact with the members of the delegation during post-screening sessions – something certainly to be excited about! Tickets will be priced at $10 each. A list of films to be shown as well as a synopsis of each film can be found at this page (click here). More information on the festival, ticketing and schedule can be found at the festival’s website www.rendezvouswithfrenchcinema.sg.

A scene from 'A Happy Event'.

Carole Bouquet.

All images courtesy of uniFrance.

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Societe Generale Private Banking 1st Rendezvous With French Cinema is proudly sponsored by Societe Generale Private Banking as Title Sponsor, with Perrier-Jouet as Official Champagne, Swarovski as Official Fashion Sponsor, Air France as Official Airline, Renault as Official Car and Angénieux for Official Film Industry Support. It will be an event of Encore, the European Season and Voilah!. The festival will run from 8 to 13 December 2011. More details about the festival can be found at www.rendezvouswithfrenchcinema.sg.

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Update on Artistic Delegation, 1 Dec 2011:

Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey and Ludivine Sagnier are unable to come down to Singapore for the festival. Gilles Parquet-Brenner would be coming instead.

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Exposing the lotus

An exhibition worth visiting at the Fullerton Hotel’s East Garden Foyer is the Lotus Fantasia Photography Exhibition which features the work of a highly acclaimed photographer from Hong Kong, Dr. Leo K. K. Wong, which was launched on 28 September 2011 and will be on until 23 October 2011. What the exhibition promises the visitor is a captivating display of 20 masterpieces of Dr. Wong’s work in what is his first photography exhibition in Singapore.

The Lotus Fantasia exhibition is on at the Fullerton Hotel up until 23 October 2011.

Viewing the prints on display, one is certain to be taken by the diffusion of soft colours which lend a somewhat dramatic quality to each of the images of lotuses captured in a way where they reflect the essence of the season they were captured in. The images are taken using a multi-exposure technique and telephoto lenses, and are not post-processed in any way. Inspiration for the images is drawn from Chinese ink painting – in which Dr. Wong has a deep interest in (along with other forms of traditional Chinese art), the effect of the technique mimicking brush strokes of Chinese ink painting giving the photographs a ink paiting like quality. On the subject of lotuses, Dr. Wong feels that they “evoke different feelings with seasonal changes, but remain utterly beautiful all the same throughout the year”. He hopes that through the exhibition, the public’s appreciation of the lotus is enhanced.

Autumn Fantasy, 1983.

The exhibtion is held as part of the Fullerton Heritage’s Art in the City Programme. Dr Wong’s works are on sale and has pledged the proceeds of the sale to Beyond Social Services, an organisation which focuses on improving the lives of families and individuals from disadvantaged low-income backgrounds.

Dr Wong autographing his book at the opening.

Bliss, 2009.

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Lotus Fantasia – Photography by Leo K. K. Wong

‘Lotus Fantasia’ features 20 works by veteran photographer Dr Leo KK Wong, who embraces the state-of-the-art multiple exposure and telephoto lens techniques. The works of Dr Wong are both poetic and modernistic with a sublime beauty drawn from Chinese ink painting. The fleeting moments of the lotus in different seasons are meticulously captured in this superb series of photographs.

29 September to 23 October 2011
10am to 7pm
The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, East Garden Foyer

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Be The Change!

An interesting initiative is being launched by a group of 24 young people, ‘Be The Change!’ whose aim is to engage other young Singaporeans in an effort to garner thoughts and ideas that can help shape the future of a Singapore that they want to live, work, learn, play and give in. The 24 have formed a Youth Organising Committee (YOC) which is led by Mr Soh Yi Da, 22, a second year Political Science undergraduate at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and comprises other youth leaders – all volunteers from a wide spectrum of backgrounds whose ages range from 17 to 30, who are keen to drive the effort and take ownership of their future. The initiative is supported by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and will be launched officially at the *SCAPE Warehouse on Saturday (24th September 2011) and will be attended by the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Mr Chan Chun Sing. This was revealed at a pre-launch media briefing that was held at *SCAPE last evening and attended by both members of the mainstream as well as social media as well as other youth leaders.

Mr Soh Yi Da briefing attendees of the Be The Change! pre-launch media session on the initiative.

The briefing was conducted by Mr Soh who provided the background to the initiative and representatives from the YOC and the MCYS formed a panel to answer questions. Be The Change! will over the next seven weeks attempt to engage young Singaporeans through various channels including the social media, directly on the streets and in the heartlands, and through ‘unconferences’ hoping to reach out to different segments of the youth population – working adults, youth leaders, as well as youth outside the mainstream and overseas. What they hope to achieve is a gathering of ideas that youths are able to take ownership on and which can then be developed into projects to shape the future.

Besides the idea collection first phase (Phase 1) which will take place from September to November 2011, which aims to reach out to at least 5000 participants in which feedback is sought under five broad categories – Live, Work, Learn, Play and Give, the initiative will also involve Phase 2 from December 2011 to March 2012 – a four-month period during which five youth workgroups of 25 participants will be formed to analyse ideas and propose a list of recommendations that will be presented to an appointed Steering Committee. During a third phase (Phase 3), from April 2012 onwards, recommendations proposed by the workgroups will be reviewed and it is during this time that youths will spearhead initiatives and engage other youths to follow through on recommendations, exploring how to follow through and support the youths involved in implementation, as well as invite the private sector to review the proposals.

Snapshot of the Be The Change! website.

One of the ideas for engagement introduced during the briefing by Mr Soh was an ‘unconference’ which the official launch on Saturday will feature. The idea of an ‘unconference’ is one in which a meeting is participant driven in which the agenda is developed through the writing and sharing of ideas on clusters of flipcharts as part of a ground up idea generation initiative – very much in line with the ground-up approach the YOC is taking. Mr Soh and the panel were also keen to stress that the entire initiative is very much one that has been initiated independently by the members of the YOC and that the MCYS was there in support of efforts to promote active citizenry.

The Be The Change! registration page.

Young Singaporeans aged between 15 to 35 years old are encouraged to provide feedback – more information can be found on the project’s website www.bethechange.sg, where ideas can also be shared. There is also a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bethechange. Be The Change can also be followed on Twitter at @bethechangesg. Those who wish to participate in discussions and webchats can register at takepart.bethechange.sg. Physical means for feedback will also be provided in the form of Feedback Boxes that can be found at SCAPE and libraries.

Order out of the chaos on Hill Street

The Preservations of Monuments Board (PMB) would be conducting a series of 20 Mounmental Walking Tours of Singapore’s National Monuments in the civic and cultural district during the weekends commencing Saturday 11th June up until the end of July, with an intended aim of bringing history to the whole family. I had the opportunity to have a special preview of the upcoming tours yesterday morning as part of a group yesterday made up of members of the mainstream which was led by Volunteer Guide Ms Jill Wong, during which we were given not just an insight into two of the monuments covered, but also into the background and history of the public institutions that the two monuments were built to house.

The PMB is organising Monumental Walking Tours starting 11th June 2011.

At the starting point of the brief tour, now a pavement outside Funan Centre, which is directly opposite the first of the two monuments we were to cover, the Central Fire Station, we were transported by our guide Jill into a very different Singapore. It was a Singapore of the early years where large gangs of Chinamen with darkened faces had, in the darkness of night, created mischief on the first streets or a new and fast growing colony, taking advantage perhaps of the lack of order that the Singapore of today has come to be known for. It was a Singapore that struggled to cope with the pressures of sudden urbanisation, as the colony grew around the first paved street, High Street, just a stone’s throw away from where we stood, listening to Jill. Indeed, it was a Singapore or “Sin-Galore” as it was known then where chaos had reigned, and one in desperate need for the public institutions that the monuments we were to learn about that morning (the other being the former Hill Street Police Station and now MICA Building), were built to house – hence the name of the tour “Order out of Chaos” from which I borrowed the title of this post.

The Central Fire Station, completed in 1909, features a 110 feet high watchtower which also served as a hose-drying tower.

One of the public institutions that was certainly sorely needed on the congested streets was a fire brigade, which the Central Fire Station was later built to serve. It was only some fifty years after the founding of modern Singapore that the first brigade was formed – a volunteer fire brigade in 1869, developing into a professional outfit close to two decades later. Even with the establishment of a professional force of fire-fighters, the fire brigade was still ill-equipped and ill-prepared to deal with many situations that arose, a fact highlighted by a news article in the 24th September 1890 edition Straits Times (excerpts of which can be found below) relating to a fire on Hock Lam Street – which had once met Hill Street at right angles at the very spot on the pavement on which we stood, which Jill read from. The article makes for interesting reading and in it we are told of a crowd that had gathered to witness a fire that had broken out at a house at No. 8 Hock Lam Street, which, “had the pleasure of watching a fire work its own way without let or hindrance”. What comes out from the article is that it took an hour before water could be doused on the fire, having been delayed partly by the inability of the fire-fighters to locate hydrants on a street just across from where they were based.

Volunteer Guide Ms Jill Wong describing the construction of the Central Fire Station.

The construction of the red and white fire station which was completed in 1909, a National Monument gazetted in December 1998 and the most recognisable in Singapore, represented a change in fortunes of the fire brigade, having being prompted by the arrival of the first professionally trained Superintendent of the Fire Brigade, Montague William Pett from England in 1905. The construction also prompted a modernisation of the brigade’s equipment with motorised fire engines being introduced, which is evident in the various size of exit doors of the station. The station, with its distinctive red and white brick façade, a style often described as “blood and bandages”, also features a 110 feet high watch tower, which when was the tallest structure in the city when it was built, providing a vantage from which a 24 hour watch could then be kept over the city. It also served as a hose drying tower – a feature in many fire stations. The station was later expanded, with a new wing added as well as quarters expanded on land purchased at the corner of Hill Street and Coleman Street from the Chinese Girls’ School which moved to Emerald Hill in the 1920s.

A feature of the pavement outside the Central Fire Station that was explained is that there is no kerb where it meets the road allowing it to be flushed for the passage of emergency vehicles coming out of the station.

The second (and last) stop in the short introductory tour was the former Hill Street Police Station, a six storey Neo-Classical styled building designed by PWD Chief Architect Frank Dorrington Ward completed in 1934, which was also gazetted as a National Monument at the same time as the Central Fire Station. Where the fire station is still used in a function that the building was built for, the Hill Street Police Station is now used by the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts (MICA). The building, when built, was an imposing structure which was described as the “Police Skyscraper” and was in fact the largest structure in Malaya. The building featured two open courtyards (now enclosed by a glass roof) and numerous windows (that one can’t help but notice) that opened to the outside as well as into the courtyards, giving the rooms in the building a airy and bright feel – a feature of Frank Dorrington Ward designed municipal buildings. The structure besides serving a function as a police station, also provided housing to policemen and their families with accommodation for up to a thousand people.

Another, an imposing structure that, at the time of its completion, was the largest man made structure in Malaya.

The once largest structure in Malaya, despite being dwarfed by the modern buildings that have come up in the area, is still pretty imposing.

The once open-air courtyard of the former Hill Street Police Station is now encased by a glass roof.

The construction of the building, built at a cost of $494,000, had in the case of the fire station, heralded a change of fortunes for the force, which started as a police force of 12 men in 1820 who weren’t, we were told, too well paid – a combined monthly salary of some $300 was put together by William Farquhar raised through licensing fee for the sale of opium and liquor. The force had apparently attracted the likes of desperate men, stranded sailors for one, seeking a means to obtain money for a passage home, and was poorly equipped unitl the 1930s when improved funding allowed the force was expanded to some 2000 and modern equipment to be introduced. Our attention was also drawn to a series of wall mounted information panels at the second smaller courtyard which provided some of the history of the building as well as provided insights into how life in the separate quarters for the families of the rank and file and the senior policemen was. All in all it was certainly an hour well spent, allowing me to discover more of the monuments in question and some of the conditions that existed when they were built as well as learning a little more on the history of Singapore. Information on the series of Monumental Walking Tours that the PMB has organised can be found below, as well as on the PMB’s website.

A feature of Frank Dorrington Ward designed buildings is the light and airy feel in interiors ventilated and brightened by generous windows which even in the less colourful days of the building, never goes unnoticed.

The Neo-Classical style is commonly seen in municipal buildings in Singapore and has features such as symmetry, the use of columns and pediments such as is seen over the main entrance of the former Hill Street Police Station.

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PMB Media Release:

LEARN ABOUT HISTORY THE MONUMENTAL WAY
Monumental Walking Tours and My Monumental Playground offer fun for the whole family

7 June 2011 – History comes alive for the whole family as the Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) launches 20 new Monumental Walking Tours of Singapore’s National Monuments in the civic and cultural district and My Monumental Playground at the Esplanade Park Memorials.

Monumental Walking Tours
Presented with distinct storylines and unique perspectives, Monumental Walking Tours cast our National Monuments in a new light, weaving in stories of Singapore’s diverse immigrant communities. The 20 tours, conducted in English, will be introduced each weekend from 11 June to end July. Along with two existing tours, these will form PMB’s stable of Monumental Walking Tours which will be offered weekly for the rest of the year. Leading the tours are PMB’s adult Volunteer Guides and student Monument Ambassadors who have a strong background and interest in heritage. For the month of June, the Monumental Walking Tours will be available at a special rate of $5 per adult and will feature colonial buildings such as The Arts House and Peranakan Museum.

My Monumental Playground
Specially planned for the little ones, My Monumental Playground will reveal little-known facts about the Esplanade Memorials through storytelling sessions, silent precision drill performances, a treasure hunt and more. Held on 11 and 12 June, this event is part of Children’s Season 2011. Through these exciting events, PMB hopes to develop greater public interest and appreciation for Singapore’s 64 National Monuments. More information on the upcoming events can be found Annexes, and members of the public can refer to www.pmb.sg.

PMB Monumental Walking Tour and My Monumental Playground Programmes:

Administrative Information

Monumental Walking Tour Programme 11th – 12th June 2011

Monumental Walking Tour Programme 18th – 26th June 2011

Monumental Walking Tour Programme to be released in July 2011

My Monumental Playground

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Excerpts from the article “Fire on Hocklam Street” from the 24th September 1890 edition of the Straits Times:

“About 9.30 p.m. a fire began in a house No. 8 Hocklam Street, and a crowd immediately commenced to gather and found that they had the pleasure of watching a fire work its own way without let or hindrance. Very soon Chief Inspector Jennings arrived, and pending the arrival of the fire engines did all he could, i.e. watched the crowd. At 10 o’clock the fire had obtained complete possession of the house, and the flames lapped round the casements, and mounted high into the air illuminating the whole town”.

The article goes on to describe how the crowd had admired the uniform of the superintendent as he watched on horseback as the fire made its progress, with water arriving only an hour after the fire by which time No. 8 and 9 were “completely gutted” and added that the “organisation did not know where the nearest hydrants were situated” in spite of the “barracks of the Fire Brigade” being “in the same street as, and exactly opposite to, the burnt houses”.

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A meeting of past and present

There was a time when Singapore might have been seen as the Hollywood of the region. That was when our tiny island had boasted of not one, but two highly successful studios in the form of the Shaw Malay Film Productions (MFP) at Jalan Ampas, and the Cathay Keris studios in the East Coast. During that time, over 300 films had been produced between the two studios over a golden age of filmmaking which spanned the end of the 1940s to the early 1960s. The success of the two studios had indeed been phenomenal, not just in producing movies which audiences gladly took too, but also in the development of talent and it was during this era that the career of the great P. Ramlee’s came to the fore. The industry saw a decline in the 1960s, due to the rapid changes in market forces that came with the introduction of television and also with the Indonesian Confrontation, and subsequently the separation of Singapore from Malaysia in the mid 1960s. It was with the latter that the industries on both sides of the Causeway developed very much on their own and it has only been now that we are seeing a renaissance of sorts in the industries on both sides.

The present meets the past .... from left to right: Datuk Aziz Sattar, Najip Ali, Dato' Mustapha Maarof, Jack Neo.

Singapore has in the last decade or so, seen a growing emphasis on developing and nurturing young talent. Filmmaking courses are now available at the polytechnics and at Nanyang Technological University. The setting up of the Singapore Film Commission which aims to promote the industry and to support the new and up coming filmmakers was a step in the right direction and all this has certainly paid dividends as we now see the emergence of young talents such as Royston Tan, and more recently, Boo Junfeng, whose feature Sandcastle became in 2010 the first Singapore film to premier at Cannes. Across the Causeway, the Malaysia National Film Development Corporation (FINAS) has spearheaded development from as far back as 1981. Set up with the aim to promote, maintain, and facilitate film production development in Malaysia. The last decade has also seen a revival in the fortunes of the filmmaking industry there and many young talents have emerged, including the award winning actor, director and producer Syamsul Yusof.

Award winning director, producer and actor, Syamsul Yusof, who would be performing at the Gala Event.

The time is perhaps right with the developments in filmmaking to attempt to bring the resources of the two sides together to combine the small pool of talent that is emerging and also to perhaps enable filmmakers of both sides to reach out to markets on the other side and perhaps to the wider region. This possibility was discussed during a dialogue session held in conjunction with the Seri Temasek Gala Event to be held at the Fairmont Hotel in Singapore on 5 Feb 2011. The Gala Event would feature an award presentation ceremony which will honour the legends of the silver screen from the golden age, as well as the personalities of today’s industry from both Malaysia and Singapore. In doing so, the main supporters of the event, FINAS and Majlis Pusat Singapura, aims to bring together the present and future of filmmaking with the past from both countries in an effort to promote cooperation between the two.

A dialogue session was held in conjunction with the Seri Temasek 2011 Awards.

During the dialogue session which featured local personalities Najip Ali and Jack Neo, as well as some of the greats of the golden era which included Dato’ Mustapha Maarof, Datuk Aziz Sattar, Nona Asiah and the Jerry Lewis of Malaya, Wahid Satay, this possibility was discussed and on the basis of the response of the speakers, there seems to be a strong possibility that further dialogue would be promoted. Among those in favour of this was Najip Ali who felt that it was important for the development of the two sides to foster cooperation and he felt that filmmakers in Singapore, lack a link to the history of its filmmaking which can be provided by the greats who are still very much involved in Malaysia.

Najip Ali and Jack Neo during the dialogue session. Jack was apparently Najip's officer during National Service.

Dato' Mustapha Maarof.

A representative from FINAS, Ms Siti Suhada, speaking during the dialogue session.

The Gala Event would feature performances by International Diva, Anita Sarawak, Ning Baizura, Fredo of Flybaits, Sarah Aqilah, Didi Cazli, Rudy Djoharnean, Syamsul Yusof, R. Ismail and Rozita Rohaizad. Hosts for the event are Ogy Ahmad Daud and A. B. Shaik. An exhibition on the history of Malay Film would also be held at the Fairmont Hotel on 5 Feb 2011 in conjunction with the event, which will be opened to the public (admission is free) from 1 to 5 pm.

Abdul Wahid bin Ahmad, who made an impression in his first role as a satay seller in the Cathay Keris produced Pontianak so much so that he came to be known by his stage name Wahid Satay. He started work with Cathay Keris as a set artist and later had audiences in stitches as a comedian and came also to be referred to as the Jerry Lewis of Malaya.

Nona Asiah, who started in the 1940s and performed alongside the legendary P. Ramlee, taking her leave.

Yesterday once more: The Green Hornet

My first encounters with the masked superhero wannabe, the Green Hornet, and his trusty (and more able) sidekick Kato, had been during a re-run of the 1960s television series which starred Van Williams as the title character, and non other than the still popular Bruce Lee, as Kato and accompanied by a jazzed up version of The Flight of the Bumblebee. The re-runs that I could remember catching were screened over 1979 and 1980, on Tuesday evenings at 7, during a time when I was completing my secondary schooling, when I should really have been distracted by the preparations that I needed to make for the finishing examinations, then by the antics of the two masked men over half an hours of evening television, once a week before the Malay news came on.

There was actually a lot more to distract us during those days, despite the apparent lack of gadgetry and the wired-up world that keeps our young connected these days. It was exciting times brought about by gyrations inspired by the falsettos of Bee Gees and John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and with Michael Jackson going Off The Wall, amongst other things, as bell bottoms and butterfly collars gave way to pleated pants. It was a time when perhaps the childhood fascination with the superheroes in tights had waned to the extent that the die-cast Batmobile that I had held on to since I was five, with it’s paintwork chipped and damaged from the many occasions that it answered the call of duty in its many years of service it provided, went out with the trash (I now wish I had kept it). Despite that, the Green Hornet, when it remade an appearance, somehow drew us schoolboys to it. Perhaps it was it chance to watch the exploits of a Bruce Lee that had remained a cult hero to many of us, in a language that wasn’t alien to many of my friends, or perhaps it was it cool 1965 Chrysler Imperial known as the Black Beauty that caught our attention, but it had an effect on us that was similar to watching Erik Estrada in CHiPs, so much so that it often came up as a hot topic of conversation on the long bus journeys that we took to school.

I got to re-live my youth watching the Green Hornet courtesy of Domino's Pizza. I was an avid follower of the re-run of the television series screened on Tuesdays at 7pm in 1979 and 1980.

With that in mind, I approached a preview of the newly released remake of the Green Hornet in 3D, courtesy of Domino’s Pizza, with a bit of hesitation. This time around, the Green Hornet had at his disposal, not just a few clones of the Black Beauty, but with a garage full of cool automobiles that would have any one watching drooling, not that the female lead Cameron Diaz, who plays Lenore Case the secretary to the lead character, Britt Reid, a.k.a. the Green Hornet, wouldn’t. In this version, we do not just have the marvels of technology to keep our eyes glued to the screen, but also the silliness of Britt Reid’s character played by Seth Rogen and also of the bad guy, Chudnowsky (Christoph Waltz) who comes across as one who is as much as an narcissistic egomaniac as Britt Reid is, adding to the amusement. My favourite character in the 1960s television series, Kato, is played by the sullen Jay Chou, who somehow seems to mumble through some of his lines with good effect. Overall, watching it in 3D doesn’t seem to have made the experience any more spectacular, even with the generous dose of destruction that the audience is provided with, and I didn’t really think that Seth Rogen did justice to the character, but I guess audiences would still be drawn to the kick-the-bad-guy’s-ass theme, the car-chases to which Kato puts the accessories of the Black Beauty to good use, and the glass breaking and explosive sequences that is always popular with audiences. However, despite having reservations about Seth Rogen portrayal of of the masked Superhero wannabe and the lack of the spectacular, I must admit that not only I wasn’t disappointed with Green Hornet 3D, I did actually enjoy watching it as much as I did the television series.

Bringing the film industries of Malaysia and Singapore back together

A press conference was held at the Holiday Villa, Subang Jaya on Tuesday to introduce the Seri Temasek 2011 Gala Event to media present from both sides of the Causeway. The event which aims to bring together members of the movie making industry on both sides of the Causeway in honour of the contributions made by eminent members of the industry, particularly those from the heyday of the Malay film making which had its humble beginnings in Singapore at the Jalan Ampas Shaw Malay Film Productions and also at the Cathay Keris Studios. It was at Jalan Ampas that the career of the legendary late Tan Sri Datuk Dr. P. Ramlee, as well as the careers of many other household names of Malay film were launched and awards would be given on the night to honour many connected with this.

Hanns Rawee and Dato' Mustapha Maarof having a look at the Seri Temasek award.

The press conference for Seri Temasek 2011 was held at Subang Jaya.

The event was mooted by parties from both Malaysia and Singapore, and has the support of FINAS (Malaysia National Film Development) in collaboration with Majlis Pusat Singapura and Hanns Entertainment. Among those present at the press conference were members of the Executive Committee, which includes Dato’ Mustapha Maarof, the Overall Advisor, who started his career as an actor and is the owner of Warna Motion Pictures; as well as Encik Zulkifli Mohammed, the Advisor from Majlis Pusat Singapura; Hans Rawee, the Chairman from Hann’s Entertainment; Nasir Aman, the Deputy Chairman from Majlis Pusat Singapura; Hj. Mohd Zulkifli Ab. Wahab, who is the Deputy Director, FINAS; and Senator Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Jins Shamsudin, who made his name as Malay Film’s very own James Bond, Jefri Zain in the 1960s and who had the good fortune of working with the great P. Ramlee. Among those in the audience during the press conference was the young award winning Director, Producer and Actor, Syamsul Yusof, who was named as Best Director at the 23rd Malaysian Film Festival in October for his film Evolusi KL Drift 2. Syamsul Yusof would be performing at the Gala Event, along with personalities such as International Diva, Anita Sarawak, Ning Baizura, Fredo of Flybaits, Sarah Aqilah, Didi Cazli, Rudy Djoharnean, Syamsul Yusof, R. Ismail and Rozita Rohaizad. Hosts for the event are Ogy Ahmad Daud and A. B. Shaik. Individual tickets for the night to be held at the Fairmont Hotel in Singapore are available at S$100 and include an 8 course dinner. For more information on the event, please click on this link. For information on sponsorship opportunities, please click on this link.

The Seri Temasek Award will be given to 35 individuals to recognise their contribution to Malay film.

Among those present was Senator Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Jins Shamsudin who worked with the great P. Ramlee.

Hj. Mohd Zulkifli Ab. Wahab Deputy Director, FINAS (Malaysia National Film Development).

Dato' Mustapha Maarof speaking to television reporters.

Mohd Yusof Ahmad (left) from Hann's Entertainment, and Datuk Aziz Sattar, the Programme Advisor.

Unveiling the Seri Temasek Award.

Among those present was award winning director, producer and actor, Syamsul Yusof, who would be performing at the Gala Event.

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December 28, 2010 22:12 PM

Seri Temasek Awards To Honour Malaysia, Singapore’s Actors And Actresses

SUBANG JAYA, Dec 28 (Bernama) — The Malaysia National Film Development Corporation (Finas) with the cooperation of the Central Council of Malay Cultural Organisations Singapore and Hann’s Entertainment will be organising the Seri Temasek Award 2011 presentation to honour and recognise the contributions made by actors and actresses of the two neighbouring countries.

The award-presentation, to be held for the first time, will take place at Fairmont Hotel, Singapore on Feb 5.

Seri Temasek Award adviser Datuk Mustapha Ma’arof said it was aimed at promoting the continuity of the Malay film industry which had its beginnings in Singapore and also to remember the contributions of the Malay film legends, many of whom were born in the island republic.

“Many of the movie legends in Malaysia started their acting career in Singapore where they learnt a lot and entertained the people through the silver screen.

“This awards presentation is indeed closely related and is significant to the history of the Malay film industry, which was particularly active in the 1950′s until the 1960′s,” he told a news conference on Tuesday.

Also present were Finas deputy director-general Mohd Zulkifli Ab. Wahab, Singapore’s Central Council of Malay Cultural Organisations president Zulkifli Mohammed and director of Hann’s Entertainment, Hans Rawee.

Mustapha said 35 individuals would receive the awards in various categories, including the Anugerah Lagenda Seri Temasek, Anugerah Pencapaian Seri Temasek and Anugerah Khas Seri Temasek.

Meanwhile, Mohd Zulkifli said the holding of the awards presentation in Singapore was apt and in tandem with the government’s effort to enhance Malaysia-Singapore cooperation in various fields, including the film industry.

He said besides fostering closer relations between the two countries, it was hoped the event would also encourage Singaporeans to watch Malaysian films, hence promoting this country more effectively.

– BERNAMA

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Bringing back the Golden Age of Singapore’s Movie Industry

On 5 February 2011, stars and those who gave Singapore a Golden Age in movie making, will be making a homecoming, coming together with a host of stars and prominent persons involved in the film and entertainment industry of today in a Gala Event, Seri Temasek 2011.

The event which is being organised for the first time, will also bring together ministers, diplomats, entrepreneurs, business leaders and movie directors from both sides of the Causeway, in a tribute to the legendary and extraordinary P. Ramlee, who lighted up the entertainment scene during the Golden Age, as well as many more household names and those behind the scenes of the Golden Era of Malay Film-making. The highlights of the event would be an award ceremony in which many of those involved in bringing us the Golden Age would be honoured and the host of the stars of today who would be performing on stage.

Among the stars that would be entertaining the audience would be our very own International Diva, none other than the ever effervescent Anita Sarawak, who is herself, the daughter of one of the greats of the Golden Age, Siput Sarawak, as well as the likes of Sarah Aqilah, Didi Cazli and many more.

The event is a collaborative effort of Majlis Pusat Singapura and Hann’s Entertainment, and has the support of FINAS (Malaysia National Film Development). Besides the promotion of Malay film, the event also aims to forge links between interested parties across the wider film making industry in Singapore and Malaysia with invitations being sent to other prominent directors and producers.

The event team in bringing Seri Temasek 2011 to us has also the opportunity to work with an advisor, an expert and a popular figure in the Malay Film industry in Malaysia and Singapore, Dato’ Mustapha Maarof, who has been pivotal in the conceptualisation of the set up for the event.

Dato' Mustapha Maarof with his excellent credentials is a valuable advisor to the organising team for Seri Temasek 2011.

For the public, tickets are available for the event from the organisers. The event which will be held at the Fairmont Hotel, will include an 8 course dinner. The organisers are also offering premium tables, which will be going at S$5000. The tables will be hosted by special guests from Malaysia and Singapore, is close to the stage area, and besides being up close and personal to the stars on stage, would also offer the opportunity to guests at the tables to mingle and have photographs taken with the artistes of the past and present.

Corporations that purchase premium S$5000 tables would also be provided with an opportunity to have a one page advertisement placed in the souvenir magazine which will have a readership reach of 40,000 in Singapore and Malaysia.

The setting for Seri Temasek 2011, the Grand Ballroom at the Fairmont.

The organisers are also extending opportunities for direct corporate sponsorship of the event. As a sponsor, corporations can not only build enterprise relationships within the 850 guests-in-attendance, but also have access to other sponsors, diplomats and entrepreneurs of Singapore and Malaysia through a private cocktail party and be provided with a opportunity to showcase the corporation’s products and services at a Gallery showcase at the event hall with a booth space measuring 3 metres by 1 metre. For sponsorship matters, please contact Mr Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman at 98604508 or by email.

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A Note From Seri Temasek Committee

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation for all the support and encouragement given to organise and manage this momentous event Seri Temasek Gala Dinner 2011, to be the first and one of its kind in Singapore.

Seri Temasek is conceptualised and organised with a main reason to credit film makers, actors/actresses, scriptwriters and star performers for their dedication and perseverance from the Golden era till today. The success stories and achievements of the late P Ramlee is the main motivator that led to the birth of this event, as we appreciate and honour the commitment of today’s artists that have attained great achievements in the film and entertainment industry.

We would also like to record a special thank to Cathay Keris and Shaw Brothers as organisations that have created opportunities and the ground to develop, nurture and grow talents since 1930s. It is with their support, Malay professional actors/actresses, singers and star performers such as the famous legendary Tan Sri Datuk Dr P.Ramlee, Biduanita Saloma, Jamil Sulong, Datuk Aziz Sattar, Dato’ Mustapha Maarof, Senator Datuk Tan Sri Dr Jins Shamsudin, S. Samsudin and many more whose names have been etched in the hearts of many.

In the 6-months of the planning for Seri Temasek, the team had stumbled upon many obstacles. It was truly a challenging experience. However, with the stewardship of Dato’ Mustapha Maarof as our advisor, we are able to withstand the challenges and surge ahead with confidence. We believe that the event will definitely take on a magnificent setting.

Seri Temasek, the first of its kind offers a unique disposition to sponsors. The event will be an annual event as a key platform, to motivate, commemorate and honour the works of artists, star performers and film activists in their strive to plug the Malay film industry into the global grid. This will be key platform to strengthen the relations of the two countries, expanding the outreach further.

It is on this note, we seek your greatest support and generosity to participate in this event as a sponsor and leverage on the many opportunities that the event can offer.

With this, we thank you in advance for your kind support. The event will be made successful. And together with you, we set the stage for Anugerah Seri Temasek 2011!

Thank you.

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