Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) 2017 welcomes Kronos Quartet, who return to Singapore after two decades. It harnesses media and connectivity in the global village slightly differently with Dries Verhoeven’s Guilty Landscapes III. Pure presence in a conflation of time and space, the future of dance with Van Cleef & Arpels - these are all explored.
This year, we become enchanted by new journeys with Singapore literature and Singapore film, proposing myriad performance forms. When our team reinvented Singapore Arts Festival into SIFA in 2014, there was no Mandarin theatre production in our line-up. Fittingly, we bid farewell in 2017 with the novel of Cultural Medallion recipient Yeng Pway Ngon adapted for the stage by Nelson Chia, Mia Chee and their Mandarin Nine Years Theatre. Our invitation to O.P.E.N. Inspiration Kamal Mouzawak has sparked off a delicious trajectory with O.P.E.N. Kitchens. For the first time, our O.P.E.N. Inspiration ramifies and takes root here. SIFA 2017 embarks on a food trail in Singapore, continuing the inspiration of Mouzawak, a mighty social innovator and culinary activist.
Most of all, SIFA 2017 lays the foundation for a biennale of Singapore expressions. It continues where SIFA 2015 (marking Singapore’s 50° anniversary of independence) left off by commissioning 14 Singapore art projects, by artists and non-artists, and two ambitious international-Singapore collaborations.
The commissions range from graphic novelist Sonny Liew to theatre company Pangdemonium directed by Tracie Pang; from auteur K. Rajagopal (film) to Institute Of Critical Zoologists (visual arts); from artist/writer Ho Rui An (first invited to SIFA 2014), who returns to curate a series of works from his peers, to Philippines film director Lav Diaz and the singers of National Theatre Of Korea; from ‘ordinary’ residents Anthea Ong to Isabelle Desjeux of Open Homes; and from home cooks with the Mystyle Malay cuisine of Amy Tashiana to herb advocate Sylvia Tan and Anita Kapoor thinking of Mumbai. Hopefully, some of these projects will become milestones for Singapore expressions in the years to come.
Art introduces us to other realities. It also excavates public disappearances and breathes different multiple dreams. I hope to discover my ethics not in a culture of fear but in a culture of empathy to difference. How often have I heard in Singapore, “What to do? It’s not going to happen...” Let’s set aside apathy, self-pity and believe that we can still connect to things that matter. Let's be recharged — each of us - to make a small difference. The works in the SIFA 2017 ENCHANTMENT edition take us away from cynicism to laughter, wit, compassion and generosity.
Finally, a big thank you to our SIFA 2017 team without whom none of my dreams can be realised. For these four editions that I have had the privilege to pioneer, I especially want to express my gratitude to Tay Tong, Noorlinah Mohamed, Teo Swee Leng, Tan Bee Thiam, Jeremiah Choy, Chan Silei, Andy Lim, James Tay, Norhanim Mohamed Tayib, Denyse Yeo, Yvette Ng, Zaihan Kariyani and many more whose names will fill this entire guide.
– Ong Keng Sen (Founding Festival Director)
(Source: Arts House Limited Programme)