Open hearts, open minds, open spaces.
The O.P.E.N. is ultimately concerned with creating a sustainable ecosystem of the arts in Singapore. Singapore International Festival of Arts proposes to move beyond sheer consumerism in the arts, with its trend of ‘use and throw’. Instead we hope to transform the cultural landscape of Singapore by encouraging audience ownership of ideas, issues and themes, four weeks before the Festival opens on 12 August 2014.
Too often, an arts festival is a U.F.O. which descends on the city and then leaves as suddenly as it arrives. The O.P.E.N. hopes to create an atmosphere, a climate which will welcome the Festival and persist thereafter.
We have invited both Singapore and international connectors who will connect the legacy of the 20th century to you. Apartheid, one of the horrors of the 20th century which is still being vanquished through activism in South Africa (legacies of violence), and the internet/digitisation which transformed our lives in that same century (digital legacies), hold pride of place in this year's O.P.E.N. Gene profiteering continues to threaten our future (legacies of science). The central proposition of SIFA 2014 is that the avant garde of the 20th century from 1960s-70s has become the new, expanded classic of our 21st century (iconic legacies). Finally The O.P.E.N. puts at the centrestage the human individual who can possibly transform the future (personal legacies).
Finally I would like to give my personal thanks on behalf of SIFA to Zanele Muholi, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Simon Castets, and Noorlinah Mohamed for sharing central ideas, issues and themes. A grateful thank you to Korea Arts Management Services (KAMS) and Prince Claus Foundation. The O.P.E.N. could not have happened without Tan Bee Thiam (curator of films), Ho Rui An (curator of 89plus panels), Teo Swee Leng (film traffic), Tay Tong who coordinated all and sundry, Fred Frumberg our fastidious production director, The O.P.E.N. team of Benedict Leong, Tan Kheng Hua, Noorlinah Mohamed, and all who have given their generous energies to realise The O.P.E.N. (26
June - 12 July 2014).
– Ong Keng Sen (Festival Director)
(Source: Arts House Limited Programme)