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BIPAM Tables
Wednesday March 22nd
Table 20’s #1
“Independent Producers in Singapore”
15:00 - 15:20
Speaker: Cui Yin Mok
Producers SG is a community network for independent producers, arts managers, and artists in Singapore. Through our events and digital resources, we connect local and international producers and practitioners to build a community of practice. This session will introduce some of the activities of Producers SG, including the Tumpang Fellowship, a travel fellowship for early-career producers. You will also hear from/about our Tumpang Fellows as well as other indie producers and collectives in contemporary performance, music, dance, community-engaged projects, and more. If you are an independent producer, you can also take this opportunity to sign up and be listed on our Producers Directory, an online database of independent arts producers and managers working in and across Singapore and the Southeast Asian region. Suitable for those who have questions about and interest in exploring international collaborations or projects with Singapore, especially with independent producers and practitioners! _____________________ Representing organisation: “Producers SG” Producers SG is a community network for independent producers, arts managers, and self-producing artists / artist-producers in Singapore. Being indie can be lonely, but we believe it doesn’t have to be! Our events and activities function as a meeting point for Singapore-based and international practitioners, producers, and artists, seeding exchanges and conversations, and providing a space for peer support, resource sharing, and capability development. As a community of practice, we also create, gather, and share resources to help practitioners in the independent sector work better, such as a monthly newsletter listing funding and work opportunities, and the Producers Directory - a digital directory featuring independent producers from Singapore and the region. Since 2017, we have organised/presented over 40 Producers Socials, Producing Clinics, international networking events, and workshops, including a six-month Producers Lab titled “What if we do it this way?”, and our inaugural travel fellowship, the Tumpang Fellowship, for early-career producers who will participate in BIPAM and APP Camp in Thailand in 2023.
Table 20’s #2
Exploring the Co-Existence of Digital and Live Theatre: The Rise of Digital Theatre
15:30 - 15:50
Speaker:
Dennis Lee / Kevin Teh / Soh Chong Hong
Delve into the exciting world of digital theatre and how it's transforming the performing arts industry. Discover how CloudJoi is blending the traditional elements of live theatre with cutting-edge technology to create a unique and immersive experience for audiences. Discover the challenges and opportunities this hybrid form of entertainment presents for Malaysia and Taiwan, and discuss what it means for performing arts to be at the intersection of technology and the arts. _____________________ Representing organisation “CloudJoi” CloudJoi is a platform that merges technology and the arts, creating a central hub for on-ground, online, and on-demand shows. Their digital ticketing engine streamlines transactions for both online and on-ground events, and their digital venue enables interactive live online streaming. CloudJoi also offers a social platform for theatre practitioners and audiences to connect, fostering a sense of community. As a company dedicated to the arts, CloudJoi understands the unique needs of performance makers. They aim to provide a consolidated platform that caters to these needs, ensuring convenience, accessibility, and connection for all involved in the world of theatre and the arts. Through their innovative approach, CloudJoi is making strides in bridging the gap between technology and the arts.
Table 20’s #3
(Asian) Dramaturgs' Network: Sensing, Complexity, Tracing and Doing
16:00 - 16:20
Speaker:
Ma Yanling (Company Manager, Centre 42)
The Asian Dramaturgs' Network (ADN) was formed in 2016 with the intent of mapping and networking the region's dramaturgical experience and knowledge. Later this year, ADN will be launching its first publication “(Asian) Dramaturgs’ Network: Sensing, Complexity, Tracing and Doing”. Comprising edited papers, essays, interviews, case studies and documentation, this book gathers the histories, findings and futures of ADN and posits the future of dramaturgy in and for theatre in the region. This table session provides a sneak preview into the book, and invites discussion about future collaborations with ADN. If you're a performing arts dramaturg, practitioner, educator or student, this book will be a useful resource for you. We will be taking pre-sales orders specially for BIPAM attendees. _____________________ Speaker: “Ma Yanling (Company Manager, Centre 42)” Ma Yanling is a performer and arts manager based in Singapore. She is the Company Manager at Centre 42, a local theatre development space. Since its establishment in 2014, Yanling has steered and produced many of its artist residencies and platforms for new writing and dramaturgy development. She continues to lead the administration and facilitation of the Asian Dramaturgs’ Network’s operations. As a contemporary dance performer, she has most recently co-created "Remotes X Quantum" commissioned by the Singapore International Festival of Arts in 2022.
Table 20’s #4
Western Edge: Championing the voices of young artists (Australia)
16:30 - 16:50
Speaker:
John Marc Desengano (Co-Artistic Director) / Penny Harpham (CEO ) / Kim Suree Williamson (Development Manager)
Western Edge Youth Arts is the only theatre company working with young emerging artists across the large western region of Melbourne, one of the most culturally diverse and fastest growing areas in Australia. They centre the voices, expertise and intersectional lived experience of young people, who are at the forefront of innovation and reform in the arts sector. Western Edge’s Co-Artistic Director John Marc Desengano, CEO Penny Harpham and Development Manager Kim Williamson will discuss their dynamic theatre practice, grounded in community engagement, co-design and collaborative leadership. They will discuss how they build a thriving community of young artistic and cultural leaders, with the goal of shifting the culture of theatre making in Australia and creating a radically engaged next generation of theatre makers. _____________________ Speakers: John Marc Desengano (Co-Artistic Director) Penny Harpham (CEO ) Kim Suree Williamson (Development Manager)
Thursday March 23rd
Table 40’s #1
Asia Playwrights Meeting: FUTURA
10:00 - 10:40
Speaker: B.M. Anggana
After organizing the Asia Playwrights Meeting in 2019, we want to explore the possibilities to organize the second edition of the Asia Playwrights Meeting this year. The aim of the meeting is to map the development of theatre in Asia and especially in South East Asia. We already know the fact that there is tension between traditional performing arts and modern theatre, introduced in the time of colonialism all over Asia. This year we want to propose a theme that is exploring the idea of “rupture and continuation” in the development of Asian modern theatre, through the development of theatre plays in the region. The theme we want to propose is “Futura”, a theme that we once used in our festival many years ago. We want to invite other Asian countries to look back at their theatre development, by introducing the theatre makers and their works that change the development of theatre in their country. _____________________ Speaker: “B.M. Anggana” B.M. Anggana is a theatre artist and art producer. Founder, director & playwright of Komunitas Sakatoya, a collective that focuses on arts management and ecological theatrical works. Together with Sakatoya, his works have been performed on various platforms such as Pesta Boneka (2018), Connecting Through Culture-British Council (2021), and Musim Seni, Salihara Art Centre (2022). In 2019, he was appointed as the Program Director at the Indonesia Dramatic Reading Festival and in 2020 he was appointed as the Performance Curator at ARTJOG. In 2020, he achieved the Professional Development Training – Management Production at Art Center Melbourne, fully funded by the Australian Council of the Art. Currently, as a producer, he is completing a feature film Monisme, the film about Mount Merapi, directed by Riar Rizaldi, which received support from various international parties such as Purin Pictures Production & Post-pro Grant, Hubert Bals Fund IFF Rotterdam, SGIFF Tan Ean Kiam Foundation and Doha Film Institute Qatar.
Table 40’s #2
Is Puppetry relevant?
11:00 - 11:40
Speaker: Ellison Tan Yuyang
The Finger Players was founded in 1999, and has seen a change of leadership and strategies to maintain relevance of puppetry within the Singapore arts context. But despite that, there is still lacklustre support and interest. This table aims to collectively brainstorm and share about inspiring and exciting ways of maintaining relevance for puppetry in the region.
Table 40’s #3
Decolonization of Cultural Management: Prospects and Challenges
15:30 - 16:10
Speaker: Renan Laru-an / Hubert Gromny
What are the practical implications of an organizational commitment to decolonize management? From this question, Renan Laru-an, the new artistic director of SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin, will discuss how this vision translates into the day-to-day operations of an artistic institution, in the development of curatorial and research programs, and in cultivating non-capitalist strategies of collaboration. Laru-an will draw references from other conditions and contexts of production, administration and management, in which artists, curators, and cultural workers are the protagonists, in order to reinforce the intertwined relationships of intellectual, managerial and curatorial tasks in sustaining “a laboratory of form-ideas” and an ecology of practices. Can an art organization embody decolonization? He will open the discussion to the participants together with SAVVY member Hubert Gromny. _____________________ Speakers: Renan Laru-an Hubert Gromny
Friday March 24th
Table 40’s #3
Touring Southeast Asian Work
10:00 - 10:40
Speaker: Shridar Mani / Fezhah Maznan
As post-pandemic travel resumes and opportunities for travel open up, there is an increasing need for us to actively prioritize the touring and sharing of Southeast Asian work to a globalized market so that work made in the region has a longer lifeline than the short production runs that we can afford but that we pour enormous resources into. This table explores ways in which we can build and sustain better ecosystems, infrastructures and networks for touring Southeast Asian made work, and to share ways in which The Public Space and Bahri & Co. from Singapore are seeding a centralized Southeast Asian touring platform. _____________________ Speakers: “Shridar Mani” Shridar Mani has spent the past decade working as a programmer and producer with large cultural institutions, independent artists and arts groups to create, produce and present multi-disciplinary work in Singapore with a strong focus on music, opera, literary arts and dance. His current programming focus centers on bringing to light socio-cultural issues by re-thinking traditional forms and modes of presentation within the framework of contemporary artistic practice, and putting art forms and practices in dialogue with each other to build and sustain stronger artistic communities in Singapore. “Fezhah Maznan” Fezhah is a creative producer and performance dramaturg based in Singapore. Her creative vision centres on the contemporisation of traditional art forms, development of new artistic languages, and growing of audiences around the artists she works for. Her experience is diverse and international. She has managed and produced shows of varied formats both locally and internationally, programmed and led cutting edge commissioned works in both art centres and international festivals, and conceptualised and produced platforms for the development of emerging choreographers and directors of minority groups in Mexico and Singapore. Her networks span across Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe and the Americas.
Table 40’s #4
Models for International Collaboration and Partnership within Asia in Experimental and Multidisciplinary Performing Arts
11:00 - 11:40
Speaker: Yuko Takeda / Yoko Kawasaki
What are new or interesting ways to create international collaborations and partnerships within Asia that focus on experimental and boundary pushing forms of performing arts? How can this be done fairly and in innovative ways when the resources available to artists, independent organizations and public institutions are different depending on the context? While looking at existing examples (such as a project by Transfield Studio, which seeks collaboration with Asian organizations and artists, and a number of projects carried out at annual festival Kyoto Experiment) this session is open to those who would like to talk about potential ideas and projects for the future. _____________________ Speakers: “Yuko Takeda” Performing arts producer Yuko Takeda previously worked for Festival/Tokyo as a Public Relations staff member (2016) and as Production Coordinator (2017-19). Since 2017, she curated, invited, and co-produced the “Asia Series” programs for the festival. Through these experiences, she deepens exchanges with Asian artists and producers. From 2020 to 2021, Yuko worked at West Kowloon Cultural District (Hong Kong) as a fellowship of Overseas Study for Upcoming Artists sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (Government of Japan). In 2022, she was a chief production coordinator for “Tokyo Festival 2022 FT label”. Now Yuko is a producer/researcher for the artist duo Transfield Studio and architect Rick Yamakawa. She also works on international productions as a manager. She takes an interest in creative works that transcend all borders and genres. “Yoko Kawasaki” Born in 1982 in Mie. After graduating from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in German in 2006, she studied at The Free University of Berlin. She then worked at CAN Inc. and as an Art Coordinator for Kyoto Art Center from 2011-2014. From 2014 to 2015 she was a fellow for the Program of Overseas Study by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan and studied at HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Berlin. In recent years she has produced for Yasuko Yokoshi, Kaori Seki Co. PUNCTUMUN, as well as been production coordinator for Okazaki Art Theatre and Uthis Haemamool x Toshiki Okada x Yuya Tsukahara’s Pratthana – A Portrait of Possession produced by the company precog. Also involved in the production coordination of the TPAM Direction Program. In 2018, she co-curated The Instrument Builders Project Kyoto – Circulating Echo. She has been involved as production coordinator at Kyoto Experiment since 2011 and managed many international projects.
Table 20’s #5
Dance Education & Culture in Myanmar
15:00 - 15:20
Speaker: Khin Mon Thu
I will talk about teaching dance experiences in Myanmar and introduce the Myanmar Dance Community. The Myanmar Dance community needs to run faster, why? Because of our culture, it runs slowly. Yes, it is one of the reasons. We were growing quite fast between 2017 and 2020. We had many dance events, competitions, and battles. Surviving in Myanmar as a dancer is not easy. Running a dance studio is even harder. Especially in these years with unstable situations in Myanmar, it is unfortunate to see how some dancers depart from the community for their families and for the country. But we, the dancers, keep hanging on to our dreams and try our best to survive because we love to dance. It is the only happiness and one of the reasons that would keep us moving forward, giving us the motivation to live and the energy to survive. Presentation outline: - Self Introduction & Teaching experience - Myanmar (street dance, international) Dance culture and parents' control - Current Dance Education in Myanmar - Future Plans for the community and young generation _____________________ Representing organisation: “dwM Dance Academy Myanmar” Speaker: “Khin Mon Thu” Khin (choreographer, teacher, founder of dwM Dance Academy) studied dance since 2012, joined the dance studio in Myanmar for 4 months, then moved to Brazil and studied at Academia Lucia Toller for 4 years. She then came back to Myanmar and organized dance workshops to educate the dancers and produced a competition called "Run The World Choreo: Contest Chapter-1" 2017 and sent the winner to RF Jam Singapore. She opened the dance studio dwM Dance Academy and provides scholarship programs for the young generations.
Table 20’s #6
The post-revolution and pandemic cultural phenomenon in Hong Kong
15:30 - 15:50
Speaker: Andy Lo
Assuming Hong Kong is still capable of maintaining itself as an international city, the city’s establishment has tried very hard to rebuild the image of Hong Kong after years of social unrest and lockdown by spreading the message that the city is back on track again. Apart from all the over-the-top official "advertisement", what interested me most is how the people who chose to stay in the city react to the current situation. Putting together the reactions of the people, some cultural phenomenon has emerged organically. It's subtle but somehow strong, and often in a bipolar way. As a citizen and art-maker in the city, how could we sit with this kind of phenomenon as well as positioning ourselves? _____________________ Speaker: “Andy Lo” Andy Lo is the founder and company manager of TS Crew, a contemporary dance & circus company in Hong Kong. He is also the conceiver and producer of Hong Kong - International Dance Artist Platform, which will take place for the first time at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023. He produces Hong Kong Dance Exchange, a biennial international dance festival. Lo is an independent producer who works with a few independent artists.
Saturday March 25th
Table 40’s #5
- TBC -
13:30 - 14:10
Speaker:
Table 40’s #6
The Challenges of Fundraising for Ethnic Minority Arts Companies
14:30 - 15:10
Speaker: Shaza Ishak
In this 40 mins session, we would like to explore the barriers that ethnic minority arts companies face when attempting to engage with arts philanthropy, particularly zooming in on cultural barriers brought about by the communities they serve. _____________________ Representing organisation: “Teater Ekamatra” Teater Ekamatra is an established and exciting Singaporean arts company that spotlights artists of diverse ethnicities. Helmed by award-winning director and performer Mohd Fared Jainal, we are living out our vision of being at the heart of theatre, by staging daring works that address socio-political issues. Teater Ekamatra has been commissioned by notable international arts festivals and has also won numerous accolades, especially at Singapore’s highest platform for excellence in theatre, the Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards, where our trophies have included Best Original Script several times. Guided by our values of diversity, inclusivity, integrity, accountability, and people-centredness, Teater Ekamatra is committed to our mission of creating engaging art that inspires, as well as incubating emerging talents, and expanding diversity within the industry. Speaker: “Shaza Ishak” Shaza has been managing Ekamatra since 2011, leading the company in its strategy and vision; programming and producing the company’s artistic works. She believes in effecting social change through the art of storytelling on stage and is committed to forging progress for the ethnic minority arts scene and communities in Singapore and beyond. In 2019, she graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (UK) with an MA in Creative Producing with the support of the NAC Arts Postgraduate Scholarship, the Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Award, and the Li Siong Tay Postgraduate Scholarship; as well as the BinjaiTree Foundation and the Trailblazer Foundation. She is also a fellow of the Singapore International Foundation’s Arts for Good Fellowship; the International Society for the Performing Arts (USA); and most recently, the Eisenhower Fellowship (USA), the youngest fellow in its 68-year history. In November 2021, she was conferred the inaugural Tunas Warisan (Special Mention Award) by President Halimah Yaacob on behalf of the Malay Heritage Foundation in acknowledgment of her work in the Arts and Heritage sector. She is also an adjunct lecturer at Lasalle College of the Arts (BA Arts Management).
Sunday March 26th
Table 40’s #7
Developing your practice through regional exchange
13:30 - 14:10
Speaker: Frances Rudgard / Jennifer Lee (Mekong Cultural Hub)
MCH exists to support cultural practitioners around Asia, who see their work at the intersection of arts and society. Our work is to connect like-minded peers and help people to grow their networks, to expand perspectives through facilitating learning, and to create opportunities for friendship and collaboration. The table session is a chance to meet the MCH team, learn about what MCH does and how you can get involved, including information about current open calls that are on offer and how to apply. MCH works with people from all kinds of artistic disciplines, and from many different professions - so whether you are an artist, a producer, a researcher, a critic - if you are looking to build regional networks and you are thinking about how you can grow the impact of the work you do, please come and say hello. _____________________ Representing organisation: “Mekong Cultural Hub (MCH)” Mekong Cultural Hub (MCH)'s mission is to empower diverse cultural practitioners to bring to life their visions for a sustainable and inclusive Asia. We work with grassroots artists, cultural workers, collectives and organisations. We make spaces for connection and exchange, offer training, produce research and support projects at the intersection of arts and society. Since 2018 we have built a network of more than 150 Fellows in Asia. Our Meeting Point gatherings in 2021 and 2022 brought together more than 300 people each time. Speakers: “Frances Rudgard and Jennifer Lee” The table will be hosted by Frances Rudgard, MCH Director, and Jennifer Lee, Program Manager. For nearly 10 years Frances was based in Phnom Penh, where she was the Program Director for Cambodian Living Arts, the inspiration and the incubator for starting up MCH. She is now based in London. Jennifer is based in Taipei. Before joining MCH, she had an extensive career in theatre as a producer, project manager, festival organiser and more. Today she leads the coordination of MCH's programs, working closely with our Fellows network.
Table 40’s #8
A symbiotic relationship between organizations and independent artists
14:30 - 15:10
Speaker: Michael Li / Yi Kai
Thinkers’ Studio (Taiwan), as an independent creative platform, and Unlock Dancing Plaza (Hong Kong), as a medium-sized dance company, both work extensively with independent artists but from a different perspective; how do we consider our roles in the industry to build up a sustainable relationship with them? In this roundtable, we will briefly talk about the backgrounds and resources of each of our organizations, how these contexts shaped our organizations-artists interactions and producers-artists collaborations, and practice to further imagine the possibilities and fluidities of these relational roles in the performing arts industry. _____________________ Speakers: “Michael Li (Managing Director of Unlock Dancing Plaza)” Li is the Managing Director of Unlock Dancing Plaza (Hong Kong). Since 2017, he has been working closely with the company for its diverse curations on both public participatory and artistic developmental projects and platforms. “KAO, Yi Kai (Director of Thinkers' Studio)” Yi Kai is the director of Thinkers’ Studio. His experience involves different fields of contemporary art, including theatre, dance and circus. In addition, he hopes to act as a mediator for the private sector to support young and emerging art practitioners in international connection and development, especially in South East Asia.
