Crafting New Perceptions

Ong Keng Sen, the founding artistic director of T:> Works, reflects on the first edition of the Per Form Open Academy of Arts and Activation, and how its reception bodes well for the local arts scene.

- NAFEESA SAINI

Think of the word "academy" and a hierarchical institution comes to mind. "If you belong to it, you must have qualified with the desired educational level, have a membership or be invited," says Ong Keng Sen. At the T:>Works (formerly named Theatreworks) Per°Form Open Academy of Arts and Activation, he turned the word on its head.

Conceptualised and led by Ong, the live gathering saw three days of free workshops from April 13 to 16 that culminated in a 14-hour marathon, where participants could stay, leave and come back as they wish. Sessions were led by 14 Per Form fellows from the Global South Africa, Arab World, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean and South America and its diaspora. Hailing from varied disciplines such as curation, education, visual culture and performance, these intersectional practitioners presented their contextualised research, with the broad goal of sharing knowledge and discourse.

Ong, a critically acclaimed arts practitioner and former director of the Singapore International Festival of the Arts from 2014 to 2017, discusses his reflections on the inaugural edition of Per Form Open Academy and the state of the arts in Singapore today.

You've been in the arts industry for 35 years. What's changed?