Opened in December 2020, Starch – located in an industrial building in Tagore Lane – can be said to be one of the most empathetic independent art spaces in Singapore. Tan, its founder, had picked its name in the hope that – not unlike the complex carbohydrate – it can be a source of energy for the arts community here.
Already, the light-soaked 2,200 sq ft space has played host to no less than eight exhibitions that have given the talents-in-focus free use of the space. It’s not rare for artists to juggle multiple responsibilities due to a lack of resources and not everyone can afford to engage a curator, says Tan, himself a practising artist who explores notions of queerness and melancholia through multimedia works.
Besides offering a venue, the 35-year-old helps to advise on anything from a show’s concept to set-up and even gets involved in the marketing and logistical side of things when needed. “I consider myself primarily as someone who is an enabler,” he says, when asked to define his role as a curator.
That Starch has a diverse and packed-out calendar for 2022 is telling of his ethos and success. For starters: The Chan-Davies Art Prize show, which spotlights top Fine Arts students from Lasalle College of the Arts, will take place on-site from Jan 13 to Feb 2.
この記事は Female Singapore の January - February 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Female Singapore の January - February 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Don't Stop Believing
All eyes have been on the man behind the most anticipated debut in fashion this season, but Sabato De Sarno-Gucci's new creative director isn't letting the spotlight get to him. Keng Yang Shuen expounds on why he is the antithesis of this era's celebrity designer - and exactly the kind of figure the industry needs in these times.
IT'S BEEN A LONG BELIEVING
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT TAYLOR SWIFT IS ONE OF THE TOP CELEBRITIES IF NOT THE TOP CELEBRITY ― OF HER GENERATION. SHE WAS TIME'S 2023 PERSON OF THE YEAR AND HER ONGOING THE ERAS TOUR HAS BECOME THE HIGHEST-GROSSING OF ALL TIME. HER TRAJECTORY AND DISCOGRAPHY ARE THE SUBJECTS OF A COURSE AT HARVARD AND IN A WORLD FIRST NEWSPAPERS HAVE TURNED HER INTO A BEAT WITH DEDICATED REPORTERS. THERE'S ALSO LITTLE DOUBT THAT MUCH OF THIS HAS TO DO WITH HER FANS. AS HER CONCERT ROLLS INTO TOWN THIS MONTH, FOUR CREATIVE SWIFTIES TELL US HOW THE AMERICAN IDOL HAS INSPIRED THEM, AND SHAPED THEIR STYLE AND CRAFT.
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
AMONG THE FIVE LAUREATES OF THE 2023 ROLEX AWARDS FOR ENTERPRISE IS INDONESIAN ENTREPRENEUR DENICA RIADINI-FLESCH, WHOSE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE SUKKHACITTA EMPOWERS LOCAL RURAL CRAFTSWOMEN WHILE BRINGING BALANCE BACK TO THE LOCAL FOREST ECOSYSTEM. HERE’S MORE ON THIS NEW STAR ON THE ROLEX LAUREATES NETWORK AND WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR HER.
THE CRAFT
IN ALL HER YEARS AS THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF DIOR, MARIA GRAZIA CHIURI HAS USED HER INFLUENCE AND DESIGNS TO ADVOCATE FOR THE SUPPORT AND REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN.
DREAM GIRL
IN RECENT YEARS, THE CELEBRITIES WHO’VE DOMINATED MUCH OF WESTERN POP CULTURE SEEM TO FALL INTO THREE MAIN CATEGORIES: THE OTT, THE SCANDAL-PLAGUED AND THE UNTOUCHABLE GODDESS TYPES HAIL QUEEN BEY). THE FAST-RISING GEN Z JAZZ-POP CHANTEUSE LAUFEY PRONOUNCED LAY-VAY”) 1S A NEW AND DIFFERENT KIND OF STAR ALTOGETHER: ONE WHO UNABASHEDLY WEARS HER HEART ON HER SLEEVE, ESPOUSES WHOLESOME VALUES AND READS BOOKS WITH HER FANS. KENG YANG SHUEN DELVES INTO HER SPECIAL KIND OF MAGIC.
Mind Your Own Business
Yang Shuen Meets The Founders Of Art Again, An Online Platform That Puts Not Only A Chic, Consumer-to-consumer Spin On The Secondary Art Market, But Also Power Back Into The Hands Of Art Collectors.
NEW WORLD PLAZA
ITS SHUTTERS COME DOWN FOR GOOD ON JAN 27, BUT PEACE CENTRE HAS LIVED OUT SOME OF ITS BEST DAYS IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS AS A HAVEN FOR INDEPENDENT CREATIVES AND EVERYDAY ART-GOERS, THANKS TO THE UNCONVENTIONAL COMMUNITY PROJECT KNOWN AS PLAYPAN. IMRAN JALAL MEETS SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO HAVE FOUND A HOME, HOPE AND INSPIRATION IN A DOOMED MALL.
A CLASS OF THEIR OWN
IT SURE SEEMS LIKE AN EMPOWERING TIME TO BE STUDYING THE ARTS. THIS AUGUST, THE FIRST GOVERNMENT-BACKED PRIVATE ARTS UNIVERSITY HERE, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS SINGAPORE, WILL WELCOME ITS INAUGURAL COHORT. ACCORDING TO THE STRAITS TIMES IN A SEPTEMBER 2023 REPORT, OUR COUNTRY WILL CONTINUE TO INVEST IN ARTS EDUCATION, WHILE THE NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL’S LATEST POPULATION SURVEY ON THE ARTS SHOWED CONSISTENT GROWTH IN INTEREST IN THE SECTOR AND AT LEAST TWO-THIRDS OF SINGAPOREANS RECOGNISING THE BENEFITS OF ARTS AND CULTURE ON THE COMMUNITY. ULTIMATELY THOUGH, PURSUING THE ARTS AS AN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE REMAINS NICHE THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND YOUTH’S SINGAPORE CULTURAL STATISTICS STUDY IN 2022 SHOWED YEAR-ON-YEAR DIPS IN FULL-TIME ENROLMENT IN TERTIARY ARTS COURSES BETWEEN 2016 AND 2021). HERE, SEVEN YOUTHS SHARE THEIR INTENTIONS, ASPIRATIONS AND LESSONS LEARNT IN HAVING EMBARKED ON THIS PATH LESS CHOSEN.
OPEN HOUSE
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FELT LIKE THEY LACK THE SPACE AND FREEDOM TO BRING TO LIFE THEIR CREATIVE AMBITIONS, THERE NOW COULD BE A PLACE FOR YOU: LOCATED IN SCENIC JAPAN, RUN BY A SINGAPOREAN COUPLE WHO HAVE ARTISTIC SKILLS YOU COULD TAP, AND THAT COMES AT NO COST AND WITH NO EXPECTATIONS. KENG YANG SHUEN FINDS OUT MORE FROM THE FOLKS BEHIND THIS UTOPIA.
BTS REMIX
FOR ITS LATEST ENTRY AT DESIGN MIAMI, THE HOUSE OF FENDI TEAMS UP WITH A WITTY DESIGN STUDIO OFTEN DESCRIBED AS \"ANTI-FASHION\" TO REVEAL A DIFFERENT SIDE TO IT AND LUXURY ALTOGETHER. NOELLE LOH REPORTS.
