STATE OF ART IN SINGAPORE

The annual SIFA festival returns with an expanded landscape

- STORY: THANA BOONLERT

As Singapore marks its 60th anniversary of independence, the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) returns boldly with the theme of “More Than Ever”.

While presenting the largest showcase of homegrown talent, the annual performing arts festival is expanding its landscape with an international bent.

Organised by the Arts House Limited (AHL), this year’s SIFA presents the highest number of 15 local works, along with international commissions, from May 16 to June 1. Built on the overarching theme, it follows six curation strands — New Urban Realities; Classics Reinvented; History Reimagined; We, International; State Of The Arts; and PRISM 48.

"In a world afflicted with the rhetoric of divide, we need to resist limiting binaries and relate to each other in nuance," said festival director Natalie Hennedige.

“In doing so, we uphold the station of the arts as a vital space in society that explores differences in opinions, accepts otherness and maintains the past, present, and future as entities that perpetually influence and shape each other, engendering new narratives on a supple timeline that moves forwards, cyclically or in any imaginable configuration.”

The SIFA Pavilion at Bedok Town Square is a new arts space that hosts multiple works. Inspired by Bedok’s rich background, SIFA’s opening performance The Sea And The Neighbourhood captures the flow of water that shapes Singapore. A coral-inspired installation/stage by visual artist Wang Ruobing anchors this multidisciplinary work.

“It is about the ebb and flow of the sea, being alive to the energy around us, and embracing the constant state of change,” said Shan Del Vecchio, a half Thai, half Italian ballet dancer from Singapore Ballet, who performs in Pact Of Water as part of the opening performance.