Art, Activation, Activism

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"Art can activate the inert," I heard the Singaporean theater artist Ong Keng Sen say in his keynote lecture for last weekend's 6th biennial Singapore Literature Festival in NYC. "It can activate what is latent, what is potential."

This is one of many gems that I will carry with me after the festival. Another is the story that Ajoomma writer-director He Shuming told about joining a group tour from Singapore to Korea to research the aunties for his film. Hearing that he was single, the ajoommas wanted to match him with their daughters, but on learning that he was a filmmaker, they stopped. 

The stories were both funny and sobering. Filmmaker Dev Benegal shared his memory of sitting besides a famous film editor for four whole years in order to learn how to direct. Author and curator Simon Wu explained his urgent and joyful discovery of forgotten Asian American artists in NYC. Theater-maker Rebecca Martínez spoke of stripping away the master-slave dynamic from The Comedy of Errors before bringing it to the community.

Justine F. Chen, who is composing the music for the opera-in-progress Sisters of the Storm, with librettist Marcus Yi, joined the festival for the first time. After the festival, she wrote to Lily and me (and I quote with her permission):

"I *absolutely* felt the warmth and excitement in every moment and each exchange of the festival. It has been my experience that each organization takes on and emanates the personality of the people in charge. This festival radiated love, hope, intelligence, curiosity, rigor, honesty, vulnerability, respect, and delight.

"When I arrived to the opening night party on Friday, I was not sure what to expect, but in the warmth of Mag and Clay’s hospitality, when you summoned Lily with her biography, and Lily shared the beauty of the beginning of the universe, I suddenly found myself in the most delightful space of creativity, care, and thought.

"Every detail of the festival was brimming with care and attention. Thank you both for what was a truly meaningful, deeply inspiring 48 hours. It was transformative: I was in joy - so alive, engaged, and evolving… full and growing in every minute of attendance."

If you believe that artists and writers can activate what is inert, latent, and potential, if you believe in Singapore Unbound's mission to envision and work for a creative and fulfilling life for everyone, please consider making a generous donation. We don't accept any direct funding from any government in order to remain autonomous. As we are all volunteers, your donation goes directly to artists and programs.

Since the festival was about building a community of love and joy around the arts, we could not forget the pain and suffering in Gaza, also our community. At the festival, we asked for donations to the Municipality of Gaza, a non-governmental and non-profit organization. The Municipality of Gaza works to restore basic services to the people. They have reoperated wells and maintained waterlines, in addition to reopening roads to allow the movement of emergency teams. They have also cleared and maintained sewage networks, collecting and transporting solid waste accumulated throughout the city. Would you consider making a donation to them, in solidarity and sympathy?

Jee Leong Koh
October 24, 2024

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