The Art Scene in Singapore

In Singapore, the government has been trying to place more importance on creating a more artistic society.
Be it the art of : Animation, Architecture, Body art, Brief art, Cinema art, the art of Comic Writing, Dance, Digital art, Drawing,Engraving,Gastronomy,Graffiti,Music,the Opera,Painting,Photography,Pottery,Poetry,Sculpture,Singing,Theatre,Woodwork and Writing.

Various social enterprises have also been set up with the aim to conserve the arts and culture in Singapore. Of the 8 pointed out on raiSE, i will talk about Pangolin Films. The Vision of Pangolin Films is "We want to be the regional source and eventually a global source of award-winning content especially in the area of social service and public awareness, and the centre for nurturing and promoting creativity in the industry."

To date Pangoling Films has released 23 films. And won 2 Awards. One of the most popular films released was "Hentak Kaki" which at the 3rd Singapore Short Film Awards was awarded Best Performance and Nominated for Best Director, Script. The director James Khoo said ,"Whether it’s the characters and their context to modern society or the direction of the piece, what this basically shows is the ability of the Singapore audience to appreciate a local film in a variety of ways yet still take away something from it and share it with others. It shows engagement beyond the film and it is deeply encouraging for me (and I hope for other filmmakers as well) that there is so much potential in engaging the local community in positive ways through film or art as a whole."

This is the part i would like to touch on. Unlike other arts and culture conservation SE's, Pangolin Films release material that is truly local and very much relatable to any Singaporean. Unlike Asylum Theatre and BeatABox which are also SE's that are working for the same cause, Pangolin Films is a Singaporean Start-up.

I feel that nowadays, due to globalization, art in Singapore has also been westernized. It is common to see classes for hip-hop dance and jazz and classes to learn how to cook sous-vide egg. But are there enough Singaporean representations of these art forms. As we continue to fight for a more creative society, we should also remember to fight for the conservation of our Singaporean Culture.

With Sg50 just having ended, dont we have something to think about?

Khoo(2013, 1 May) The Filmmaker's thoughts on "Hentak Kaki". Retrieved from:
http://pangolinfilms.com.sg/pangolin/the-filmmakers-thoughts-on-hentak-kaki/