SINGAPORE SEASON IN CHINA 2007 TO OPEN IN BEIJING AND SHANGHAI

 

Singapore Season debuts in China from 12 October to 10 November

 

 

Singapore, 4 July 2007 – The Singapore Season, a multi-agency effort to showcase Singapore’s artistic and cultural achievements in key global cities, will be launched with a gala dinner in Beijing on 12 October 2007, followed by a host of activities in Shanghai from 21 October 2007.

 

2          With arts and cultural programmes taking centre-stage, Singapore Season in China 2007 aims to raise awareness of Singapore as a global city with a unique multi-cultural heritage and vibrant arts scene. The Season will include a range of business, lifestyle, media- and design-centric programmes to highlight the opportunities Singapore offers in live, work and play.

 

3          The month-long programme in China boasts a holistic and invigorating line-up of music, theatre, dance, visual arts, design and literary events. Prominent art groups and performers include the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Dance Theatre, Drama Box, Mark Chan and Singapore pop star JJ Lin.

 

4          A multi-cultural delegation of Singapore writers will also be showcased at a series of exhibitions, readings and forums. The works of Singaporean artists such as Chen Wen Hsi, Goh Beng Kwan, Wong Keen and Vincent Leow, and a photography project on 14 distinguished Chinese ink painters by Chua SooBin will also be presented. In addition, there will be a Singapore Film Festival featuring popular Singapore films such as ‘I Not Stupid Too’. Besides ticketed events, the public in China will also get to experience Singapore Season at outreach shows featuring People’s Association Talents, Wicked Aura Batucada and The Nuradee Brothers.

 

5          Dr Tan Chin Nam, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and the Chairman of the Singapore Season Steering Committee, said: “Through the Singapore Season in China 2007, we hope to present a new face of Singapore – a city with cultural diversity and vibrancy, as well as artistic excellence and distinctiveness – to the people in China. Singapore is more than a travel destination and a value added business partner for China. It is a global city of opportunities and an attractive place to live, work and play.”

 

6          Furthermore, the Season will serve as a platform for artistic exchanges and collaboration between artists in Singapore and China. Some of these collaborations will be featured in the prestigious Beijing Music Festival and the China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF). Singapore is the first Asian country to be presented in the Culture Week of the CSIAF.

 

7          Mr Lee Suan Hiang, Chief Executive Officer of the National Arts Council and Chairman of the Singapore Season Organising Committee said: “These collaborations highlight Singapore artists’ ability to mediate between Eastern and Western cultures, and produce works that are rooted in tradition, albeit in a progressive, contemporary slant. As Singapore moves towards becoming a distinctive global city for the arts, it is essential that we create more platforms to showcase Singapore arts to the world, and opportunities for our artists to collaborate with global talents. Singapore Season is an excellent platform to do this.”

 

8          Kicking off the Season will be two gala dinners – one in Beijing on 12 October and one in Shanghai on 26 October – which will showcase a blend of Singapore cuisine, artistry and cultural extravaganza. Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong are Guests-of-Honour at the Beijing and Shanghai galas respectively.

 

9          The Season will also incorporate business forums to facilitate interaction and exchange between the two countries. They include the:

 

10        Audiences will also get to experience Singapore through a series of exhibitions.  DesignSingapore Council will profile Singapore artists and designers in a discourse on Singapore design in contemporary China's context.  Others include photo exhibitions offering unique insights into Singapore’s varied cultural tapestry by the Singapore Tourism Board; and the Singapore: Your World of Possibilities exhibition by Contact Singapore on working and living in Singapore. CapitaLand Malls will also stage various Singapore-themed events, featuring the sights, sounds and flavours of Singapore.

 

11        Singapore Season has been made possible through the strong support of various public agencies, private and people organisations which see value in leveraging on this platform in China. 

 

 

Issued by:

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

4 JULY 07

 

 

About Singapore Season

 

First launched in London in 2005, Singapore Season is a cultural diplomacy effort to raise awareness of Singapore as a multi-cultural global city and showcase its global connectivity and attractiveness as a place to live, work and play. The patron of Singapore Season is Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

 

Singapore Season London 2005 spanned six weeks and featured performances by Singapore arts groups and artistes at key arts venues, as well as associated events such as the Singapore Conference, the Singapore Evening, the naming of the Uniquely Singapore Clipper, the Singapore Season Film Week and the Singapore Food Festival.

 

Singapore Season in China 2007 is the second in the series of overseas ventures. Through the programmes, Singapore companies operating in China, and vice versa, will find the Season an excellent platform for generating higher brand profile and awareness especially in Beijing and Shanghai. Since China and Singapore established diplomatic relations more than ten years ago, economic cooperation between the two countries has grown steadily and is expected to increase further. China is now Singapore’s fourth largest trading partner and top foreign investment destination.

 

Singapore Season in China 2007 is organised by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and the National Arts Council, in collaboration with Contact Singapore, DesignSingapore, Economic Development Board, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, International Enterprise Singapore, Media Development Authority, Ministry of Trade and Industry, People’s Association, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Tourism Board, SPRING Singapore and Urban Redevelopment Authority.

 

About MICA

 

The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) is a multi-faceted ministry.  It is both an economic and social ministry with the vision to nurture and develop a Creative Economy, Gracious Community and Connected Singapore.

 

The Ministry's mission is to develop Singapore as a Global City for information, communications and the arts, so as to build a creative economy and a connected society with a Singaporean identity rooted in our multicultural heritage.  It aims to propel the creative economy through the development and promotion of the creative industries (arts, design and media) and infocomm technology sector to create new economic value and jobs.  It also aims to forge a strong sense of community, national identity, rootedness and inclusion among Singaporeans, and to foster better understanding between the Government and its various stakeholders through effective public communications.  More information on MICA is available at www.mica.gov.sg.

 

About NAC

 

The National Arts Council (NAC) was established in September 1991 to spearhead the development of the arts in Singapore.  Its vision is to develop Singapore into a distinctive global city for the arts.  Anchored on the twin strategies of excellence and engagement, the Council provides total support to nurture artistic talent, promotes the practice and appreciation of the arts among Singaporeans, builds up artistic and management capabilities and resources, facilitates internationalisation and advocates the value of the arts.  This holistic approach to develop the arts fosters the growth of a vibrant arts sector, where the arts is accessible to all, and artistic talents have the necessary resources and support to excel and achieve sustainability in the long term.  www.nac.gov.sg

 

 

- The End -

 

Annexes:
Annex 1: Programme Synopsis

Annex 2: Sponsors

 

For media enquiries on Singapore Season in China 2007, please contact:

 

Ms K Bhavani

Director, Corporate Communications

Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts 

DID: (65) 6837 9865

Email: bhavani_k@mica.gov.sg

 

Ms Quek Ai Choo
Corporate Communications Manager
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
DID: (65) 6837 9841

Email: quek_ai_choo@mica.gov.sg

Annex 1: Programme Synopsis

 

SINGAPORE CHINESE ORCHESTRA

Following the success at Singapore Season in London 2005, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) presents once again the unforgettable Calligraphy Concerto The Yellow River at Hukou - In the Metre of Qin Yuan Chun, an audio-visual masterpiece composed by Hong Kong’s Law Wing Fai, featuring Singapore’s cultural icon Tan Swie Hian. Conducted by Maestro Tsung Yeh, this performance sees the remarkable fusion of poetry and calligraphy with the strong sound of the SCO. Ending the concert on a high is The Celestial Web, a beautiful composition by Law Wai Lun. The SCO performs this symphonic orchestration of recitation, chorus and orchestra with Beijing’s Choir of China Song and Dance Theater, Shanghai Opera House Chorus and narrators Leanne Ong Teck Lian and Zhou Zhi Qiang.

 

SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Bridging the musical traditions of the East and the West, Music Director Lan Shui has raised the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s level of excellence and has led the orchestra on several successful tours, including America, Asia and Europe. Maestro Lan Shui will conduct the SSO in a repertoire comprising timeless masterpieces. The violin solo will feature internationally acclaimed violinist Gil Shaham.

 

SINGAPORE DANCE THEATRE (SDT)

Revel in a thrilling triple-bill of works by notable Singaporean, French and Argentinean choreographers as the Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) presents Negro Y Blanco (Black and White) by Jeffrey Tan (Singapore), Les Noces (The Wedding) by Marie-Claude Pietragalla (France) and Piazolla’s Four Seasons by Mauricio Wainrot (Argentina). Be swept by the forceful eloquence of tinkling ivories as lithe bodies assume the form of notes and melodies in Negro Y Blanco. Poignant yet dramatic, Les Noces speaks of the many contradicting feelings evoked by The Wedding, a ritual that confers union and yet, imprisonment. Witness the passion of couples in courtship and the pulsating rhythms of the Tango-inspired Piazolla’s Four Seasons.

 

DRIFT

DRAMA BOX and SHANGHAI DRAMATIC ARTS CENTER

Drift, a stunning new theatre production, makes its world premiere in Shanghai. Spanning three generations and two cities, Drift examines the implications behind the speed of modernisation and deliberates on diverse cultural and historical tapestries. Drift is a landmark collaboration between two prominent Chinese theatre companies in Singapore and Shanghai – Drama Box and Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center (SDAC) –and will showcase original music from one of Singapore’s most established bands, experimental space-rock phenomenon The Observatory.

 

LITTLE TOYS

Singapore’s multi-talented composer and musician Mark Chan breathes new life into the Chinese classic silent film Little Toys, starring 1930s screen goddess Ruan Lingyu. In this production of Little Toys, come enjoy the magnificent "live" scoring of the film by an ensemble of superb musicians from Singapore and China. The unabashedly emotional soundscape with Eastern and Western influences explores, redefines and reveals the complexities of being Chinese then and now.

ENCOUNTERS AND JOURNEYS: SINGAPORE ARTISTS –

CHEN WEN HSI, GOH BENG KWAN AND WONG KEEN

For the first time, key works by pioneer Singaporean artist Chen Wen Hsi and two visual arts luminaries he inspired – Wong Keen and Goh Beng Kwan – come together in one major exhibition. One of Singapore's foremost cultural heroes, Chen championed and successfully integrated Asian and Western traditions in his artistic practice. The works of New York-trained Wong and Goh echo that of Chen’s, a fluid integration of Asian heritage and keen understanding of international art movements. ENCOUNTERS AND JOURNEYS: Singapore Artists continues an important ongoing collaboration by the Singapore Art Museum and the National Art Museum of China to co-present and promote Singaporean and Southeast Asian art to Chinese audiences.

 

LEGENDS: SOOBIN’S PORTRAITS OF CHINESE INK MASTERS

Legends: SooBin’s Portraits of Chinese Ink Masters is the much anticipated follow up to the now-legendary Liuzhen (Portraits of Excellence: Fourteen Chinese Artists) publication. Conceived and executed by master photographer Chua SooBin almost single handedly, both projects are lauded for bringing together for the very first time, portraits of 14 distinguished Chinese ink painters living in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States by a single photographer. Today, all 14 artists - which include the likes of Guan Shanyue, Lu Yanshao and Li Keran - have passed on and become even more firmly entrenched than ever as icons of Chinese ink masters in the 20th century.

 

ANDY’S PRANKS AND SWIMMING LESSONS
RECENT WORKS BY VINCENT LEOW

Andy’s Pranks & Swimming Lessons marks Vincent Leow’s premiere solo exhibition in Beijing. It showcases Leow’s recent works, comprising over 30 large canvasses and 7 striking sculptures specially cast in China for the occasion.  The selection spans an eclectic vocabulary of influences from popular culture, Chinese classics, mass media references, and dips into various visual expressions and styles including neo-Surrealism and Pop-art kitsch.

 

SINGAPORE LITERATURE: A JOURNEY TO CHINA

Poetry, anthologies, cross-cultural studies, novels, short and mini stories by a three-generation group of Singapore writers will be showcased in a series of exhibitions, readings, discussions and forums. Portraying various aspects of Singapore society, Singapore’s literature forms a significant part of the culture of Singapore, which exemplifies Singapore’s four sub-literatures. The multi-cultural delegation of English, Chinese and Malay luminaries are: Wong Yoon Wah, Edwin Thumboo, Wong Meng Voon , Dan Ying , Yeng Pway Ngon , Chua Chee Lay, Xi Ni Er, You Jin, Isa Kamari, Lim Denan and Han Han. Supported by key literary and academic organisations such as the Chinese Writers’ Association, Shanghai Writers’ Association, Peking University, Fudan University and Shanghai Library, these sessions promise a deeper experience and appreciation of Singapore Literature.

 

SINGAPORE FILM FESTIVAL

Singapore Film Festival is the first public film showcase of made-by-Singapore films in China. The festival line-up includes prominent contemporary Singapore films directed by some of the country's most prolific directors who have been featured at major film festivals. During the Singapore Film Festival, a fringe event highlighting Singapore short films will also be held at the prestigious Beijing Film Academy and Shanghai University for their students. For more information, visit www.singaporemediafusion.com

 

JUST JJ WORLD TOUR 2007!

Catch Singapore’s latest music star JJ Lin in this spectacular awesome performance! Presenting his latest chart topper, as well as favourites from his four previous albums, JJ vows to wow all in this electrifying pop concert with sizzling vocals and dazzling choreography. Fans can expect to be reinvigorated by his catchy, energetic performances, and poignant ballads, as the Singapore’s Tourism Ambassador takes to the stage in China with a roar!

 

OUTREACH SHOW

Comprising a series of outdoor performances held at various highly visible vicinities in Shanghai, the line-, up of programmes includes high-tempo drum, ming with multi-ethnic choreographies, contemporary hip-hop interpretations of Malay folk dance, folk ballads with a twist and many more! Behind this spectacular series are the versatile People’s Association (PA) Talents, multi-talented percussionist collective Wicked Aura Batucada and singer-composer duo Nuradee Brothers.

 

GALA DINNERS

Kicking off the Singapore Season in China, over 1,000 distinguished guests comprising government officials, captains of the industry and top business executives will convene at the gala dinners in Beijing and Shanghai. The gala dinners will showcase an elaborate blend of Singapore cuisine, artistry and cultural extravaganza and provide an ideal opportunity to network. Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong are the guests-of-honour at the galas in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively.

 

CHINA-SINGAPORE MEDIA BUSINESS FORUM

Leaders of both countries' media industries will be among the speakers at the China-Singapore Media Business Forum. The half-day seminar is designed to foster business collaborations among media industry players from China and Singapore. Programme includes a business matching session, which provides a platform for media companies to showcase their products and services, and generate business opportunities in content production, distribution, intellectual property management and more. For more information, visit www.singaporemediafusion.com

 

SINGAPORE SEMINAR

Singapore - Your Partner in Success

 

Singapore Seminar will comprise two plenary sessions that will provide an update on the latest corporate developments in Singapore. Speakers from government agencies will provide insights into how Singapore presents itself as a springboard for Chinese businesses to create, operate and manage their businesses for the world. Offering fresh perspectives as well as a platform to exchange views, Singapore Seminar will also highlight what makes the city-state an attractive place to live, work, learn and play in.

 

DESIGN EXHIBITION

Though small, Singapore brims with ideas and inspirations that are drawn from its myriad of cultures. Here, artists and designers inherit insights from their own ethnic cultures that are rich and diverse in addition to imbibing from a wider international confluence of cultural resources. Geographically and historically, Singapore has successfully fostered a merging of eastern and western sensibilities, stimulating the growth of a unique hybrid in this part of the tropics. Design changes and improves lives, inspires creativity and new forms of expression. It also enhances business competitiveness in today's crowded marketplace. The exhibition by DesignSingapore Council will profile Singapore artists and designers to explore the discourse on Singapore design in contemporary China's context, using and showcasing design and designers as the key storyteller. Thought-provoking and visually stimulating, this exhibition will cut across the design disciplines to include the placemaking, objectmaking and imagemaking design clusters and showcase new content by the designers addressing this theme. This exhibition promises to engage audiences!

 

SINGAPORE: YOUR WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES

Contact Singapore will be staging two exhibitions as part of the Singapore Season in China. The exhibitions, Contact Singapore’s first in China, will showcase working and living in Singapore. Themed Singapore: Your World of Possibilities, the exhibitions will feature a variety of static and interactive displays about working and living in Singapore, including our multicultural heritage, cosmopolitan lifestyle as well as new and exciting developments in various fields. Visitors to the exhibitions who are interested to explore working and living in Singapore can also obtain useful information on industry developments and the employment landscape. 

 

UNIQUE2ME PHOTO EXHIBITION

The Unique2Me Photo Exhibition captures unique personal experiences in Singapore by visitors and Singaporeans through photographs. A total of 96 photographs will be displayed. These have been short-listed from over 4,000 entries received from the STB Unique2Me Photo Competition held in conjunction with National Geographic Channel Asia from 2005 to 2006. A wide variety of themes and subjects were explored by the participants, including dragon boat races, reservoirs, transportation system, Singapore’s spectacular skyline and juxtapositions of modern and historical architecture.    

 

SINGART – A BRUSH WITH LIONS

“SingArt – A Brush with Lions” is a unique exhibition of lion-sculpture artworks by high-profile local and international personalities, organised in aid of charity at its inception. The lion was selected as a symbol for this special exhibition as a reflection of our country’s historical link to Singapura or “Lion City”. Influential personalities from various fields such as art, theatre, music, sports, business and government were invited to add their creative touch to these sculptures as a showcase of artistic talent and creative spirit that is unique to Singapore. Around 30 life-sized fibreglass lions (each measuring 1.41 m high, 1.6 m long and 0.65 m wide) will be displayed with their artist’s profile featured in both Chinese and English. The STB will continue to enrich and expand the collection by inviting more international personalities.  

 

SINGAPORE: 699.1 KM2

Singapore: 699.1 km2 is a multimedia presentation about Singapore’s urban planning efforts. The 10-minute film depicts how within the constraints of a small island of 699 km2, Singapore provided for the needs of a nation and created an attractive living environment in a city where at least 85% of the population resides in high-density public housing. The Singapore story is told through sights and sounds familiar to Singapore and Singaporeans.

 

EVENTS@CAPITALAND MALLS

CapitaLand Malls is staging various Singapore-themed events at its malls in Beijing and Shanghai, featuring the sights, sounds and flavours of Singapore through an array of authentic food delights, colourful SingArt Lion displays, and multi-cultural and fusion performances.

 

Annex 2: Sponsors

 

 

Far East Organization

Keppel Group

Lee Foundation Singapore

Oei Hong Leong Foundation

CapitaLand Limited

CapitaLand Hope Foundation

Ascendas Pte Ltd

Tiger Beer

Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts

Yeo Hiap Seng Limited

The Ascott Group Limited

MediaCorp Private Limited

Neptune Orient Lines Limited

Singapore Airlines

CapitaLand Retail