About the Festival
With creative collaboration at its core, the NUS Arts Festival is NUS’ largest arts event presented annually in the second academic semester.
Drawing on the content-rich environment of the University, as well as the expertise of local and international practitioners, our student artists are encouraged to explore bold new horizons equipped with knowledge and forethought.
Comprising a programme that is inclusive, entertaining, and representative of the prevailing zeitgeist, the NUS Arts Festival facilitates the integration of research and learning as part of the artistic process.
To many students, the university is the starting point of a million life-changing pathways. In the same vein, the arts are a catalyst for discovery, innovation, and the pursuit of endless possibilities. The theme of the NUS Arts Festival, CROSSROADS, captures this spirit, signifying a new era for the development of the arts on campus under the NUS Arts for All framework, one with greater opportunities for the arts to function as a necessary nexus of ideas, perspectives, and modes of expression.
A Warm Welcome
Assoc Prof Chan Tze Law
Vice Dean, Office of Student Affairs
Vice Dean (Career Orientation & Community Engagement), Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music
It is with great pride and joy that I welcome you to the NUS Arts Festival 2023: Spaces Between. As the theme suggests, this year’s festival explores the liminal spaces in which influential changes take place between two phases or states, and the depths of emotions that accompany these transitions.
In a sense, an educational institution is a liminal space, a waypoint in the journey of life as batches of students pass through its hallways. While brief, the time spent in a university often have a profound and lasting impact, shaping students’ identity, worldview and aspirations for the decades to come. For 30 years, NUS Centre For the Arts (CFA) has played a part in that academic sojourn, itself a notable milestone for many students who have gone on to make a splash in Singapore’s arts community. Even a global pandemic did not curtail CFA’s development of the arts on campus, but instead gave rise to a new generation of interdisciplinary artists who transcended physical limitations to take their art to the digital stage.
And as our students have grown and evolved between these different spaces, so has CFA. In 2023, CFA will join the NUS Office of Student Affairs to champion the growth of the arts on campus. CFA’s expanded remit will further our vision to raise the profile of the arts on campus, deepening its integration with academic learning, student life, and campus vibrancy. Simply put, this re-organisation will allow us to truly create a campus where the arts is present and relevant for all.
NUS Arts Festival 2023: Spaces Between is a microcosm of this momentous shift for CFA. This is reflected in the number of interdisciplinary collaborations between artists of different backgrounds and artistic disciplines, creating fresh possibilities and providing tangible, nuanced expressions of their thematic explorations. This year, we have a bumper crop of four shows that have rare collaborations between groups and art forms. One such collaboration is Inter/change, our festival opening show, which presents a first-of-its-kind collaboration between NUS Chinese Dance and NUS Indian Instrumental Ensemble, inspired by the historic Silk Route linking China and India. Another is MOONRISE, an immersive multi-sensorial musical experience led by NUS alumna Churen Li, in collaboration with soundscape artist/music producer evanturetime and digital effects artist Prako. That spirit of interdisciplinarity carries through to our solo group productions, such as NUS Stage’s actors incorporating dance and music to explore serious issues in the jukebox musical, End of the Line. This partnership also extends to academic collaborations, with student groups receiving advice and insights from faculty members and academic partners to deepen their understanding of the subject matter addressed in their work. NUS Ilsa Tari and NUS Dikir Barat’s Pengabdian Batin is in part informed and shaped by the Gerak Symposium, a conference that explores the evolving role of Malay dance in Singapore today, and is supported by the Department of Malay Studies and Department of English Language and Theatre Studies.
I remain deeply grateful to our tight-knit NUS arts community. Besides the alumni artistic directors helming our festival main shows, we are extremely privileged this year to feature the poetry of 30 NUS alumni, prominent literary figures in Singapore, in a multi-site installation, Not Only Lines. I would also like to acknowledge our friends from the Department of Communications and New Media (CNM). Led by Festival Academic Advisor Prof Audrey Yue, CNM faculty and students have once again contributed creative content to our festival website. Don’t miss the Musings section, filled with creative ruminations on the festival theme of Spaces Between by faculty and students, and the Activities section, which features interactive games created by students. These original contributions have provided much food for thought and provide fresh perspectives on the festival performances.
I applaud all the 700 staff, students, alumni, artistic leaders, collaborators, and academic partners involved in the festival for pouring so much passion into their craft. On behalf of my team, I wish to thank the parents, family and friends who have stood by our performers and crew as they put in many hours of hard work in recent months.
Our thanks also for the support from our donors, Ngee Ann Kongsi, Shaw Foundation, Salleh Marican Foundation, Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth’s Cultural Matching Fund. Their generous support has been invaluable in both helping our artists showcase their vision and making the arts-going experience on our campus an affordable and enjoyable one.
Join us from 10 to 26 March, as we traverse the spaces between, and make new memories together.
Festival Team
The NUS Arts Festival is organised by the Centre for the Arts (CFA), NUS Office of Student Affairs (OSA). Committed to enriching student life by creating a vibrant, inclusive space for students to experience the arts, CFA actively encourages students to embrace interdisciplinary learning, and explore new frontiers through their art.
Innovative collaborations with faculty members and established arts practitioners are regularly encouraged and supported through its various platforms. CFA also initiated the Arts for All framework to expand both the scope and reach of the arts as a vehicle for transformative education.
Beyond overseeing key arts activities on campus and nurturing the development of the NUS Arts Groups, CFA is dedicated to making the arts an integral part of university life. In doing so, CFA aims to foster an enduring community of passionate, socially-aware student leaders who will shape the future with creativity and compassion.
Visit the OSA website for more information about performing arts activities in NUS.
Email: cfa@nus.edu.sg
