Cross-cultural festival between Singapore and Indonesia to cap off RISING50 Celebrations

1. More than 1,500 Singaporeans and Indonesians gathered at the Empress Lawn and Asian Civilisations Museum to celebrate the close collaborations and long-standing friendship between Singapore and Indonesia, at the opening of the three-day cultural festival titled Kreatif Connections: Celebrating 50 Years of Indonesia-Singapore Friendship.

2. Joining the public was Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Grace Fu, as the evening’s Guests-of-Honour. Ms Grace Fu said: “Kreatif Connections showcases the rich fruit of collaboration between artists from Singapore and Indonesia. It reflects the close and long-standing ties between our peoples, and demonstrates how we can look forward to new and exciting results from our bilateral partnerships – whether in the artistic and cultural fields, or other sectors.”

Photo 1: Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Ms Grace Fu participates in the community batik painting activity, one of the many cross-cultural programmes at Kreatif Connections. Image courtesy of MCCY

3. Organised by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Kreatif Connections will gather musicians, artists and craft makers from both countries at the Empress Lawn and Asian Civilisations Museum, from today till 1 July 2018.

4. Kreatif Connections features two commissioned collaborative works. These include the cross-cultural production of Cupu Manik Astagina: The Sacred Jewel Box, which combines wayang kulit (shadow puppetry), modern dance choreography and fusion gamelan music to tell a tale based on the Javanese version of Ramayana.

5. The event also unveils a newly commissioned art and sound installation titled The Current/s We Call Home | Arus Berlabuh Kita, a collaboration between artists Budi Agung Kuswara (Indonesia) and Samantha Tio (Singapore) with the participation of families living between both countries. On their inspiration for the artwork, the artists said: “We were inspired to connect with and capture the images of children from transnational families, who receive love from familiar faces and the feeling of being at home in both places. Their experiences, to us, embodies the most ideal relationship between countries”.

Photo 2: ArtistKabul presents his collaborative installation titled The Current/s We Call Home | Arus Berlabuh Kita. Image courtesy of MCCY

6. Various Indonesian and Singaporean artistes also took the stage at Empress Lawn for a one-night only concert. Highlights include duets between Isyana Sarasvati (Indonesia) and Aisyah Aziz (Singapore), as well as Adrian Khalif (Indonesia) and Jasmine Sokko (Singapore).

7. In addition, the public enjoyed a host of hands-on activities at the Asian Civilisations Museum ranging from perfume-making, traditional Javanese and Malay dance workshops, and participated in community batik painting activity, designed by Singapore batik artist Tumadi Patri.

8. Over the next two days, the festival will showcase the complete staging of Cupu Manik Astagina at Empress Lawn, performances by home-grown artists and cultural groups such as HAI Definition, Damaru, Nadi Singapura, Kaizen X Sound Lab, and other exciting activities.

9. The Current/s We Call Home | Arus Berlabuh Kita will continue to be exhibited at the Asian Civilisations Museum till 1 July. In addition, a new audio tour titled Masters Across Indonesia and Singapore has been developed by National Gallery Singapore in conjunction with the festival. The audio tour will be available on the Gallery Explorer App from 29 June for a minimum period of one year.

10. For more information, follow Kreatif Connections on Facebook or visit (https://bit.ly/KreatifConnections). The programme line-up for Kreatif Connections is attached at the Annex.

https://bit.ly/KreatifConnections | #KreatifConnections #RISING50