Singapore and Indonesia cap off RISING50 with Cultural Festival this June

The cultural festival, Kreatif Connections: Celebrating 50 Years of Indonesia-Singapore Friendship, will be held from 29 June to 1 July 2018.  Organised by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Kreatif Connections celebrates the potential of collaborations and friendships between Singapore and Indonesia. Musicians, artists and craft makers from both countries will gather for this three-day festival at the Empress Lawn and Asian Civilisations Museum, and showcase the creativity and close cultural partnerships between both countries.

Kreatif Connections caps off the RISING50 celebrations - commemorating 50 years of bilateral ties between Indonesia and Singapore, which commenced last year. The name is a combination of “RI” for the Republic of Indonesia, “SING” for Singapore, and “50” for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries on 7 September 1967.

The highlight of Kreatif Connections is the OpeningOutdoor Concert at Empress Lawn on 29 June, from 7.30pm to 10.30pm. The concert will feature collaborative and cross-cultural performances by artists from both Indonesia and Singapore. These include local media personality Asri “Riz” Sunawan as the evening's emcee, multi-talented musician Isyana Sarasvati and rising hip-hop artist Adrian Khalif from Indonesia, as well as singer Aisyah Aziz and electro-pop crooner Jasmine Sokko from Singapore, who will be performing together for the first time. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Ms Grace Fu will be the Guest-of-Honour.

Visitors to the festival will also be entertained with a cross-cultural production titled Cupu Manik Astagina: The Sacred Jewel Box, that will combine wayang kulit (shadow puppetry), modern dance choreography and fusion gamelan music to tell a tale based on the Javanese version of Ramayana. It features original music scores conjured by Angger Gamelan Ensemble (Indonesia), Gamelan Asmaradana (Singapore), and various Singapore chamber musicians. Joining the cast are dancers from the Pamenang Dance Community (Indonesia) and Peneroka Daya Tari (Singapore) in a combination of Javanese, Kalimantan, Malay and modern dance choreography.

In addition, Kreatif Connections will feature an all new art and sound installation at the Asian Civilisations Museum titled The Current/s We Call Home | Arus Berlabuh Kita - a festival collaboration between artists Budi Agung Kuswara (Indonesia) and Samantha Tio (Singapore), with the participation of transnational families from Indonesia and Singapore. In conjunction with the event, the National Gallery Singapore will be presenting a new audio tour titled Masters Across Indonesia and Singapore on the Gallery Explorer App. The audio tour will highlight artists from Indonesia and Singapore, and how their travels across both countries influenced their art.

Visitors to Kreatif Connections will have the opportunity to appreciate and enjoy the diversity of art, culture and heritage of both countries. Participants can sign up for a variety of free hands-on activities and workshops. Admission to the event is free, and registration for the workshops will begin on 8 June 2018 via Peatix.

Click here to download the

factsheet and programme line-up [PDF, 1 MB] ↗ (opens in new tab)

for Kreatif Connections: Celebrating 50 Years of Indonesia-Singapore Friendship, or visit our

event page ↗ (opens in new tab)

to find out more.