BRINGING A HISTORICAL ARTS BELT TO LIFE BY COMMUNITY BUILDING
KAMPUNG HALLOWEEN BY PLAYPAN
This event is more than jFst a gathering
(@playpan.co)
A eight-day Halloween takeover is happening at Waterloo Street from Oct 25 to Nov 3. This time, the ghouls, spirits and vampires play the supporting cast instead.
Front and centre to this family-friendly, public event are the creatives who will descend upon 42 Waterloo Street for an opportunity to work with other artists, and meet veteran practitioners in the creative field through a series of incubator programmes.
Commissioned by the National Arts Council, organised by Yvonne Siow of Playpan, and directed by Woo Yen Yen of Lasalle College of the Arts, Kampung Halloween stays true to its spirit of collaboration. Creatives, including writers, dancers, musicians, storytellers and choral groups are invited to join the Kampung Halloween team via an open call.
When Yen Yen, who has a doctorate in education from Columbia University, returned from living abroad for over 20 years, she missed the atmosphere she experienced in New York City’s Williamsburg and East Village. “I attended the Peaceout festival, the closing party of Peace Centre, in January this year, and the atmosphere reminded me of what I experienced in NYC. I was attracted by the energy that the young people were generating. Halloween has always been a time for everyone to come together, and create something joyful and humorous. So, I thought, why not combine that with local heritage? We have many wonderful ghosts and ghouls from the stories our parents and grandparents tell us,” says Yen Yen.
She reached out to Yvonne, who was behind the social movement at Peace Centre, and for two days, they exchanged Whatsapp texts to hatch the idea.
“We started talking about how we could bring a fresh energy to the arts, culture and heritage [aspects of the event]. Social currency is also about bringing people together through a common narrative. Our population is made of Chinese, Malay, Indian communities, but what is our connection? We think that by making rituals and ceremonies come alive in a fun way, that could be a way to bring everyone together,” adds Yvonne. Yvonne and Yen Yen share their plans to bring the crowds back to this arts belt.
OFr tag line is “Bringing back the kampFng spirits”,
because it’s about celebrating our local heritage and also the sense of being together. We will be sending out an open call not only to the public, but also all the art schools, to invite young creatives to be a part of this event. One in three professionals in the arts are freelancers who work independently. It’s very challenging to be on your own, because you have to work on business development, marketing and accounting, when all you want to do is create good work. Being in a collective space allows artists to energise each other and “float” each other’s goals.
The line-Fp for KampFng Halloween will be a combination of cFrated programmes rFn by artists,
pop-ups, and different interest groups coming together with a common theme. One is called Mystery Monologues, where writers and actors get together to write and perform original monologues inspired by the weird mysteries of Singapore. Another is Kampung Kreative, where groups will be seeded with funds to create original 10- or 20-minute shows inspired by ghosts, creatures and stories of the afterlife.
– it’s an incubator that supports young artists in creating innovative collaborations and showcasing their talents. Many are still building their portfolios, and rarely get exposure or the chance to collaborate with others. Through this platform, they can learn from more experienced practitioners and industry professionals who bring different levels of expertise.
It’s not jFst aboFt giving them a stage, bFt also aboFt offering a valFable learning experience.
We are focused on helping artists see their work in different contexts, which is crucial because as independent artists, we often don’t fully understand the quality of our work or where it fits in. This collaboration introduces the arts to a new audience, creating an exciting opportunity to expand the market for the arts.
“Social currency is also about bringing people together through a common narrative. We think that by making rituals and ceremonies come alive in a fun way, that could be a way to bring everyone together.”
– YVONNE SIOW, CO-FOUNDER, PLAYPAN