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M1 Fringe Festival draws protests online

SINGAPORE — The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, an annual festival of theatre and mixed media, has drawn protests online this week for its programmes themed around Art & Skin for its upcoming 13th edition held in January next year.

Performance artist Madge of Honor is the mentor for Foreign Bodies, one of the highlights in the upcoming M1 Fringe Festival, which has drawn online ire from a group called Singaporeans Defending Family and Marriage. (Photo: M1 Fringe Festival)

Performance artist Madge of Honor is the mentor for Foreign Bodies, one of the highlights in the upcoming M1 Fringe Festival, which has drawn online ire from a group called Singaporeans Defending Family and Marriage. (Photo: M1 Fringe Festival)

SINGAPORE — The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, an annual festival of theatre and mixed media, has drawn protests online this week for its programmes themed around Art & Skin for its upcoming 13th edition held in January next year.

The group, Singaporeans Defending Family and Marriage, has put up a Facebook post titled ‘M1 Fringe Festival – Pornography Disguised as Art?’ on Nov 22. To date, it has received over 100 shares including two shares to the We Are Against Pink Dot in Singapore Facebook group.

The Facebook post, which is linked to a lengthier post on an anonymous blog site, calls into question the government for allowing “such decadent sex and LGBT-themed shows to be propagated”, and wants people to “take action to write to the Ministers to stop this pornography in Singapore disguised as art.”

Last night (Nov 23), M1 Singapore Fringe Festival released an official statement on Facebook titled "Celebrating Diversity, Open-mindedness and Engagement". It clarifies its theme and programming, emphasising that “all events at the Festival undergo the due licensing process with Info-Communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), which is still reviewing the applications submitted. These events are given advisories and ratings where necessary, so that regulations are met and audiences have clear expectations.”

The original Facebook post drew comments defending the festival’s programmes from well-known personalities in the local arts scene such as award winning actor Lim Yu-Beng, Young Artist Award recipient Pooja Nansi and the Fringe Festival’s artistic director, Sean Tobin, who was attacked as “a foreigner who has no vested interest in Singapore’s well-being”.

One of the programmes criticised is Undressing Room by Singapore artist Ming Poon, an intimate one-to-one performance between a participant and the artist. Held at the rehearsal studio in Centre 42 and exclusive to just one participant per performance, Poon’s work delves into themes of desire, shame, power and intimacy within a meditative space.

The Facebook statement by the Fringe team responded specifically about these works, stating “There are works in the Festival that clearly contain mature content, and as such, the Festival has taken the precaution of imposing the R18 rating from the date of the launch of ticket sales, limiting audience members to those aged 18 and above. For instance, Undressing Room and Naked Ladies feature full nudity, and naturally these shows come with the appropriate ratings and advisories.”

The Fringe team ended their statement saying it hopes to manage differences. “The arts have always encouraged new ways of seeing, and have also created safe spaces for us to examine differences in opinions. These constructive dialogues are essential in this day and age, and they prevent fissures and polarisation, by celebrating diversity, open-mindedness, and a willingness to engage in discourse with one another.”

M1 Fringe Festival runs from 4 to 15 January 2017. Visit www.singaporefringe.com for more information about the programmes line-up. Tickets available on SISTIC.

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