Singapore International Festival of Arts and pre-festival attracts record number of attendees

SINGAPORE — The Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa), together with its pre-festival The O.P.E.N. (Open, Participate, Engage, Negotiate), has drawn a record number of attendees this year.

The two events, which ran from Aug 11 to Sept 17 and June 22 to July 9 respectively, attracted 155,000 people in total (of which 16,500 audiences was for the pre-festival), more than 2.5 times from last year. Last year attracted 62,000 people, of which 12,000 was for The O.P.E.N.

There was also a record number of sold out shows, with 75 per cent of the productions this year full-house. They include Hamlet | Collage by Robert Lepage, Five Easy Pieces by Milo Rau, In The Mood For Frankie by Trajal Harrell, Making & Doing by Bill T. Jones, the South East Asian Retrospective by Sardono Kusumo, Everything By My Side and Time Between Us by Argentine director Fernando Rubio who worked with Singaporean actors Margaret Chan and Oliver Chong, Singapore creations I Am LGB, The Last Bull: A Life in Flamenco, and Sandaime Richard directed by festival director, Ong Keng Sen.

Of Sifa’s 20 productions, 15 were new creations of which eight involved Singaporean and international collaborations.

The festival also boasted new directions with traditional Asian art and artists by incorporating performances such as Paradise Interrupted by Huang Ruo (which blended the traditional and the contemporary beautifully as the production fused Western classical music with Kunqu) in its offerings. With The Sardono Retrospective trilogy, the festival showcased pioneer master performing artist Sardono W Kusumo’s oeuvre of work in the last 50 years with the traditional cultures and arts of Indonesia.

This year, Sifa also ventured out to new venues such as the National Gallery, Malay Heritage Centre, Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands Events Plaza. One of the highlights was Ron Arad’s 720°, which was made free to the public. Held at Gardens by the Bay for over 16 days, the monumental outdoor video installation also included Brian Gothong Tan’s production, Tropical Traumas: A Series of Cinematographic Choreographies, which was created specially for the opening week of 720° and was held from Sept 2 to 4.

In a press release issued on Tuesday (Sept 20), Ong said “the proof is in the pudding”.

“I’m so pleased that we forged on with this bold new direction of creating a distinct identity for the Festival. Instead of shopping for brands in the art market, we have brought Singapore audiences brand-new and fresh creations from around the world, brokering collaborations between international and Singapore artists,” he added.

“It is indeed richly rewarding to see the audiences responding resoundingly. We’ve proven that there is such a thing as a ‘sweet spot’ for quality yet accessible art, engaging the wider public as well as developing the dialogue in art.”

Ong will be helming the festival for the fourth and final year next year.