State of the Arts: Nov 29 to Dec 6

SINGAPORE — The 25th Singapore International Film Festival kicked off with Ken Kwek’s Unlucky Plaza, a bevy of stars including Zhang Ziyi and the Filipino film Porno being pulled out after its director declined the R21 with cuts rating. The National Arts Council released its latest National Popular Survey on the Arts, which revealed a drop in arts attendance and participation last year as compared with 2011, but also showed a growing recognition of the value of arts among Singaporeans. There was a brief scare for theatre group The ETCeteras when the lead actor for its latest play Like Me. I Like, Member of Parliament Baey Yam Keng, was briefly warded for dengue fever.

Arts groups that went overseas: Dance group Arts Fission was recently in Belgium for a dance residency, while children’s theatre company Act 3 International flew to Egypt for the inaugural Sharm El-Sheikh International Children’s Theatre Festival.

There were changes and announcements afoot for Singapore’s biggest arts institutions: Writer Philip Jeyaretnam is set to become chairperson of the board for the School Of The Arts next year, replacing Lee Tzu Yang, who will take over as the chairman of Esplanade after its current head Theresa Foo steps down at the end of the year. The National Gallery Singapore announced a collaboration with Accenture to introduce digital technology in the museum, while Art Stage Singapore and the United States Embassy in Singapore launched the inaugural Joseph Balestier Award For The Freedom of Art. Author Low Kay Hwa’s A Singapore Love Story was named most downloaded book in Singapore on Google Play this year. Artist Tan Swie Hian broke his own record for the most expensive living artist in South-east Asia after his painting Portrait Of Bada Shanren fetched S$4.4 million at the Poly Auction in Beijing. MAYO MARTIN