Singapore’s First Virtual Co-Created Creative Exhibition “Thriving Singapore” to Open On 10 October4 min read
Reading Time: 3 minutesLaunched by media agency, CreativesAtWork, and creative studio, ALH Studio, Singapore’s first virtual exhibition Thriving Singapore will be opening its virtual doors on 10 October. Running entirely online till end December, Thriving Singapore’s virtual exhibition space and creative workshops will be hosted on its website.
The co-creation exhibition looks to use technology to support creativity, imagination, and the human connection through the sharing of visual arts, community engagement, and a creative workshop series under the theme “Thriving Singapore”. Its lineup of activities will bring together 14 local artists and arts practitioners to showcase their works, and bring the community on a journey to explore local creativity and culture.
These artists are: Araikreva (DPLMT), M Drako, Ebao (DPLMT), Ernest Goh, GalactikCaptain (DPLMT), Michael Ng aka Mindflyer ( 昵称 – “小飞人” ), Anne-laure Herrezuelo, Danielle Tay, The Terror Troopers (DPLMT), Leach/Li-cheng, Gary Fernandez, Neo Jialing, Sharanyaa, and We Dance x Stage6.
Thriving Singapore will comprise of three main parts:
Co-creation
The organisers reached out to the community by asking “If you could share an object that represents a Thriving Singapore, what would that be?” . The community answered by submitting pictures, drawings, videos and poems to www.thrivingsingapore.com. 15 symbols were selected from the submissions. The artists used the selected symbols to collaborate and inspire the creation of new art pieces for the “Thriving Singapore” exhibition.
Virtual Exhibition
More than 30 original artworks – digital art, digitised paintings, photography, created by the artists will be showcased in the virtual exhibition space on www.thrivingsingapore.com, from 10/10/2020 at 8pm. Participants, families, friends will also be invited to experience and even upgrade their creative skills with a series of creative workshops, fireside chats, as well as virtual tours conducted together with the artists and other industry experts.
Creative Workshops
Through the creative workshops, Thriving Singapore strives to use the arts as a medium to help people, Singaporeans and beyond, cope better with COVID-19, by exploring one’s creativity, and bring joy and other curious minds together.
In the press release detailing the exhibition’s launch, Jayce Tham, co-founder of CreativesAtWork, shares, “COVID-19 is unprecedented and has impacted many. However, instead of waiting for the pandemic to be over, we decided we should change our way of doing things. We refused to let the current situation drag us down. Together with our local artists, we want to use arts and creativity to inspire others to take action,”
“How do we improvise?” asks Anne-Laure Herrezuelo, the founder of ALH Studio. “How do we shine when every day we may experience the phantom-limb syndrome of not being able to see friends and family, or connect with wilderness or dance with people? For me, the answer has been about finding great people to work and imagine with, and to give ourselves the permission to invent our own ways to connect and create. In doing so, we have started to provide a space for others to connect and create too. Thriving Singapore is – for me – this new way of connecting and creating together.”
Thriving Singapore has also brought together partners such as local tech company, Rockmoon and local innovative paint manufacturer, gush. gush will be enriching the exhibition with uniquely created Singapore colours. Together, they are committed to develop beautiful, fun, and intuitive creative experiences for all.
“Thriving Singapore is a much needed burst of energy for us and everyone coming out of the doldrums of the pandemic; we’re no longer waiting, but adapting. An air-purifying paint company’s involvement in a virtual event seems unusual, but innovation doesn’t come without imagination. We’re really excited to be a part of this opportunity to explore virtual spaces, communications and creativity in this new normal,” added Lester Leong, Co-Founder of gush,
The exhibition will begin with its opening event on 10 October, 8pm, where the artists and invited guests will be sharing on what “Thriving Singapore” means to the community. Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for the Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry for Trade and Industry, will be the Guest-of-Honour at the opening event.
Commending the creative community’s effort of connecting Singaporeans through their craft, Ms Low said, “Amid the challenges brought about by COVID-19, the arts play an essential role in bridging communities and uplifting our spirits. I am heartened to see our arts and creative practitioners rising to the occasion and working together to present their work digitally to Singaporeans. Indeed, their creativity in this showcase highlights their determination to overcome the current crisis and inspires us to thrive despite difficult times.”
Registration for the opening night will be open soon – follow Thriving Singapore on Facebook for the latest updates.
