The involvement of faculty in the creative offerings of each NUS Arts Festival has been one of the features that makes it unique. No other arts organisation in Singapore has such a body of knowledge from primary sources so readily available, and importantly, the relationship works both ways. By partnering with artists, faculty may uncover new aspects of their own research or see how others interpret their findings. Being pushed to break down major concepts into more communicable ideas can help even the most seasoned of researchers see their own work in new ways.

With the NUS Arts Festival 2020: Ways of Seeing, academic involvement once again features in many of the productions and scheduled events. However, for the first time, the Festival also has a designated Academic Advisor who has contributed to programming and conceptual decisions throughout the development of the festival.

Dr Kamalini Ramdas, Senior Lecturer with the NUS Department of Geography, has taken on this challenge. Having previously worked with NUS Indian Dance (Maya Yatra, 2018) and NUS Dance Ensemble (Remember When…, 2017) among others, Dr Ramdas has a particular interest in the spatialities of gender, sexuality and race and the application of social theory in geography.

We spoke with her to better understand her approach to collaboration and why she’s accepted this challenging new role.

You have been the ‘academic voice’ with NUS Indian Dance and NUS Dance Ensemble on their performances in past NUS Arts Festivals. What drove you to take on this expanded role as the Festival’s Academic Advisor?

I thoroughly enjoyed my earlier collaborations with CFA’s Dance Ensemble and NUS Indian Dance but as the Academic Advisor to a whole festival I have the opportunity to be part of the planning process right from the start. This included the development of this year’s festival theme, Ways of Seeing, which is a key theme in my specialist area of research: Social and Cultural Geography.

As academic advisor I have gotten to know more about CFA’s arts groups. Indeed, in my very first seminar on Ways of Seeing, I was able to interact with some of the arts groups I had not previously encountered and meet the mentors that guide them.

To me this really is a learning experience for me. Understanding how artists approach issues is quite different from how I normally would as an academic.

You have collaborated with several student groups in the development of individual shows at each NUS Arts Festival. What is important in such collaborations and have you seen your involvement evolve over the years?

Successful collaborations demand that both parties keep an open mind, and be willing to listen to and learn from each other. As an academic, I perhaps do not face the same challenges and issues as an artist does in translating their work. The audience for our writing is narrower; being predominantly other academics.

Collaborations also take time to get going. The first couple of meetings are more about ‘getting to know you’. The fun stuff begins after that, and it is important to set aside enough time for this creative process to evolve. For example, in my first collaboration, my input was more in the form of academic resources and reading material. In my second collaboration, I was involved more with music, and also the themes and some of the ideas behind the actual production.

My involvement as academic advisor for the whole 2020 Festival is more ‘macro’ and I am now able to contribute more substantively and meaningfully because I have gotten to know CFA, its staff and its groups better over the past two years.

How did you balance the academic inputs and creative translations in these endeavours?

I am a geographer and an educator. As such, I focus more on the content, concepts and translation of performances for different audiences, and these include my students also. I have brought the arts into my lectures and tutorials, by providing opportunities for students to learn about gender, the body and space through dance. I am also committed to encouraging students to engage with the arts and find as many opportunities as possible for them to attend performances, or visit the museum. I believe that by making connections between the arts and spatial concepts, such as place, the body, landscape, and scale that geography can come alive!

Through this exposure, my students become more confident engaging with and speaking about the arts. Ultimately, it’s a lot more fun learning through the arts!

Many faculty members may not see a direct link between their field and the arts. What would you say to them?

The arts are an integral part of society. What makes us human is our ability to translate our emotions, thoughts and dreams into dance, painting, music, sculpture, theatre etc. Working with CFA’s Arts Excellence Groups, has allowed me to be a part of this process in a very small way, and that has been very rewarding for me personally. It has also given me the opportunity to share about my discipline and field beyond academia. I would encourage other colleagues to embrace the arts to find new ways of thinking about their disciplinary field. By doing so they too can make a connection with wider society.

You can read more about Dr Ramdas’ approach to the NUS Arts Festival 2020: Ways of Seeing on the Festival website.