December 20, 2021
Looking back on 2021: Passion, Innovation & Relevance through the Arts on Campus
From the Director
The end of the year is a time of reflection, to review the accomplishments of the past 12 months and take stock of events past. I believe it is no stretch of the imagination to say that the past 12 months have been quite eventful indeed.
Amid the constant uncertainty and changes that characterised the “new normal”, I am truly heartened to see how NUS Centre For the Arts’ (CFA) students and staff continue to rise to the challenge. Indeed, they have overcome the odds, putting out 116 digital and live events, bringing the arts to over 110,000 people over the past year.
Reflecting on the journey that CFA’s various programmes and events have taken over the past year, three themes stood out to me:
(1) the Passion and Resilience of our students and staff;
(2) embracing Digital Innovation in our craft and work; and
(3) the continued Value and Relevance of the arts to academia.
The following pages provide a glimpse into the tremendous efforts of both our student artists and CFA staff in adapting to the new normal. More importantly, we hope to give a sense of how the arts serves as a catalyst for innovative thinking and problem-solving, closely complementing NUS’ mission of shaping future-ready students who will shine brightly on the global stage, undaunted by challenges and emerging stronger, better, bolder.
Of course, this comes as no surprise to any arts practitioner. After all, as the saying goes: “the show must go on” – and so it shall!
On behalf of CFA, my best wishes to you this holiday season, and may 2022 bring us brighter tomorrows.
Sharon Tan
Director, NUS Centre For the Arts
Click on the image for the video performance
Click on the image for the video performance
Click on the image for the discussion video
Passion & Resilience
Passion and Possibilities
The pandemic was not the only major upheaval we faced. Social media disinformation, cancel culture, and environmental concerns also took centre stage in global discourse. Where some see despair, our students saw possibilities – through their passion. For example, NUS Stage (below) bravely took on the issues of the day in their production, Shook, while other CFA groups explored issues of time and isolation in the production In Search of Lost Time.
Click on the image for cast interviews
Business as Unusual
Despite ever-changing pandemic restrictions, CFA pressed on with events and programmes, adopting online or hybrid formats where needed. But nothing can really replace the immediacy and intimacy of face-to-face contact. And where we could, we did: NUS Museum (below) conducted live student tours in September, which participants found truly eye-opening.
Click on the image for our online museum tour
Building Resilience Through Passion
While in-person events slowed to a near-standstill, our passion for the arts kept us moving. Our Venues and Production Services teams (below) certainly embodied this resilient spirit, keeping our performance venues alive by developing new ways of producing events, adapting to the new normal – for the love of the arts
Digital Innovation
Embracing the Digital Pivot
Continued restrictions on live in-person events meant further embracing the pivot to digital. CFA’s Production Services invested in the necessary equipment and training for all staff in digital production. CFA is now able to support hybrid live-streaming events (below), in the UCC and at other venues on campus.
Click on the image for an example of CFA’s live-streaming capabilities
Empowering Innovation in the New Normal
CFA empowered staff and students to explore innovative ways of conducting programmes that would have traditionally be done offline. Collaborating with URA and TwinLogic Pte Ltd, NUS Museum created a true-to-scale virtual model of the NUS Baba House (below), the first time Building Information Modeling has been used for heritage conservation in Singapore.
Click on the image to visit the virtual Baba House
Experimenting With New Ways to Connect
CFA students boldly experimented with live digital event formats. The annual Here! Arts Carnival received a fresh and fun interpretation via Destination Here, a virtual arts tour around the world (below). Students and staff also experimented with videoconferencing apps’ functionality in productions like The Staff Room, as well as an online Museum Mystery Game, creating new ways of connecting with audiences.
Arts & Academia
Complementing Education
The arts is more than entertainment or an outlet for youthful energy. It complements academic ideas, highlighting conceptual tensions and illustrating hitherto invisible realities. NUS Ilsa Tari (below) collaborated with Dr Suriani Suratman from the Department of Malay Studies for Rantau (Exploration), studying related texts and attending seminars, which contributed to the production. Beyond that, CFA continues to support geNiUSchannel, regularly uploading lectures, interviews, performances and geNiUSbooks.
Click on the image to view the geNiUSbook
Unlocking Out of the Box Ideas
Besides performance, our heritage arts also have much to offer academia. NUS Baba House organised a module collaboration with the School of Design and Environment and the Culinary Institute of America (below) to reimagine Peranakan kueh, fusing Peranakan heritage with 3D printed casts, creating an actual, edible kueh, which is then packaged for sale in a pop-up event.
Shaping Innovative Minds
Our faculty collaborations run the gamut from performances, to art installations, computer gaming and even Augmented Reality exhibitions (below, with the School of Computing). Out of these continuing partnerships with academia, one thing is clear – the arts adds value to higher education, helping to shape creative, resilient, and future-ready graduates.
In Numbers:
Talent Development & Programming
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Members in 20 CFA GroupsCFA’s Art Excellence Groups are distinguished by a rigorous training programme taught by highly qualified, award-winning professional practitioners. Despite the changing restrictions, training has continued through blended learning, while maintaining standards. |
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Viewers Across
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Live Performances for the
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Years of the ExxonMobil
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In Numbers:
NUS Museum &
Baba House
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NUS Students Visited
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Module CollaboratorsThese took place across a range of NUS colleges and faculties, including Yale-NUS, FASS, and SDE. |
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Internship ApplicationsOf which 558 were NUS students. 13 new interns were recruited this Summer, and a further 5 positions are being offered this Winter. |
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Public Art CompetitionCommissioned by NUS Centre For the Arts for the NUS Arts Festival (NAF) 2022 in collaboration with the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT), as part of the NUS Public Art Initiative. |
In Numbers:
Venues &
Production Services
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Reduction in Monthly CostsPandemic restrictions led to an in-depth review of work processes, resulting in restructuring of various services, as well as reduction in electricity consumption, systems integrations and moving to a paperless system. |
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Attendees for
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VIP Hybrid EventsGradual resumption of live events saw several hybrid and in-person events held at UCC, of which 3 hosted VIP guests – namely, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong. |
Showcasing CFA's Talents
CFA & geNiUSarts
Featuring CFA’s growing collection of over 40 performances, lectures and geNiUSbooks, the geNiUSarts channel seeks to inform and educate the NUS community about CFA’s work in bringing vibrancy to campus life, and complementing academia. Click here to visit the CFA folder in geNiUSarts now!
CFA Spotlight TV
Spotlight TV is CFA’s public-facing online showcase, featuring events by NUS CFA; performances by NUS students from our 20 arts excellence groups, and explorations of our exhibitions and Collections Online, from the NUS Museum and NUS Baba House. Click here to see more!