From ‘don’t sit on me’ to ‘network of pricks’
An illustrated talk by Cheo Chai-Hiang
Saturday 4 August 2012, 4pm–6pm
The Substation Theatre
Admission: Free
This is an InHouse event 
In March 2011 Cheo Chai Hiang exhibited Don’t Sit On Me at the Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Asian Architectural and Urban Heritage, (National University of Singapore) Melaka. The title was borrowed from a rare graffiti image of a man’s ‘baobei’ scrawled on a seat on an MRT train in Singapore. The project was informed by Cheo’s own idiosyncratic reading of Kuo Pao Kun’s play Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral.
Cheo invited friends and colleagues to participate by contributing a discarded chair or stool which they then turned into a five-legged makeshift chair/stool with 3 long and 2 short legs. 70 artists, curators, writers and friends responded to his invitation. In this talk, Cheo will show slides and share his thoughts about the long journey he has traveled whilst undertaking this project, in particular the multiple/overlapping roles he plays as an artist, a project manager, a curator and a commentator. Title: Installation of Don’t Sit on Me. Photo credit: Yeo Siak Goon.
There’s Something About Me
Black Baroque Committee presented by vertical submarine
Wednesday 8 August 2012, 7:30pm-9:30pm
The Substation Classroom 1
Admission: Free
This is an InHouse event
vertical submarine says…
“From both the projects and writings, the group has demonstrated how their practice concerns not only art. Rather than being ahistorical, or indulging in introspective celebration of individual peculiarity, their theory and practice are positioned within a historical perspective.”
There’s Something About Me
For the 2nd year of The Substation’s Associate Artist Research Programme (AARP), our current Associate Artists will be inviting emergent artists to present their work in a monthly series of lecture-presentations. An expansion of the AARP, There’s Something About Me is a new platform for our Associate Artists to introduce artists whom they personally believe in, and initiate dialogue and sharing within the artists and public community about their works.
The Lecher of Art: Lecture 10
Almost Untitled: 20,000 Things About Art in 2 Hours
By Lee Wen
Friday 10 August 2012, 8pm-9:30pm
The Substation Theatre
Admission: Free
This is an InHouse event
The artist, Lee Wen, uses art to interrogate stereotypical perceptions of culture and society. He sees his projects as a process of living in a state of permanent crisis, and will share this philosophy of art and artmaking in this lecture.
The Lecher of Art is a series of performance-presentations that revisits ways of exploring the art of speech while ‘lecherously’ engaging the audience. These seemingly fictional, un-assumed and alternative methodologies of speech and presentation contradict the authoritative, anticipated and doctrinal manners in which lectures are conventionally delivered.
Leaving a career in banking in the late 1980s, Lee Wen enrolled at LASALLE College of the Arts and joined his peers to become a member of Artists Village founded in 1988. His work has been strongly motivated by social investigations as well as inner psychological directions using art to interrogate stereotypical perceptions of culture and society. Lee Wen was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2005.
Other Singapores: Intercultural Stories
Saturday 7 July 2012, 2pm-6pm
Unfortunately we’ve had to postpone the conference to a later date.
We’d like to apologise for any inconvenience caused, and hope to see you at the conference when a new date is confirmed.
The Substation Theatre
Admission: $15 available from the box office
Contact Mish’aal 6337 7800 / boxoffice@substation.org
Early bird discount: $10 (purchase before 30 June 2012)
Bulk booking Discount: $10 (per ticket for bookings of more than 10)
The second edition of The Substation Conferences considers contemporary culture from diverse local perspectives. Speakers include: John Gee, freelance writer and former president of Transient Workers Count Too; Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib, founding member of Leftwrite Centre and an activist with The Reading Group; playwright Chong Tze Chien; and Shabbir Hussain Mustafa, curator and researcher.
The term interculturalism came into circulation in the 1990s in fields like theatre studies and was often used to designate experiments where artists deliberately mixed and matched distinct cultural practices. In contrast, our aim with this conference is to explore the interweaving of different cultures as something far more ordinary and at the same time absolutely fundamental to Singapore society. However, even though we may be always already intercultural in Singapore, too often we tend overlook our diverse many “Other Singapores” — this conference aims to bring together in conversation a few of these lesser known stories.
This series of conferences is convened and moderated by Lee Weng Choy.
Details
There’s Something About Me: Dixie Chan presented by Felicia Low
Wednesday 6 June 2012, 8:30pm-9.30pm
The Substation Classroom 1
Admission: Free
This is an InHouse event
felicia low says…
“Dixie’s work highlighted dilemmas and struggles faced by the sex workers – and what struck me the most was how the film portrayed these dilemmas and struggles as silent and untold. I believe that there is great potential in Dixie’s approach to her filmmaking, and I would like to support her effort in finding a personal visual language through the use of film, to highlight a social cause.”
During her days as a Political Science student, Dixie Chan developed an interest in documentaries centred on social issues and human rights. About 2 years ago, she became a volunteer of Project X which advocates the rights of sex workers in Singapore. She hopes to deepen her knowledge of filmmaking and produce films that can inspire people to be more active in social issues.
There’s Something About Me
For the 2nd year of The Substation’s Associate Artist Research Programme (AARP), our current batch of Associate Artists will be inviting emergent artists to present their work in a monthly series of lecture-presentations. An expansion to the AARP, There’s Something About Me is a new platform for our Associate Artists to introduce artists whom they personally believe in, and initiate dialogue and sharing within the artists and public community about their works.
Lecture 8 - The Mad Conferences of Professor Ma:
Photography and Performance V.1.1
By Gilles Massot
Thursday 17 May 2012, 8pm-9.30pm
The Substation Theatre
Admission: Free
This is an InHouse event
The Lecher of Art is a series of performance-presentations that revisits ways of exploring the art of speech while ‘lecherously’ engaging the audience. These seemingly fictional, un-assumed and alternative methodologies of speech and presentation contradict the authoritative, anticipated and doctrinal manners in which lectures are conventionally delivered.
The Mad Conferences of Professor Ma
The disciplines of photography and performance have developed an intricate inter-relationship over the course of their respective histories. In fact, it could well be said that each assisted the other in finally attaining acceptance by high art institutions in the later part of the 20th century. In this new edition of his mad conferences, Professor Ma explores the rich interaction of these two disciplines in a two-part presentation of their histories, and their expansion in relation to each other.
There’s Something About Me: Gerald Leow presented by Zaki Razak
Wednesday 16 May 2012, 7:30pm-9.30pm
The Substation Classroom 1
Admission: Free
This is an InHouse event
zaki razak says…
“Gerald is an apt marginal figure who fits Edward Said’s representation of an intellectual: someone who visibly represents a standpoint of some kind, and someone who makes articulate representations to his public despite all sorts of barriers. The standpoint of some kind refers to the prevalence of colonial ideology that attempts to construct a homogeneous and negative influence on society.”
A self-taught artist in his own right, Gerald Leow’s background in sociology does play a part in his artistic process where situations and behavioural traits of society are critically assessed. In this case, his abiding interest is in questioning the seeming rise of a popular culture and pondering on its demerits.
There’s Something About Me
For the 2nd year of The Substation’s Associate Artist Research Programme (AARP), our current batch of Associate Artists will be inviting emergent artists to present their work in a monthly series of lecture-presentations. An expansion to the AARP, There’s Something About Me is a new platform for our Associate Artists to introduce artists whom they personally believe in, and initiate dialogue and sharing within the artists and public community about their works.
The Substation Conferences presents:
Target Audiences and the Publics of Art
Saturday 7 April 2012, 11am – 5pm
The Substation Theatre
Admission: $25 from the box office contact Mishaal 6337 7800 / boxoffice@substation.org
To reserve your seats online please click here to submit an online registration form
Please note seats are limited and reservations will be confirmed on a first-come, first-served basis
// Introduction
Target Audiences and the Publics of Art
The purpose of this conference is to examine the many concepts of audience and public: from general audiences to target audiences; publics for and of art.
The audience is a term often used by arts administrators — an object of desire, to be counted and coveted. Whereas the public is something that art-makers seem more concerned with. Audiences may be out there to be reached, but publics are always constituted by some sense of purpose or identity. Arts spaces are not just venues for the consumption of contemporary culture. If they do their job well, they become sites where where individuals, from artists to audiences, gather together and feel some sense of belonging. Speakers include Lee Weng Choy, Kathy Rowland and Tan Tarn How.
For more information, and the schedule, please see below:
Details
The Lecher of Art – Lecture 7
seVen: pondering over Malay weddings by Zaki Razak
Thursday 5 April 2012, 8pm-9:30pm
The Substation Theatre
Admission: Free
This is an InHouse event
The Lecher of Art is a series of performance-presentations that revisits ways of exploring the art of speech while ‘lecherously’ engaging the audience. These seemingly fictional, un-assumed and alternative methodologies of speech and presentation contradict the authoritative, anticipated and doctrinal manners in which lectures are conventionally delivered.
About: seVen: pondering over Malay weddings
With the mighty influence of the economy overtaking spiritual self and public pace, our articulatory faculties seem to be held captive; ever submissive to the insurgence of capitalism and never recognising the conflicts of cultural production. From the ‘fixed’ demand of dowry to the monotony and imbecility of wedding reception and rites, what is seemingly ‘clumped’ to a misrepresentation is in dire need to be revised and reformatted. Is there a way to resist a canonical cultural practice and re-introduce a formation of culture, which recognises its criticality and creativity? Zaki and his panel of selected personalities aim to discuss this social phenomenon.
Details
There’s Something About Me
Loo Zihan presented by Ming Poon
Wednesday 4 April 2012, 7:30PM-9.30PM
The Substation Classroom 1
Admission: Free
This is an InHouse event
ming poon says…
“The nature and the themes of Zihan’s works inevitably kick dust in our faces, by bringing out those sticky questions that we prefer not to ask. They make us and him – feel exposed, leaving a burning feeling in our guts. This, I believe, is what keeps his works fascinating and relevant to me.”
Loo Zihan is a Singaporean moving-image, performance and installation artist. He received a MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his BFA from Nanyang Technological University. His films have been screened in various film festivals including AFI Fest (L.A.), Pusan International Film Festival, Newfest (New York City) and Frameline (San Francisco). He has had recent exhibitions and showings at NEXT / Art Chicago, Zhou B Art Center (Chicago) and Defibrillator (Chicago). He is the recipient of a James Nelson Raymond Fellowship from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
There’s Something About Me
For the 2nd year of The Substation’s Associate Artist Research Programme (AARP), our current batch of Associate Artists will be inviting emergent artists to present their work in a monthly series of lecture-presentations. An expansion to the AARP, There’s Something About Me is a new platform for our Associate Artists to introduce artists whom they personally believe in, and initiate dialogue and sharing within the artists and public community about their works.
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