What have you missed?
The Kids Arts Village is the first of its kind in Singapore and is proudly brought to you by the Singapore Arts Festival 2011!
Each week, the reporters from the Tan Chin Tuan Foundation Young Reporters Project will give you a first-hand coverage of the week’s programs at the Kids Arts Village. Come join them as they share the fun that you’ve been missing out on!
For booking enquiries, email nac_artsfestcommune@nac.gov.sg.
21 May – Children’s Showtime Week
With sumptuous performances by IQ Kidz Pte Ltd Preschool and Canossaville Children’s Home, this sunny Saturday was definitely a memorable day for many with these overheard quotes.
Wong Zhi Cheng
12 years old
Canossaville Children’s Home performer
“We can choose between learning circus and percussion. We chose circus because it seemed more exciting.”
– on how they came about performing –
Evelyn Ng
13+ years old
Canossaville Children’s Home performer
“[Circus training] is always fun because we learn something new rather than watch TV and waste time.”
– on rehearsing for performances –
Mr Jay Che Jia Jun
33 years old
Social Circus Instructor
Trainer for the Canossaville Children’s Home performers
“[I’ve worked with these youths], some of them as long as five years, some of them as short about a year.”
– on his performers –
“Some of them are really shy and they have low self-esteem when they came to the programme, right till the day after they receive training for years. Then they really take on the stage with so much confidence to perform for a big crowd.”
– on instances when he sees his youths blossom –
“Some of them actually become my trainers and my trainers are formerly youth-at-risk. Now they become like a role model for other youths. I would say that that’s my proudest moment.”
Shirin Pillai
39 years old
Freelance Speech & Drama trainer
Trainer for IQ Kids Pte Ltd performance
“I had to go to every single centre to teach them and it was just wonderful to see… how much they have learnt from the time I’ve been there. I go in there for [one or two lessons] to teach them the steps and I don’t see them again until they perform.”
– on the struggles of coordinating the performers –
Fanny Koh
22 May – Children’s Showtime Week
Sweet and simple – these would be the words to describe the performances concocted by the performers from Singapore Children’s Society. With equally commendable acts by Acts of Life and Persatuan Pemudi Islam Singapura (PPIS), Northlight, YMCA Y D Gen Percussion Group held before them, the students from Singapore Children’s Society put up a commendable performance that ranged from dance acts that were choreographed to the beat of Korean pop to vocal acts like Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”. While keeping every item simple, the idea of self-empowerment was seen in each performance as the students strutted their stuff and bopped to the tune to an audience that was entertained throughout. Fanny Koh
5 June – Children’s Showtime
My second trip to the Kids Arts Village fell on the last day of the Village, though it was very easy to forget that it was the last day upon entering the Village. It bustled with even more energy and excitement, with no sign of activities stopping any time soon. Participants could be seen in action all throughout the village, excitedly partaking in the activities and admiring what was on display.
“Come Dance!” by the School of Dance was a prime example of the efforts and hard-work the artistes invested into showcasing their art, which was clearly indicated by the spectacular performance they put on. Furthermore, they succeeded in creating an inclusive environment in which the audience was also infused with the same exhilaration that the dancers experienced. The dancers’ attempts to actively engage members of the audience by inviting them to dance was initially met with bashfulness, but after the shyness was overcome, many members of the audience joined the dancers in their performance. Both the dancers from the School of Dance, as well as the new dancers that had joined them from the audience, had a delightful time, as could be seen in the bright smiles on all their faces. In a way, this scene represented what the Kids Arts Village was all about – kids sharing their art with other kids, and both parties having a brilliant time while doing so!
I then went to see the artworks in the gallery – this time, they were scrapbooks that the artists had assembled on their memories and what they wanted to remember. There were scrapbooks of pictures showing their growth from infancy, through early childhood, to their preteens, with words besides the pictures to make the scrapbook more comprehensible to those reading it. Other scrapbooks did not show a clear indication of movement through time, but rather showed what they wanted to remember – pictures with family and friends showing fun times that they had shared with those closest to them. Others portrayed interests and hobbies, such as kite flying or the creation of handicrafts. Regardless of the form the scrapbooks took, they all shared one thing in common – they contained memories that were important to the individual artists, and each contained its own story that it wanted to share with visitors to the Village. Looking through the scrapbooks was like flipping through the accumulation of memories in the artists’ minds, and being able to experience some of what they had experienced. In doing so, the scrapbooks closed the gap between the artist and the viewer, drawing the audience into a part of the artist’s life as personal joys were shared.
Leaving the Kids Arts Village – and ending the second of my visits to the Village, with many more hopefully on the horizon– was bittersweet. While my visits had been such enjoyable experiences, enriching me with refreshing ways to look at art, I also regretted that it was all over so soon. But until next year, I’ll just have to do with my memories of the Kids Arts Village.
Amaris Lee/b>
4 June – Children’s Showtime Week
I’m greeted by a crowd of parents proudly snapping shots of their children in their costumes minutes before the performance is due to begin. The first show is put up by the students of Tampines Primary School, entitled ‘The True Story of the Three Little Pigs’. The entire performance was narrated by just three children yet interesting enough to hold one’s interest. I watched as they ‘huffed and puffed’ wondering what it was like to live through a childhood where so many alternative storylines were provided and not just one happy ending.
After ending their performance to tumultuous applause, the next performance was entitled ‘Bibik Nancy and the Story Stealer’. The basic storyline of the play talks about people forgetting stories with the advancement in technology and the invention of the ‘magic box’, which resembled a television to me. I felt this story was particularly relevant to the society today, what with the continual fast-paced advancement in technology. Not to stereotype but many children nowadays are either glued to the television set or playing with iPads. Rarely does one see a child poring over a fairytale printed on paper. I guess this is what it means to remember. Sooner or later, things are going to change, perhaps drastically. Who knows what the future holds for the fate of childhood stories? The theme of ‘I want to remember’ is one that holds true for people today and in the future. Maybe someday, people will be saying ‘I want to remember the stories that were printed on paper’.
Lim Qi Min
2nd June 2011 – Children’s Showtime Week
Today, I spent my day at the Kids Art Village. Upon reaching at 1.15pm, I decided to take a look at the exhibition while waiting for the first performance to begin. The exhibition gallery was filled an assortment of scrapbooks based on the theme “I Want to Remember…” Apart from the ready-made scrapbooks that are on display, some students also participated by making a mini-scrapbook.
Their task was rather interesting and simple as they were guided to make a mini-scrapbook by drawing and writing down what they wished to remember. As Fathers’ Day is round the corner, some students drew representations of their fathers. Such representations include lions, mice, four-legged monster and more. When I approached them to ask the reason behind drawing such a representation, they replied “…because my daddy can fight everything and he is brave…” Upon seeing how these students look up to their fathers as a courageous warrior or hero really warms one’s heart. Of course, there are others who want to remember their friends and family.
After viewing all the scrapbooks at the exhibition gallery, I went for a craftwork session. The response for the craft session was overwhelming as all the kids wanted to get a hands-on experience of creating some art piece. Mingling into the crowd like one of them, I started weaving my small piece of plastic mesh with strips of recycled plastic bags. It was similar to doing cross-stitch work but this was much easier and safer as no needles were involved. I was excited, engrossed and enthusiastic while weaving, just like other kids. There was also another type of craftwork where kids were given recycled plastic bottles. The kids were supposed to work their creativity and create something out of the plastic bottle. Some doodled, drew and cut out certain shapes that resemble cartoon characters such as SpongeBob.
There were 2 performances for the day that were put up by Tampines Primary School and Ang Mo Kio Secondary School. The first show titled “Bibik Neo and the story stealer” was performed by the drama club of Tampines Primary School. Tampines Primary School’s drama club is well-recognised as they are the first primary school in Singapore to have a Black Box. The show was about the famous tale ‘The Three Little Pigs’, but done with a slight twist, as well as the story of ‘Bibik Neo and the story stealer’. ‘Bibik Neo and the story teller’ reveals a series of event where stories are being ‘stolen’ and finally, Bibik Neo manages to overcome all odds and nab the ‘stealer’.
Despite having only 3 weeks to rehearse for the show, this group of children were very well-rehearsed and enthusiastic on stage. Their show was entertaining, captivating and enjoyable for audiences of all age group. When certain audiences were interviewed, they had a unanimous response that the show was indeed excellent and worth watching. Most importantly, they felt that their teamwork and preparation were amazing.
The second show put up by Ang Mo Kio Secondary School’s drama club was more apt for teenagers. This play was prepared for 5 months and led them to clinch a silver award during the Singapore Central Youth Judging Festival (SYF) this year. The story revolves around a girl who has her own dreams and ambitions towards the Arts.
However, her dreams are smashed by her parents as what she wishes to pursue does not match the stereotypes of a typical Singaporean- being a lawyer, doctor or banker. This leads her to face mockery, criticism and despise from others, especially her own relatives. Most importantly, the central character seems to act as a ‘voice’ of teenagers who have their own dreams. Getting a chance to interview one of the members in the cast, she personally feels that the play teaches others about morals and allow us to see how strict some families still are in today’s society.
Overall, I felt that today’s experience at the Kids Art Village was indeed a memorable and fruitful one. Most importantly, I am already looking forward to next year’s Arts festival!
Clarissa Lim
28th May
I arrived at the Kids Art Village, frankly, clueless to what I was to expect. I was lost when I first stepped into the Festival Village, trying to find my way around the bamboo-scaffold tents that seemed nearly identical to the naked eye. While prancing through my way there, I stumbled upon an area bounded by a wired fence. Nothing special about the wired fence, but what was attached onto the fence caught my eye. From far, it seemed as if the fence was donned on with a rainbow-colored polka-dotted cloak. At a closer look, each ‘polka-dot’ seemed vaguely familiar to me – alas, it was actually cutouts from used plastic bags that are so common yet innovative when portrayed in such a manner -Environmentally-friendly fun – something I like to categorize under the big umbrella of everything and anything, Art. As an Art student, of however worth that status holds for, being welcomed by such an unconventional sight does indeed feel like ‘home’. Then, finally being at the right place off I went, ready for my first encounter with the Kids Art Village.
‘Around The World’ by the Singapore Lyric Opera Children’s Choir, from a 17 year old amateur art journalist, can simply be described as two words – simply adorable. A mini introduction by a representative from the National Art Council, then the crowd of ages ranging from 6 to 60 years old welcomed the choir with a resounding applause. Kicking it off with a fresh rendition of the ever-popular children rhyme, Old Macdonald Had A Jazzy Farm. Jazzed it up with a twist that did not fail to receive its well-deserved recognition of the audience; Eased our stiff shoulders, relaxed our tensed-up brows that has been accumulated throughout the past week of hectic schedules and almost-inhumane errands and just surrender to the childish and weary-free atmosphere evoked by the angelic voices of the children, complimented by their innocent glares that stares right back at your heart. Sustaining the excitement and anticipation level for the next item, I was kept on my toes. The choir, comprising of children aged between 8 and 16 from different mother tongues, conquered a remarkable feat of a dialect-led song, 天黑黑, that blew me away. Meow. Meow. Meow. Certainly, ‘Meow’ was my favorite song of the performance. By portraying a visual of a squabble between two cats, it was a playful method of grasping the audiences’ attention through the refreshingly mischievous use of lyrics. Last but not least, the emcees from the choir themselves introduced the finale song which was titled ‘Happy Talk’. A part of the song went “You’ve got to have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how are you going to have a dream come true?” It is simple enough to comprehend yet so thought provoking– the complexity in between all the simplicity. I wished for an encore.
The theme of this year’s Singapore Art Festival is ‘I want to remember’. To relate back to our roots, and trace back where we first started. If I may quote Mr Low Kee Hong, General Manager of the Singapore Arts Festival, he recounts on an opening message from a Singapore Arts Festival catalogue, “Living in a fast paced city like Singapore often requires us to forget and erase memories. Sometimes, we don’t even have the capacity to remember. And memory is a funny thing; it is never absolute or complete. At best, we try to piece together fragments and imprints, usually ending up reinventing as we reconstruct these memories.”
Even as I’m penning this down now, I have children swarming and scrambling around me. Their innocence is impeccably inspiring. Their genuinity is utterly refreshing.
The memory of me recalling will be something I want to remember.
Written By:
Scarlet Leong
Pioneer Junior College
20th May – The Great Inventors Children’s Showtime
Today was yet another bustling day at the Kids’ Arts Village, Singapore’s first ever festival village that is created by kids, for kids. The morning kicked off with a visit by children from Woodlands PCF Childcare Centre to the Village. The preschoolers, all between the ages of 2-5years old, were awed by the exhibits and enjoyed themselves thoroughly with the activities.
Art Gallery
The children first visited the Art Gallery, where they were exposed to creative pieces on the theme of “The Great Inventors”. They were amazed by pointillism artworks created by kindergarteners such as themselves! They were also able to recognize the ‘X-ray’ designs of other drawings of popular animals, such as snakes and fishes. Upon viewing a display made completely out of drinking straws, some even exclaimed that they “looked like lollipops”! It sounds as though our young friends certainly had fun! Facilitating the tour were young volunteers from Si Ling Primary. Susan Soo and Soo Hwee Sharon described the experience as being challenging, but exciting; they felt “rewarded” when the children were able to complete the simple activity of converting their drawings into “cute fishes and cats”! Some of the preschoolers’ parents came along to view the exhibit and were amazed to see office stationery like post-its and staplers being converted into outstanding pieces of art!Newcraft Space
Woodlands PCF children had a grand time creating their very own paper parrot, made with recycled paper! When asked, Titus Lim, Tang Yi Wei and their friends said that they “enjoyed the session very much” and even created other innovations like paper monkeys and motorcycles! Grace, an active volunteer at the Village, commented on her experience as a facilitator: “(It was) a little bit hard to communicate to the children when they weren’t listening,… (but) it was fun overall!”Showtime! By “My First Skool”
The first Showtime! of the day started at 11.20am, with the children participating actively in warm-up exercises and stretching. Performers from My First Skool at Clementi, Jurong West and Wellington sang, danced and mimed their memories about great inventors such as Walt Disney, Dr Seuss and Alexander Fleming. My First Skool at Clementi performed an invigorating number about the importance of antibiotics, telling the story through the adventures of “5 little monkeys jumping on a bed”! With only 3-4 rehearsals prior to the performance, our young friends really dazzled the audience!Showtime! By St. Joseph’s Institution Junior
Promptly at 12pm, kindergarteners from Bethesda kindergarten filed excitedly into the Showroom space. “Taking Flight” was put up by students from SJI (Junior), who described to their young audience the history of aviation. Through exciting Q&A sessions, colourful photographs, and vivid descriptions, our presenters told us about their favourite planes and their most admired aviators, who included Amelia Earhart and the Wright brothers. The young ones were engaged and attentive, claiming that they want to fly a “Skyplane” sometime in the future! The KAV is off to an exciting start and looks poised to dazzle many more young kids in the days to come! If you want some good memories to keep, come on down to experience more fun times with us!Minerva Lim
19 May 2011 – Great Inventors Children’s Showtime
So here I am, 14 years of age sitting amongst children half my age in the Kids Arts Village 2011. I started my exploration of the village at the performance area, where I was entertained by a group of kindergarten children. As I watched the children perform ‘Mickey Mouse Mime’ to the tune of ‘What a Wonderful World’ and ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ by Dr Suess, I was struck not only by their performances but how they performed. Firstly of course, being only about 5 years old, their performance was, needless to say, simply adorable. One could easily see how some children were so intent on getting their steps right and how some were completely happy with just doing their best and having fun. It brought to mind how child performers, or children for that matter, are different from adults or even teenagers. For them, perfection was something that was not entirely necessary; mistakes were made and that was okay because of the fact that these children are still children. They themselves did not mind, as long as they were having fun. They are young and energetic; having this opportunity to express themselves was sufficient. There was something about children in overlarge Dr Suess’ hats performing that made fresh nostalgia and memories of what it was like when I was their age fill my mind during the show. The theme of the Singapore Arts Festival 2011 is ‘I Want to Remember’, and indeed, one would remember what it was like to be a child.
Following the performance, I viewed the art gallery that displayed the art works of children as young as 3 years old. The creativity of the children was expressed in many art forms such as 3D structures and even a pop art piece on Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. It was impressive how children so young could produce artwork of such quality and their courage of trying something new paid off. The school children I was following around the village obviously enjoyed themselves very much with the hands-on-experience of changing a drawing of a light bulb to something entirely different, to the extent that they could hardly afford the time to share their thoughts on the village.
I then moved to the room where the children were taught how to make a parrot from recycled paper. My age and height must have terrified the children because they would not even make eye contact with me. I resigned to my fate and observed them afar, watching how they stapled and rolled pieces of paper to make a parrot. Once again, it provided a creative outlet for the children, to provide a new perspective for them to see these scraps of paper in a different light.
The Kids Art Village is an entirely new concept of having performances for children, by children. I believe the children, the performers, student facilitators and audience, enjoyed themselves as much as I did just watching them. A simple yet apt description of the village was given by one of the children, “It was very fun!”
Lim Qi Min
18 May 2011 – Kids Arts Village Opening Party
I watched snippets of what will be performed during the 3 weeks at the kids Arts Festival. The preview started off with a duet from Singapore Children’s Society, playing the guitar and singing along to the song ‘Hotel California’. It then progressed to the performance put up by Culinary Adventurers Pte Ltd. This group, consisting of 5 children, put up a cooking show titled ‘Mum’s Not Cooking’. The audience was certainly enjoying their cooking show and were eager to get a taste of what they have created. A Michael Jackson performance put up by the kids from Seedlings Patch awed the audience and received loud cheers and applause. The preview then came to an end with a martial arts item put up by PCF Kampong Ubi – Kembangan children. The kids ‘sparred’ and displayed their martial arts along with the song ‘Never say never’ by Justin Biever featuring Jaden Smith. It was well-received by the audience as they were seen taking photos of the children performing and even dancing along!
Clarissa Tan
18 May 2011 – Kids Arts Village Opening Party
I was ushered into the tent where the kids arts village opening was held. The tent was filled with adults and children alike and I found myself standing in a corner, waiting expectantly for the show to begin. A young girl took the mike, introducing the first performance, two young musicians, brothers in fact. There was applause as they introduced themselves, and they sang ‘Hotel California’. The moment they started their tune, I noticed smiles creeping up on faces. The little kids at the front stared in silent awe. After a final note, the performers bowed, thanking the crowd.
The next performance was ‘Mum’s Not Cooking’, 2 boys and 3 girls wearing aprons took the stage and they next thing I knew, they started grooving to a beat, singing ‘it’s cool to know that Mum’s not cooking,’ in an upbeat tone, much like the kids in Barney. The 3 girls then took the stage to make yogurt truffle, made from fruits and granola, Everyone seemed to be captivated by the sight of food, with a parent exclaiming to feel very hungry now, with light laughter.
Then, a cute small girl of age 5, wearing a top hat, a glove in one hand, came up, speaking meekly into the mike. The audience nevertheless was encouraging. It turned out to be a Michael Jackson inspired dance. 3 girls and a boy took command and they jigged to the music, sweeping their hats off, trying to do it just right. It was absolutely endearing to see such young kids doing the spin-off and the crowd cheered as they left.
Next was a martial arts dance and 2 girls and 2 boys dressed in traditional clothes came up. “Never say never” played and on cue they started to execute martial art moves with extreme concentration, even punching and exclaiming “Hah!” as loudly as possible. The parents seemed thoroughly amused and again, there was a warming round of applause from the crowd.
The opening of the kids arts village certainly took me by surprise.
Fiona Teo