(From left) Anastasia Mary Chieng, Jonathan Chan and Mohamed Syukur Mohamed will be performing in the Dreamseeds Arts Fest concert. PHOTO: LENNE CHAI PHOTOGRAPHY
The new Dreamseeds Arts Fest organised by non-profit organisation Club Rainbow aims to build an inclusive arts community.
Some Singapore artists have been working with the beneficiaries of Club Rainbow – which supports children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and their families – to stage an art exhibition, a concert and creative workshops that are open to the public.Singer-songwriter Jawn will perform at the concert today with 12-year-old Anastasia Mary Chieng on the keyboard and 17-year-old Mohamed Syukur Mohamed on the guitar.
Jawn, 26, whose real name is Jonathan Chan, says: “My biggest priority is to create a safe and encouraging space that enables the beneficiaries to feel comfortable performing without the fear of judgment or discrimination.
“Music is something I’ve found that is a great liberator from physical, emotional and psychological debilitation. There are moments in performing and writing music when I am able to leave my ego and problems at the door – and that’s an experience I want to enable others to feel.”
VIEW IT / DREAMSEEDS ARTS FEST
WHERE Visual Arts Centre, 01-02 Dhoby Ghaut Green, 10 Penang Road
WHEN: Today to Monday. Launch concert takes place today, 5 to 7.30pm
ADMISSION: Free
INFO: facebook.com/dreamseedsfest
The concert will also include a hip-hop dance performance, a rhythmic gymnastics demonstration and a group ukulele performance.
Visual artist Claudia Goh, who goes by the moniker Clautural, will be creating a mural with the beneficiaries, which will be presented at the exhibition. It will run until Monday.
Also on display at the exhibition are photographs, paintings and prints created by the Club Rainbow children together with local print studio Fictive Fingers.
The inaugural festival will be held at Visual Arts Centre, a studio space and gallery located at Dhoby Ghaut Green. Admission is free.
There will also be creative workshops during the festival, such as a watercolour painting session by creative company My Sweet Scarlett and a floral arrangement class with flower arrangement company Meadows & Clouds.
The public is welcome to join the workshops, but priority will be given to Club Rainbow beneficiaries.
Club Rainbow’s head of programming, Mr Teo Siang Loong, says opening the festival to the public helps to encourage “people from all walks of life to join our beneficiaries”, which will help them “to be more confident individuals”.
The children have been undergoing workshops and training programmes conducted by creative and industry professionals.
Mr Teo says these help them “discover the full potential of their artistic talents” and “pave the way for future youth who dream of making their own imaginative pursuits”.
Visual Arts Centre is an exhibition gallery and art studio at Dhoby Ghaut Green supported by the National Parks Board and the National Arts Council.
Since its initiation on 31 January 2016, the Visual Arts Centre Exhibition Gallery has hosted over two hundred international and local art and design exhibitions, boasting a diverse range of art styles and programmes.
Email:
info@visualartscentre.sg
Phone:
+65 6255 0711
+65 6733 2155
In the Batik Introduction Handkerchief Painting workshop, participants will learn the traditional art of batik, a wax-resist dyeing technique originating from Indonesia. The workshop begins with a brief history and overview of batik, highlighting its cultural significance and various techniques. Participants will then observe a demonstration of applying wax with tjanting tools and dyeing the fabric. Following the demonstration, each participant will design and create their own batik handkerchief, applying wax to create patterns and then dyeing their fabric. The workshop concludes with a group discussion, allowing participants to share their creations and reflect on their learning experience.