Creative SINergy

Creative [SIN]ergy Grant for London Design Festival 2012

2012-01-16T08:00:00.001Z

Creative [SIN]ergy is delighted to announce a grant for participation at the London Design Festival 2012 (LDF 2012). We request our members to submit their ideas for a Creative [SIN]ergy project for participation during the LDF 2012.

Important dates:

- Closing date for application is Monday 13 February 2012. Late applications will not be accepted.

- The result of the application will be communicated by end March 2012.

Submission criteria:

Please refer to the application form. Ap- plication form will be emailed to interested parties. Please email your interest to: Click here

Creative [SIN]ergy in 2012

2012-01-01T08:00:00.004Z

Creative [SIN]ergy would like to wish all its members and supporters a Happy New Year and all the best for 2012.

After a 6 months break, Creative [SIN]ergy is back at the top of its game. Supporting and showcasing Singapore Creatives outside the dot. With the departure of Creative [SIN]ergy's Founder; Brian Tan, we are delighted to announce that Clara Yee is now at the helm of Creative [SIN]ergy's operations and we are excited to have her enthusiastic and fresh perspective on board. Brian Tan will still play an active advisory role.

2012 will bring an exciting line-up of events and activities, with the return of [SIN]efest (UK largest Singapore Film Festival) and the ever popular PROJECT: slingSHORT. We will also be announcing our first ever Creative [SIN]ergy Grant for the London Design Festival 2012.

We look forward to seeing you at our up coming events. Thank you for supporting us.

Regards,

Creative [SIN]ergy Team

20² @ The Future Gallery

2011-04-11T08:00:00.006+01:00

Creative [SIN]ergy presented 20² on Saturday 9th April at The Future Gallery in London. Creative [SIN]ergy's very own show and tell was hosted by Kelvin Ang. The 5 peakers featured were, Kok Loong Wong, Lok Ming Fung, Yong Ping Loo, Kok Chian Leong and REM. Each speaker, was given 20 images with only 20 seconds to present their works.

Special Thanks to:

Clara Yee and Sarah Ho

20² - 20 images x 20 seconds

2011-04-09T08:00:00.002+01:00

Join us for our very own show and tell.

Each speaker gets 20 images x 20 seconds.

Creative [SIN]ergy presents

20²

Saturday 9th April 2011

2.00 - 5.00 pm

The Future Gallery

5 Great Newport Street

London WC2H 7HY, United Kingdom

RSVP: info@creativesinergy.com

FEATURING:

Kok Loong Wong

Lok Ming Fung

Yong Ping Loo

Kok Chian Leong

REM

HOSTED BY:

Kelvin Ang

Special Thanks to:

Clara Yee and Sarah Ho

GASPP in London

2011-02-04T08:00:00.001Z

Writer and poet, Ng Yi-Sheng's inspired readings of selected pieces from GASPP and Lost Boy was a hit at Creative [SIN]ergy's hosting of GASPP at Gay's the Word.

Speaking to a packed room at UK's only LGBT bookshop, Yi-Sheng entertained the audiences' many questions about the gay scene in Singapore and revealed the motivations behind his intrepid short story 'Lee Low Tar'. In a retrospect of sorts, he shared the charming anecdotes of various characters he met in his life that inspired his work.

Autographed copies of GASPP and Lost Boy are now available for sale at Gay's the Word.

GASPP Is Coming To Town

2011-02-02T08:00:00.000Z

GASPP is coming to town!

Join us for the launch of GASPP at Gay's the Word bookshop, hosted by Creative [SIN]ergy – an evening of wine and selected readings from GASPP: a Gay Anthology of Singapore Poetry and Prose by editor and writer, Ng Yi-Sheng.

GASPP is Singapore’s first anthology of writers who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and otherwise queer. It’s the combined work of 35 authors, translators and editors, who’ve contributed poetry, short fiction, memoirs, essays and experimental writing in English, Mandarin and Malay.

This event is free to attend!

Please RSVP info@creativesinergy.com

_________________________________

GASPP @ Gay's the Word

Hosted by Creative [SIN]ergy

Friday 4th Feb 2011, 7pm

Gay's the Word

66 Marchmont Street (Russell Square Tube),

London WC1N 1AB, United Kingdom

Re-Live Singapore in London

2011-01-17T08:00:00.001Z

The Singapore International Foundation (SIF) is hosting a by-invitation event in London for former foreign residents of Singapore, for them to re-live their memories of Singapore, and to gather with those like them who have lived part of their lives in Singapore. We also welcome other foreigners who are living in the UK who have not had the chance to experience Singapore living, to join the event and have a glimpse of Singapore through the eyes of foreigners. The SIF invite includes the attendance at the screening of CIVIC LIFE plus the reception after. Limited seats available. For details on the event, please visit www.sif.org.sg/relivesg.

[SIN]efest Celebrates Closing Night Festival Success with Sold Out Screening of “Invisible City”

2010-11-13T22:54:00.010Z

The inaugural edition of the UK’s largest Singapore film festival came to close on Saturday 13th, after enjoying several sold out screenings for opening and closing films, “Sandcastle” and “Invisible City” at the Birkbeck Cinema in Central London.

Festival Organiser, Brian Tan (Creative [SIN]ergy) deemed the festival “a remarkable experience and a big boost to cultural access to Singaporean films here in the UK.” He also went on to thank the tremendous support from all the festival sponsors that contribuetd to making the festival such a success “anchor sponsors like The Singaporean High Comission and Overseas Singapore and assistance from Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotels all proved invaluable in delivering a fantastic audience expeirence”. Fellow organiser, Steven Flynn (Flynn Film Co.) remarked that “this festival has shown the audience appeal for and diversity of Singaporean filmmaking. The [SIN]efest’s success should inspire filmmakers back in Singapore to continue the hard work in getting their films screened around the world”.

[SIN]efest was the first Singaporean film festival to have taken place in London in recent years and included a strong line-up of feature and short film selections curated by rising film Director Boo Junfeng. His selections included his own high profile and award winning directorial debut, “Sandcastle” alongside UK premieres for Ho Tzu Nyen’s experimental film “Here” and the documentary “Invisible City” by Tan Pin Pin. The latter of which attended a special Q & A of her film by Skype conference to the delight of the assembled audience.

Also on the programme was audience favourite “881” by Roystan Tan, award winning shorts “Tanjung Rhu” by Boo junfeng and “Haze” by Anthony Chen in addition to the short film showcase Project SlingSHORT now in its 5th edition.

Committed to raising greater cultural understanding of Singapore, the [SIN]efest also arranged a series of post-screening Q & A’s for “Sandcastle” with both Director Boo and actor, Joshua Tan attending as well as daily pre and post-film receptions.

[SIN]efest - Singapore Film Festival

2010-11-11T08:00:00.044Z

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

Sandcastle - Thursday 11th November, 7pm (SOLD OUT)

6pm Pre Screening Reception (complimentary Tiger Beer and buffet will be served)

881- Friday 12th November, 7pm

6.15pm Pre Screening Reception (complimentary Tiger Beer will be served)

PROJECT: slingSHORT - Saturday 13th November, 12.00pm

1.30pm Post Screening Reception (complimentary Tea & Coffee will be served)

Here - Saturday 13th November, 2.00pm

(Haze - Short film bonus)

1.30pm Pre Screening Reception (complimentary Tea & Coffee will be served)

Invisible City - Saturday 13th November, 4.30pm (SOLD OUT)

(Tanjong Rhu - Short film bonus )

4.00pm Pre Screening Reception (complimentary Tiger Beer will be served)

Sandcastle - Thursday 13th November, 7pm

6.30pm Pre Screening Reception (complimentary Tiger Beer will be served)

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel.

Sandcastle Extra Screening Added to [SIN]efest

2010-11-06T08:00:00.004Z

[SIN]efest is delighted to announce an extra screening of Sandcastle by Boo Junfeng on Saturday 13th November 2010 at 7.00pm. This was added to the festival line up due to the sold out opening night screening which was oversubscribed. Sandcastle opens this inaugural edition of [SIN]efest, the UK’s largest Singapore film festival.

A total of 4 feature films and 7 shorts will be featured at [SIN]efest in addition to popular new talent showcase PROJECT: slingSHORT.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!

[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information on the festival please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel.

Invisible City SOLD OUT at [SIN]efest

2010-11-05T08:24:00.002Z

As of Friday 5th November 2010, Invisible City by Tan Pin Pin is completely Sold Out! at[SIN]efest. Invisible City premiers at this inaugural edition of [SIN]efest, the UK’s largest Singapore film festival. To be placed on a wait list for this screening please email info@sinefest.org

A total of 4 feature films and 2 shorts will be featured at [SIN]efest in addition to popular new talent showcase PROJECT: slingSHORT.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!

[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information on the festival please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel.

Sandcastle SOLD OUT at [SIN]efest

2010-11-04T17:00:00.010Z

As of Thursday 4th November 2010, Sandcastle by Boo Junfeng is completely Sold Out! at [SIN]efest. Sandcastle opens this inaugural edition of [SIN]efest, the UK’s largest Singapore film festival. To be placed on a wait list for this screening please email info@sinefest.org

A total of 4 feature films and 2 shorts will be featured at [SIN]efest in addition to popular new talent showcase PROJECT: slingSHORT.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!

[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information on the festival please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel.

Eliza Tan Curates Murmur Exhibition

2010-11-03T08:00:00.002Z

Erika Tan, The Syntactical Impossibility of Approaching with A Pure Heart, 2008

Murmur

Curated by Creative [SIN}ergy member Eliza Tan

Featuring: Creative [SIN}ergy member Erika Tan and Anita di Bianco, Aoife Collins, Trong G. Nguyen, Kate Pickering,Tintin Wulia with Performances by Lynn Lu, and Matthew MacKisack with Jeffrey Baker.

A low, indistinct and continuous sound, murmuring evokes the telling of stories or rumours that conjure powerful mental pictures. Murmuring otherwise connotes an endless babble of visual and verbal information - the point where language fails and meaning collapses.

Underscoring mechanisms of verbal imagination and visual enactment, linguistic rupture and the dissolution of the image, murmur explores fiction-making as a means by which to critically reorder the data of experience, frameworks of memory and limits of perception.

The artists in the exhibition have mined sources ranging from folklore and literature, to history and cultural theory, selectively reiterating and placing ownership over information, language and images that otherwise slip into an anonymous stream of murmuring. The artworks raise enquiries on existing social narratives, rationalities and systems of belief as the artists attempt to spin new fables from borrowed plots by deploying fiction as an evaluative strategy; a blank space from which to recall, to speak and to perform.

Featuring newly commissioned titles and works previously not shown in the UK, the project brings together video, installation and sculpture works by Anita di Bianco (US/DE), Aoife Collins (IE), Trong G. Nguyen (US), Kate Pickering (UK), Erika Tan (UK/SG), TinTin Wulia (ID) and live performances by Lynn Lu (UK/SG) and Matthew MacKisack (UK) due to take place on the First Thursday of December.

Erika Tan’s work has evolved from an interest in anthropology and the moving image. Her work is often informed by specific cultural, geographical or physical contexts; exploring different media to create situations that excite, provoke, question, confront and invite comments from the audience.

Murmur

Exhibition curated by Eliza Tan

5 November – 19 December 2010

Private view: Thursday 4 November, 6.30-9.30pm

Waterside Project Space

Unit 8, Waterside

44-48 Wharf Rd

London N1 7UX

Opening times during exhibitions

Wednesdays-Saturdays: 11am-6pm

Sundays: 11am-4pm

[SIN]efest - Limited Tickets Left!

2010-11-02T08:00:00.004Z

[SIN]efest announces today that there are limited tickets left for Opening night film, Sandcastle by Boo Junfeng and Closing film, Invisible City by Tan Pin Pin.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!

All major credit cards and debit cards accepted

[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel.

SHOWCASE: Richard Tan

2010-11-01T08:00:00.003Z

Richard Tan is a Singapore-born but British bred actor and budding playwright. He is currently forging his own path with the goal of celebrating the many intricacies of the human condition in the madness that we live in. He is based in London.

Name: Richard Tan
Location: London, UK
Website: N.A.
Contact: click here

Here Premieres in London at [SIN]efest

2010-10-25T08:00:00.015+01:00

UK premiere’s of Ho Tzu Nyen’s innovative experimental film Here at [SIN]efest.

Here
Saturday 13th November, 2.30pm
The Birkbeck Cinema
43 Gordon Square
London WC1H 0PD

HERE is a made-in-Singapore film, produced by an international team, from Spain, Canada and Singapore. It is the debut feature film of Ho Tzu Nyen, who wrote and directed it. Set in a disused mental hospital in Singapore, HERE is a story about love and the love of fate.

A television switches on. A mind snaps. A man discovers his murdered wife. As he stares at her lifeless body, the events leading to her death play before him, like in a movie. HERE follows the journey of He Zhiyuan, a middle-aged man who struggles to make sense of his reality. Reeling from the sudden death of his wife, he loses the will to speak and is interned at Island Hospital. There, he meets strident kleptomaniac Beatrice with whom he forms an inexplicable bond. As He adjusts to life within, he is selected for an experimental treatment, which forces him to confront the devastating truth behind his past, present, and future. Meanwhile, a filmmaker visits Island Hospital to document the lives of the staff and patients.

Director: Ho Tzu Nyen, Cast: John Low, Jo Tan, 86 mins, English Subtitles
Of Note: Directors' Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival

Haze - Short film bonus screened before feature film, Here.

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!
[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel.

Invisible City Premieres in London at [SIN]efest

2010-10-23T08:00:00.007+01:00

UK premiere’s of Tan Pin Pin’s documentary film Invisible City in London at [SIN]efest.

Invisible City
Saturday 13th November, 4.30pm
The Birkbeck Cinema
43 Gordon Square
London WC1H 0PD

“Brimming with humanity”
– Ong Sor Fen, The Straits Times

Invisible City is a documentary about documenteurs. The director interviews photographers, journalists, archaeologists, people propelled by curiosity to find a City for themselves. The documentary conveys how deeply personal their search is and how fragile histories are, hanging on only through their memories and artefacts. Interwoven with the interviews is never seen before footage and photos of Singapore culled from their personal archives. In Invisible City, you witness the atrophy of memory, you see a City that could have been. Invisible City opened in Singapore for a theatrical run on 22 July 2007 where it had a four week sold out run.

Director: Tan Pin Pin, 58 mins, English Subtitles
Of Note: selected as Singapore’s nomination to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film

Tanjong Rhu - Short film bonus screened before feature film, Invisible City.

11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel.

Tiger Beer Supports [SIN]efest

2010-10-22T08:00:00.002+01:00

Tiger Beer supports [SIN]efest, UK’s largest Singapore film festival. A total of 4 features films and 2 shorts will be featured in addition to popular new talent showcase PROJECT: slingSHORT. The screenings will be held at The Birkbeck Cinema, on Gordon Square in London.

Born in the East, Loved in the West
Tiger is a clean, crisp premium beer derived from an authentic Far Eastern recipe. Tiger’s rich history and heritage gives it prominence in today’s market, as its unique Far Eastern origin helps it stand out from the rest. Tiger has a depth of taste that has a distinct, refreshing flavour and hints of tropical fruit to conjure tangible thoughts of the exotic Far East.

For more information on Tiger Beer please visit www.tigerbeer.co.uk
For more information about [SIN]efest please visit www.sinefest.org

Overseas Singaporean Unit Supports [SIN]efest

2010-10-20T08:00:00.003+01:00

Overseas Singaporean Unit supports [SIN]efest, UK’s largest Singapore film festival. A total of 4 features films and 2 shorts will be featured in addition to popular new talent showcase PROJECT: slingSHORT. The screenings will be held at The Birkbeck Cinema, on Gordon Square in London.

For more information on Overseas Singaporean Unit please visit www.overseassingaporean.sg

Sherman Ong featured at [SIN]efest

2010-10-19T08:00:00.005+01:00

Tickets by Sherman Ong has been selected for the 5th edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT. This year's screening of PROJECT: slingSHORT will be part of [SIN]efest - UK's largest Singapore film festival.

Sherman is an award-winning filmmaker, photographer and educator. Straddling fiction and documentary, his films were exhibited in Europe, US, Brazil and Asia and have won awards in Hong Kong, Greece, Italy, Indonesia and Malaysia. He is an alumnus of the 1st Berlinale Talent Campus 2003 and has premiered works at Rotterdam Intl Film Festival, Int'l Documentary Festival Amsterdam, Institute of Contemporary Arts London, International Electronic Art Festival VideoBrasil and the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum.

He was a jury at the La Cittadella del Corto Intl Short Film Festival, Italy 2004, Substation Reel Revolution 2006, mentor for the Panasonic Digital Filmmaking Competition 2006 and jury for Singapore International Short Film Festival 2008. He is an Associate Artist of the Substation and has conducted workshops in Singapore at Objectifs Centre for Filmmaking and Photography, Republic Polytechnic, Nanyang Technological University and the Singapore National/History Museum, and in Cambodia together with Antoine d'Agata (Magnum) for young Asian photographers.

He has participated in photo-media group exhibition to Singapore, Melbourne, Jakarta, Hanoi, Stuttgart and Berlin under the Goethe Institut ArtConneXions Project (www.goethe.de/artconneXions). He had solo exhibitions in Amsterdam and in the Angkor Photo Festival, Cambodia, and group exhibitions in Noorderlicht Int'l Photo Festival, Netherlands, Aranjuez, Spain. In 2007, he is exhibited works at a Biennale on the Tropics in Brazil, PhotoQuai Musee du Quai Branly Paris, Singapore Art Show, and is artist-in-residence at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum.

In 2008, he presented a feature film Hashi at the Singapore International Film Festival and was commissioned to create a new film work, Flooding in the Time of Drought for the Singapore Biennale. He also presented his works at the Mori Art Museum Tokyo, Zeit-Foto Tokyo and at the Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin this year.

In 2009, he will present Hashi at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, and will be participating in a Visual Arts Biennale in Jakarta and Lithuania.

[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel.

Kirsten Tan featured at [SIN]efest

2010-10-18T08:00:00.002+01:00

Cold Noodles by Kirsten Tan has been selected for the 5th edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT. This year's screening of PROJECT: slingSHORT will be part of [SIN]efest - UK's largest Singapore film festival.

Kirsten Tan is one of Singapore’s most prolific young filmmakers. Singapore’s national broadsheet, The Straits Times, has exhorted her as a ‘rising film director to look out for’ and her work has been screened in over 40 film festivals around the world, garnering several international prizes and awards, including the “National Prize” at the Kodak Film Awards in 2005, the “Special Jury Prize” and the title of “Best Director” at the Singapore International Film Festivals of 2006 and 2007, the “Best Concept” award at the Czech Republic’s Brno Sixteen Festivals of 2006 and 2007, a “Special Mention for Direction” at the 2008 Asian Film Symposium and most recently, “Best Cinematography” at Singapore Short Films Awards 2010. Her latest film “Cold Noodles” premiered at Pusan International Film Festival, Korea, one of Asia’s most prestigious cinematic event. She is now based in Brooklyn, New York, where she is pursuing a Masters in Film Production at New York University on a full scholarship (Tisch School of the Arts Department fellowship.)

[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel

Elgin Ho featured at [SIN]efest

2010-10-17T08:00:00.002+01:00

Promises of December by Elgin Ho has been selected for the 5th edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT. This year's screening of PROJECT: slingSHORT will be part of [SIN]efest - UK's largest Singapore film festival.

Born in Hong Kong during the 80s while the country’s cinema industry was blooming. Elgin was greatly inspired by the countless number of movies his parents brought him to watch every weekend. Little did he know that the magical connection experienced, would very much influence him in the way he now crafts his stories. His previous short films have made appearances in film festivals all over the world, including cities such as Pusan, Auckland, Toronto, Rome and Croatia receiving numerous awards. “Promises In December” is his final year thesis short film at the Nanyang Technological University, School of Art, Design & Media.

[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel.

David Shiyang Liu featured at [SIN]efest

2010-10-16T08:00:00.004+01:00

5 films in an anthology of a Film a Month by David Shiyang Liu has been selected for the 5th edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT. This year's screening of PROJECT: slingSHORT will be part of [SIN]efest - UK's largest Singapore film festival.

David Shiyang Liu began his creative career early in life. He wrote his first masterpiece of fiction at age seven during science class about anthropomorphic volcanos destroying the world and enslaving human beings. (His mother still keeps that story in her drawer.)

These days Dave works as a commercial director, and his work garners praise from more than just his mum. His short “4444” took out both the Audience Choice Award and Special Mention Prize at the 2005 Singapore Shorts Film Festival. His honours project “5 Films” achieved even greater heights, winning Best Cinematography at the 22nd Singapore International Film Festival, and Best Editing at the 2009 Singapore Short Film Awards. The film has since screened at a number of international festivals including the 2009 Cannes Short Film Corner.

Dave currently divides his time between Singapore and Melbourne. He is represented by KICK KICK PUNCH for music videos in Australia, and he is currently wrapping up his first music video for KKP.

[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel.

Michael Kam featured at [SIN]efest

2010-10-15T08:00:00.004+01:00

Masala Mama by Michael Kam has been selected for the 5th edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT. This year's screening of PROJECT: slingSHORT will be part of [SIN]efest - UK's largest Singapore film festival.

Michael graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Film Production from the School of Film & Media Studies at Ngee Ann Polytechnic (Singapore). Since his graduation, Michael directed three short films, and a video-clip Tau Gay Not Enough, which premiered on national television during the Prime Minister’s 2005 National Day Rally Speech.

[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel.

881 selected for [SIN]efest

2010-10-14T08:00:00.015+01:00

Royston Tan's Musical Drama 881 selected for screening at [SIN]efest,

Friday 12th November, 7pm
The Birkbeck Cinema
43 Gordon Square
London WC1H 0PD

”There is a lot of heart in 881… ”
- The Straits Times Life!

The story is about two good friends who grew up with genuine love for the Getai culture, a form of art with stage and song performances. Getai has a historical tradition in Singapore. After being blessed by the Getai Goddess, the two friends become the most popular Getai duo of the country, called the Papayas. However, the Durian Sisters, their main competitors are very jealous and determined to sabotage the Papayas' performances.

Director: Royston Tan, Cast: Qi Yu Wu, Mindee Ong,Yeo Yann Yann, Liu Ling Ling, 115 mins, English Subtitles

Of Note: Selected as Singapore’s nomination to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!

11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel

Sandcastle to Open Inaugural Edition of [SIN]efest

2010-10-13T08:00:00.017+01:00

The inaugural edition of [SIN]efest, the UK’s largest Singapore film festival has just announced its final film selection. A total of 4 features films and 2 shorts will be featured in addition to popular new talent showcase PROJECT: slingSHORT.

The festival kicks off on November 11th next month and will last for 3 days until November 13th.

Rising young Singaporean filmmaker Boo Junfeng’s Sandcastle will open the festival. Sandcastle has been one of Singapore’s most critically acclaimed films this year having performed well at Critics’ Week at Cannes in May and currently enjoying an active screening life on the festival circuit. Boo Junfeng, who is curating [SIN]efest, will be in London during the festival to support the film as well as hosting a special filmmaker workshop.

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!

The Singapore High Commission in London Supports [SIN]efest

2010-10-12T08:00:00.002+01:00

The Singapore High Commission in London supports [SIN]efest, UK’s largest Singapore film festival. A total of 4 features films and 2 shorts will be featured in addition to popular new talent showcase PROJECT: slingSHORT. The screenings will be held at The Birkbeck Cinema, on Gordon Square in London.

For more information the Singapore High Commission in London on please visit www.mfa.gov.sg/london

Tickets Selected for PROJECT: slingSHORT

2010-10-08T08:00:00.019+01:00

Tickets by Sherman Ong has been selected for the 5th edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT. This year's screening of PROJECT: slingSHORT will be part of [SIN]efest - UK's largest Singapore film festival.

Synopsis:
Tickets centres on Xiao Jing, a ticket seller in an old cinema in Singapore. Coming from China to study acting in Singapore, her ambition is to break into the Singapore film industry as an actress.

Tickets / 10min 20sec / HD Video / 2009

Click here for more information on Sherman Ong.

PROJECT: slingSHORT
Saturday 13th November, 12.00pm

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!
For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel

Cold Noodles Selected for PROJECT: slingSHORT

2010-10-07T08:00:00.019+01:00

Cold Noodles by Kirsten Tan has been selected for the 5th edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT. This year's screening of PROJECT: slingSHORT will be part of [SIN]efest - UK's largest Singapore film festival.

Synopsis:
Events conspire against O, flagrantly tempting Fate by eating ramen on a fire escape in just his underwear on a bitterly cold day in New York. A stray gust slams shut his window, leaving him stranded. He scrambles down to the sidewalk, only to find every door and window locked

- then a body falls out of the sky.

Cold Noodles / 6min 40sec / 16mm B&W / 2009

Click here for more information on Kirsten Tan .

PROJECT: slingSHORT
Saturday 13th November, 12.00pm

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!
[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel

Promises of December Selected for PROJECT: slingSHORT

2010-10-06T08:00:00.016+01:00

Promises of December by Elgin Ho has been selected for the 5th edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT. This year's screening of PROJECT: slingSHORT will be part of [SIN]efest - UK's largest Singapore film festival.

Synopsis:
Promises In December surrounds two main characters; an Indonesian domestic helper and a Singaporean taxi driver. Individually from different backgrounds, they share similar expectations through their struggle, searching for ideals of life in Singapore. On a December day, their lives interweaved abruptly revealing the sacrifices each of them must face.

Promises in December / 16min 33sec / 16mm / 2009

Click here for more information on Elgin Ho.

PROJECT: slingSHORT
Saturday 13th November, 12.00pm

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

Singapore Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall

2010-10-05T08:00:00.002+01:00

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is returning to London after nearly two decades (19 years) since it first performed in London at the Barbican Centre. When it gives the concert at the Royal Festival Hall on 11 October 2010, the 97-strong SSO will be joined by renowned British pianist Stephen Hough. The orchstra will be perroming under the baton of award-winning Conductor and Music Director of the SSO, Maestro Lan Shui.

The programme for the evening at the Royal Festival Hall will feature Debussy - La Mer (23') - Mendelssohn - Piano Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op. 25 (21') - Rachmaninov - The Isle of the Dead, Op.29 (20') - and Zhou Long - The Rhyme of Taigu (12').

Since its founding in the mid-1970s, the 31-year old SSO has performed in more than 50 cities around the world and won numerous international accolades.

Click here to buy your Tickets

5 films in an anthology of a Film a Month selected for PROJECT: slingSHORT

2010-10-04T08:00:00.012+01:00

5 films in an anthology of a Film a Month by David Shiyang Liu has been selected for the 5th edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT. This year's screening of PROJECT: slingSHORT will be part of [SIN]efest - UK's largest Singapore film festival.

Synopsis:
The average city dweller has lived about thirty plus years of life. Thirty years - long enough for an accumulated storage of memories anchored by the 5 senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Two people fall in love through a shared commonality, but never meet. A mother fantasizes over her son’s best friend. A young girl sprays cologne over common household items. A man develops a palate for his mother’s goldfish. A girl follows a limping stranger around a city. From a series of 12 films created once a month in 2008 by filmmaker David Shiyang Liu, comes this anthology of 5 films centered around the 5 human senses; inspired by and featuring the music of Nine Inch Nails’ GHOSTS I-IV album.

5Films in an Anthology of a Film a Month / 22min / Super 16mm, DVCPRO-HD, HDV & miniDV / 2009

Click here for more information on David Shinyang Liu.

PROJECT: slingSHORT
Saturday 13th November, 12.00pm

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Masala mama selected for PROJECT: slingSHORT

2010-10-03T08:00:00.012+01:00

Masala Mama by Michael Kam has been selected for the 5th edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT. This year's screening of PROJECT: slingSHORT will be part of [SIN]efest - UK's largest Singapore film festival.

Synopsis:
Masala Mama is a cinematic tribute to the small and almost extinct kiosks in Singapore known as ‘mama shops’. In Tamil, the word ‘mama’ means ‘uncle’. Like the film’s director when he was a boy, the young protagonist of this film is a regular customer at one such shop, where he goes to immerse in comic books and its world of super-heroes. The boy comes from a poor family with a father who cares little for such idle dreams. When the boy decides to steal a comic from the store’s gentle owner, he sets in motion a series of confrontations between his father – a man hardened by the pursuit of earning a living, and the storeowner – a man open to the pursuit of a
dream.

Masala Mama / 8min 30sec / 16mm / 2010

Click here for more information on Michael Kam.

PROJECT: slingSHORT
Saturday 13th November, 12.00pm

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!

5th Edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT

2010-10-02T08:00:00.039+01:00

This edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT will be screened as part of [SIN]efest, which is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy and Flynn Film Co. This event is a 3 day film festival showcasing Singapore films to the UK audience and is curated by celebrated Singapore filmmaker/ Director, Boo Junfeng. [SIN]efest is supported by The Singapore High Commission, Overseas Singaporean Unit, Singapore Airlines and Tiger Beer.

PROJECT: slingSHORT now in its 5th edition is curated by Kirsten Tan. Featuring a selection of 5 short films by up and coming filmmakers from Singapore.

PROJECT: slingSHORT

Saturday 13th November, 12.00pm

Tickets by Sherman Ong
/ 10min 20sec / HD Video / 2009
Chinese girl who came to Singapore to pursue an acting career but ends up as a ticketing girl at a cinema.

- Screened at Venice Biennale

Cold Noodles by Kirsten Tan
/ 6min 40sec / 16mm B&W / 2009
Set in NY and about an Asian immigrant getting stuck outside of his ghetto-ish Brooklyn apartment only in his boxers.

- Screened at Pusan Intl Film Fest

Promises of December by Elgin Ho
/ 16min 33sec / 16mm / 2009
About impact of tsunami on the lives of a taxi driver and an indonesian maid from Aceh.

- Best film and best director at Singapore Intl Film Fest

5 films in an anthology of a film a month
by David Shiyang
/ 22min / Super 16mm, DVCPRO-HD, HDV & miniDV / 2009
Urban lives of various characters in various places connected by a narrator.

- Screened at Cannes.

Masala mama by Michael Kam
Masala Mama / 8min 30sec / 16mm / 2010

About a gay indian mamashop owner's friendship with a chinese boy who has a homophobic dad who doubts their friendship.

- Screened at Berlin Intl Film Fest

CURATOR'S NOTES:
Running through this list is a theme of immigrants and immigration, of displaced characters at displaced locations. When I was programming this list, it brings to mind the globalized world we live in; the mix of races and people we encounter on a daily basis. Most of us work or live at a place where we do not completely belong, yet we are here because these places allow us a chance to dream - a chance to become who we want to be. I'm Singaporean and this list of film spoke to me as a foreigner (alien) in New York City where I'm studying and hopefully, it'll speak to the Singaporeans who live in UK. In a way, we're all travelers finding our nook in the rock of this world. - Kirsten Tan

PROJECT: slingSHORT is an ongoing series of Singapore short film screenings occurring annually. The selection of short films for each series comes from an ensemble of up and coming Singapore short filmmakers. A different Singapore short filmmaker will curate each screening. The out going curator will select the next curator from one of the filmmakers from the current screening.

[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel

Raffles of Singapore Competition

2010-10-01T08:00:00.002+01:00

Stand a chance to win a pair of tickets to the Singapore Sunday performance (14th Nov) at 4.00pm for Raffles of Singapore - The Musical.

The competition is open to all Creative [SIN]ergy subscribers. Winner will be picked on a first come, first served basis. Click here to send us an email.

Henley Operatic Society presents, this unique, moving, rags to riches to rags story with some haunting yet uplifting melodies will delight audiences of all ages, proving that Raffles’ stoic resolve and love of his wife win through so that he achieves a moral victory to allow a bitter-sweet ending.

The Singapore Sunday performance (14th Nov) is also the only day on which Singaporean food will be served in the Green Room (serving from 12.00 noon - last orders 3.00 pm).

Raffles of Singapore - the new musical has its UK premiere at the Kenton Theatre, Henley-on-Thames, 12 to 20 November produced by Henley Operatic.

For more information about the musical please visit www.henleyoperatic.co.uk.
Click here to book your tickets.

[SIN]efest Announces Film Selection

2010-09-30T08:00:00.011+01:00

[SIN]efest announces film selection for the inaugural edition of the UK’s largest Singapore film festival. A total of 4 features films and 2 shorts will be featured in addition to popular new talent showcase PROJECT: slingSHORT. The screenings will be held at The Birkbeck Cinema, on Gordon Square in London. [SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy X Flynn Film Co.

Thursday 11th November
Sandcastle
Director: Boo Junfeng, Cast: Joshua Tan, 96 mins, English Subtitles

Friday 12th November
881
Director: Royston Tan, Cast: Qi Yu Wu, Mindee Ong,Yeo Yann Yann, Liu Ling Ling, 115 mins, English Subtitles

Saturday 13th November
Here
Director: Ho Tzu Nyen, Cast: John Low, Jo Tan, 86 mins, English Subtitles

Haze - Short film bonus screened immediately before “Here”
Director: Anthony Chen, Cast: Quek Ee-Seng and Tan Mei Jun 14 mins, English Subtitles

Saturday 13th November
PROJECT: slingSHORT
featuring - Tickets by Shermong Ong | Cold Noodles by Kirsten Tan | Promises in December by Elgin Ho | 5Films in an Anthology of a Film a Month by David Shiyang Liu | Masala Mama by Michael Kam

Saturday 13th November
Invisible City
Director: Tan Pin Pin, 58 mins, English Subtitles

Tanjong Rhu - Short film bonus screened immediately before “Invisible City”
Director: Boo Junfeng, Cast:Nick Shen Weijun, Scott Lee, 19 mins, English Subtitles

[SIN]efest
11 - 13 November 2010
The Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

For more information please visit www.sinefest.org

[SIN]efest is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy + Flynn Film Co. and supported by The Singapore High Commission in London, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Beer and Town Hall Hotel

Karen Yeh At Creative [SIN]ergy Group Show

2010-09-29T08:00:00.001+01:00

Karen Yeh was recently featured at Creative [SIN]ergy's group show called Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project. The exhibition was part of the London Design Festival and was held at the Crypt Gallery on Euston Road from 16 to 19 September 2010.

DANGER, DELETE (2010) by KAREN YEH

Ink on paper (50cm x 70cm)

The motif of “Danger-Keep Out” sign pervades in this piece. The signs are a familiar sight in construction sites in Singapore, unique for their four languages of communication. With the city ceaselessly reinventing itself, construction sites and the “Danger-Keep Out” signs pervade public spaces. Is the city in need of more inert places of memories for its people, instead of the sustaining image of the construction site? What are some of the dangers that are congruent with a persistently young and always developing city?

SINGAPORE NODLES (2010) by KAREN YEH

Video, 10’’

What is this Singapore noodles that Singaporeans do not know of, but the foreigners in London know so well?

The basis upon which Singapore Noodles is named is not based on it being a popular or national dish of Singapore. Nor does it seem to have its origins in Singapore. What is this origin then? Different people remember the history of the dish differently. Which one is true? To what extent is one culture’s representation of another valid?

A work that explores issues surrounding national identity, globalisation and the rituals of eating.

SKYLINE (2010) by KAREN YEH

Ink on paper (50cm x 70cm)

The skyline of Singapore is continually changing with architectural trophies erected one after another. This work traces what used to be the iconic skyline of Singapore in the 1980s and early 1990s—the Central Business District area overlooking the Singapore River. In the present day, there are various skylines competing to be iconic of the modern cityscape. Is the iconic skyline that which encompasses the Esplanade, Marina Bay Sands or the Singapore Flyer? While the skyline is constantly being redefined, the only enduring image is perhaps the numerous construction cranes that overlook and transform it.

The exhibition also featured other works from the diverse creative industries of UK based Singaporeans.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy and is supported by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), Contact Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra @ Royal Festival Hall on 11th October

2010-09-28T08:00:00.011+01:00

Singapore Symphony Orchestra will make its long-awaited debut at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on 11th October.

Led by Music Director Lan Shui, the orchestra will be joined by the celebrated pianist Stephen Hough for Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No.1. The exciting programme includes Debussy’s La Mer, Rachmaninov’s The Isle of the Dead and Zhou Long’s The Rhyme of Taigu.

Since assuming the position of Music Director in 1997, Lan Shui has brought the Singapore Symphony Orchestra to a high level of excellence and a rising international profile, through several international tours and recordings for the BIS and Avie labels. Over the last five years, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra has toured to the USA, France, Spain, China and Taiwan.

A highlight of the programme is Debussy’s La Mer, which, as the centrepiece of a maritime-themed CD released by BIS in 2007, received critical acclaim worldwide. BBC Music Magazine described their playing of this work on the disc as “an unequivocally world-class performance of Debussy’s masterpiece”.

The iridescent seascapes of La Mer are preced

ed by Rachmaninov’s Isle of the Dead, pervaded by the hypnotic rhythm of oars. Composed in the same decade as Debussy’s symphonic sketches, this sombre tone poem displays further facets of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra while sustaining an aqueous theme in its repertoire.

Stephen Hough talks about performing with the SSO. Click here to watch the video.

To mark its 30th anniversary in 2004, the SSO produced a DVD of Mahler’s Symphony No 10.

Mahler Symphony 10

Chen Wu xing (Five Elements)

Click here to watch an excerpt from the DVD/Blu-ray.

Do not forget that you can still benefit from our discounted ticket offer in collaboration with the Southbank Centre. Simply quote ‘SINergy’ when booking your tickets at the box office or by phone (0844 847 9910) and you will receive a 10% discount off the top three price tickets to the SSO’s concert.

We very much hope you will join us for what promises to be a spectacular evening.

Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London? Opens at Great Western Studios

2010-09-26T08:00:00.013+01:00

Great Western Studios invited Creative [SIN]ergy to exhibit its latest collaborative project entitled, Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London? This exhibition was held at their premise during London Design Festival from 20 - 26 September 2010.

The repeat showing of this Architectural Photographic exhibition was held at Great Western Studios on September 22 with a private view. Despite being a repeat showing, the event continued to attract dozens of visitors. Featuring the photographic works of UK-based Singaporeans from diverse creative industries, the photographs showed the juxtaposition of contemporary life in the UK and Singapore, categorised under six key activity spaces: Transit, Eating, Leisure, Retail, Living and Occupational.

Through the most generic and banal scenes of everyday life, the works aimed to question and rediscover the uniqueness of urban spaces. Anecdotal evidence of their success could be seen when some of the British visitors, who had previously been to Singapore, found the photographs consistent with their recollections of Singapore and its unique differences to their home country.

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy and is supported by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), Contact Singapore, Singapore Tourism Boardand Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

About Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?

Text by Yee Hung Lim

Shangyi Xie At Creative [SIN]ergy Group Show

2010-09-25T08:00:00.002+01:00

Shangyi Xie was recently featured at Creative [SIN]ergy's group show called Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project. The exhibition was part of the London Design Festival and was held at the Crypt Gallery on Euston Road from 16 to 19 September 2010.

WHO IS MORE TOM, DICK & HARRY? (2009) by SHANGYI XIE

C-prints on Photo-paper, 3 Panels of 40 x 50cm

A name has always been something given to a person from birth and this identification is held for life for individuals, with preconceptions and impressions attached. However, when there is more than one person sharing the same name, the impression of a name might change, then gradually the confusion sets in: Who looks more like a “Tom”? Who Is More “Harry”? What happens when name becomes a common denominator?

Nonetheless, judging people and forming impressions is a norm; everyone is guilty of that. In this work, 30 photos depicting those with names of Tom, Dick and Harry are aligned in a yearbook format, framed, and put under the scrutiny of the audience, providing a platform to form impressions on these strangers without feeling guilty, like in a television game show. Furthermore, as the title suggests, the audience becomes judges and tasked with deciding who is MORE who in their definition, as if given the ability to vote someone out. Yet, by generalising them as “Tom, Dick and Harry”, no one in particular is being referred to, and this turns them to just nobody.

ON THE STREETS (2010) by SHANGYI XIE

4mins 51sec Video (Supermario Game Audio)

Panels of Video stills with stick on post-its 30 x 420cm

Extending from the video Who are you, On the Streets allows the audience to join in and write down their thoughts on post-its and form narratives on these video stills of street scenes. Some of the post-its narratives are taken off the tabloid news and juxtaposed beside these characters in the stills, instilling confusion between fiction and truth.

Hence, these people on the streets become helpless characters that take on the identity the viewer have created for them while they try to interpret their life. Such behaviours of tagging narratives beside the characters also seems to be playing the role of God, having everyone within your control in your imagination, mimicking computer gamers controlling their avatars. Made to form judgments and narratives from merely pictures, the work further resembles the tabloid characteristic where gossips are churned out; It is this ambiguity of taking things to be facts or fantasy that make this work interesting.

Re-Inhabiting the City by SHANGYI XIE

How Much Mistakes Can Be Made In A Day, 2010

10 X A4 paper (framed)

After leaving Singapore for a year of so, I realize how much I miss Singapore. I miss the food, miss the warmth, miss the hustle and bustle of the city, miss the people, but what I miss most was the language. The familiarity I got hearing a Singaporean speaks- the tone, the pace, the accent- can never be replaced, it is so unique and identifiable. However in other people’s ears, even in the opinion of our own rulers, this language is considered to be coarse and unpresentable.

My work, titled How Much Mistakes Can Be Made In A Day, follows and records a day of my life where every word I spoke for the day is documented and transcribed onto paper. Having a recorder placed on me may have raise awareness of my own speech, but having the need to communicate in my social circle, it is quite a good representation of the way I talk. After putting it down on paper, the mistakes (be it grammatical, pronunciation or sentence structure) will be highlighted in red and corrected, resembling a marked examination paper.

Singapore being a meritocracy society tolerates very little mistakes, my work aims to challenge this mindset in exploring just how much mistakes we unforgiving Singaporeans ourselves can make in a day just in our own speech. It also touches on the strict censorship issues Singapore impose be it self-inspection or on media. How freely will you speak if you know your every word is being recorded?

Lilia Yip At Creative [SIN]ergy Group Show

2010-09-23T08:00:00.007+01:00

Lilia Yip was recently featured at Creative [SIN]ergy's group show called Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project. The exhibition was part of the London Design Festival and was held at the Crypt Gallery on Euston Road from 16 to 19 September 2010.

Architecture is often referred to as the third space that exists beyond the human body. Fashion and Art then can be seen as delightful companions to architecture, with clothing creating the second space between fabric and skin while art delves into the human interior. These pieces are part of larger collection of digitally printed artwork on clothing, cut to rectangular freeform shapes. They reflect Lilia’s minimal-maximalist approach to clothes, which is minimum cut, seam and waste, maximum effect in form, feeling and touch.

They propose a subtle and intimate form of design and art activism, where art and fashion combine to ask questions about urban human life: how we interact with each other, how we feel, what impact do we have on the environment and other living beings.

Lilia and Mona met by chance through the Victoria and Albert Museum, where Lilia was exhibiting and Mona was their artist-in-residence. Having grown up in Singapore and honed their creative skills abroad, their work embodies the essence of who they are and what makes them Singaporeans:

“ We are a unique blend of East to West, with a depth of heart that stems from our roots and an eye to the world, embracing its vastness and diversity.”

HEAD SPACE (2009 -2010) by LILIA YIP Digital print by Mona Choo on triple layered silk dress

FALL INTO NATURE (2009) by LILIA YIP Digital print by Mona Choo on silk dress

CONNECTED DISCONNECTED (2010) by LILIA YIP Digital print by Mona Choo on silk dress

The exhibition also featured other works from the diverse creative industries of UK based Singaporeans.

Click here for more information about the work exhibited.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy and is supported by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), Contact Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Private View: Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London?

2010-09-22T08:00:00.000+01:00

Great Western Studios invites Creative [SIN]ergy to exhibit Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London? at their premise during London Design Festival from 20 - 26 September 2010.

Please join us for the Private View of Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London?

PRIVATE VIEW
Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London?
Wednesday 22nd September 2010
6 -9 pm

Great Western Studios
65 Alfred Road
London W2 5EU

RSVP
events@greatwesternstudios.com

Exhibition runs from 20 - 26 September 2010.

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy and is supported by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), Contact Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

About Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?

Voon Wong participates in The Tramshed

2010-09-21T08:00:00.005+01:00

Creative [SIN]ergy member Voon Wong participates in The Tramshed.

Voon Wong participates in BENCH10

2010-09-20T08:00:00.002+01:00

Creative [SIN]ergy member Voon Wong participates in BENCH10.

Discussion Forum @ The Crypt Gallery

2010-09-19T20:00:00.011+01:00

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? at the Crypt gallery concluded on 19 September with a discussion forum comprising of correspondents' presentation, followed by a panel discussion. Panelists included, Kathryn Firth (Director of Urban Design, PLP Architecture), Lawrence Barth (Professor of Urbanism, AA), William Tan (Architect, Zaha Hadid Architects) and Ting-Ting Zhang (Architect, Studio Egret West).

Correspondents present at the forum were, Voon Wong (Director, VW+BS), Vince Ong, Architect (Fosters + Partners), Kevin Hung, (Architect, Serie Architects), Janita Han (Architect, FAT), Agnes Yit (Student, AA), Lingxiu (Student, AA).

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? is an Architectural Photographic exhibition derived from ongoing conversations on generic spaces between six pairs of architects and architectural students in London and Singapore over the past year. An online version of this dialogue was launch during The London Festival of Architecture.

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? features works from, Kelvin Ang | Vince Ong | Justin Zhuang | Lingxiu Chong | Randy Tan | Agnes Yit | May Anne Lee | Kevin Hung | Yue Han Teow | Janita Han | Voon Wong | Yicheng Pan | Fabrizio Matillana | Johnny Gao.

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? was part of a group show called Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project. The exhibition was part of the London Design festival and saw numbers averaging 70 visitors per day. Works displayed were from the diverse creative industries of UK based Singaporeans.

Also featured in Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, are works from Lilia Yip (Fashion Designer), Karen Yeh (Fine Artist), Johnny Gao (Architect and Photographer) and Shangyi Xie (Fine Artist).

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy and is supported by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), Contact Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Discussion Forum: Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?

2010-09-18T08:00:00.001+01:00

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?

Discussion Forum

Sunday 19th September 2010

3.00 - 6.00pm

The Crypt Gallery

St Pancras Church

Euston Road, London NW1 2BA

The Discussion Forum is free to attend but RSVP is essential.

Click here to RSVP.

Discussion Forum Panelists:

Kathryn Firth, MAUD

Director of Urban Design, PLP Architecture

Kathryn Firth is a Director at PLP Architecture and urban designer with over 25 years of experience. In addition to practice, she is a visiting lecturer at the Architecture Association in the Housing & Urbanism programme. Previous to this, she ran the MSc City Design and Social Science program at the London School of Economics Cities Programme for six years. Here she led student projects addressing both urban regeneration and the establishment of new city districts. Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (GSD). Kathryn has taught at several universities in Canada and the US, including the Graduate School of Design at Harvard, Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Toronto. Kathryn has worked on masterplanning and urban regeneration projects in the US, Europe, South America, the Middle East and the UK. Her current work includes a mixed-use masterplan to create a new neighbourhood in Berkshire, UK, and a masterplan, in Caucaia, Brazil.

Lawrence Barth

Professor of Urbanism, Graduate School, AA

Lawrence Barth is the Professor of Urbanism at the Graduate School of the Architectural Association (Housing and Urbanism Programme). He works independently as a consultant urbanist for cities, design practices and research institutes and has collaborated with diverse architects and landscape architects including Zaha Hadid, Future Systems, Gustafson Porter, Balmori Associates, and S333. He has published widely in architecture and sociology, and is a frequently invited lecturer and critic on the role of architecture and landscape in the contemporary urban process.

Ting-Ting Zhang

Architect, Studio Egret West

William Tan

Architect, Zaha Hadid Architects

Ting-Ting Zhang and William Tan are currently designers at Studio Egret West and Zaha Hadid Architects respectively. They were educated at NUS and Cornell University. Their collaborative works have been exhibited in exhibitions such as AIA New York, Students Exhibition 2006, and the Architectural Biennial Beijing 2006; these projects have also appeared in publications such as Collective Intelligent in Design – Architectural Design (John Wiley, Sons, Inc., 2006) and Emerging Talents, Emerging Technologies (China Architecture and Building Press, 2006).

Discussion Forum Correspondents:

Voon Wong, Director, VW+BS

Vince Ong, Architect, Fosters + Partners

Kevin Hung, Architect, Serie Architects

Janita Han, Architect, FAT

Agnes Yit, Student, AA

Lingxiu, Student, AA

About Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy and supported by the Singapore International Foundation, Contact Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board, and Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project @ The Crypt Gallery

2010-09-17T08:00:00.012+01:00

Thursday 16th September 2010 saw the private view and opening reception of Creative [SIN]ergy's Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project was held at the Crypt Gallery on Euston Road in London as part of the London Design festival. The reception was attended by 130 guest comprising of non-Singaporeans and the local Singaporean community.

Selected artworks were sold with proceeds going to LandAid. LandAid is a charity to help the young and disadvantaged access the facilities, skills, and opportunities to achieve their potential and thrive within their local community.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, is the name of a group exhibition showcasing works from the diverse creative industries from UK based Singaporeans and is part of the London Design festival.

This exhibition includes Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? An Architectural Photographic exhibition derived from ongoing conversations on generic spaces between six pairs of architects and architectural students in London and Singapore over the past year. An online version of this dialogue was launch during The London Festival of Architecture.

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? features works from, Kelvin Ang | Vince Ong | Justin Zhuang | Lingxiu Chong | Randy Tan | Agnes Yit | May Anne Lee | Kevin Hung | Yue Han Teow | Janita Han | Voon Wong | Yicheng Pan | Fabrizio Matillana | Johnny Gao.

Also featured in Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, are works from Lilia Yip (Fashion Designer), Karen Yeh (Fine Artist), Johnny Gao (Architect and Photographer) and Shangyi Xie (Fine Artist).

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy and is supported by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), Contact Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Private View: Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project

2010-09-16T08:00:00.041+01:00

Join us for the Opening Reception of

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project

Private View/ Opening Reception

Thursday 16th September 2010

6.30 - 9.00pm

The Crypt Gallery

St Pancras Church

Euston Road, London NW1 2BA

The Opening Reception is free to attend but RSVP is essential.

Click here to RSVP.

Come join us for an inquiry into generic urban spaces within cities, with specific examples relating to London and Singapore, through an exhibition and a discussion forum.

Exhibitions runs from 16th - 19th September 2010.

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
Discussion Forum

Sunday 19th September 2010

3.00 - 7.00pm

The Discussion Forum is free to attend but RSVP is essential.

Click here to RSVP.

Discussion Forum Panelists:

Kathryn Firth, Director of Urban Design, PLP Architecture

William Tan, Architect, Zaha Hadid Architects

Ting-Ting Zhang, Architect, Studio Egret West

with others to be confirmed.

Discussion Forum Correspondents:

Voon Wong, Director, VW+BS

Vince Ong, Architect, Fosters + Partners

Kevin Hung, Architect, Serie Architects

Janita Han, Architect, FAT

Agnes Yit, Student, AA

Lingxiu, Student, AA

Artworks are sold individually framed (50x50cm), in an edition of 2 + 1 AP.
To purchase artworks click here. Proceeds of sale of artworks go to LandAid.

LandAid is a charity to help the young and disadvantaged access the facilities, skills, and opportunities to achieve their potential and thrive within their local community.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy and supported by the Singapore International Foundation, Contact Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board, and Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Johnny Gao for Creative [SIN]ergy

2010-09-15T08:00:00.018+01:00

These 12 photography pieces were photograph by Johnny Gao, which were specially commissioned by Creative [SIN]ergy for Contact Singapore. These signed artworks are sold individually framed (40x50cm), in an edition of 2 + 1 AP and will be exhibited at the Crypt Gallery as part of a group show called Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project.

To purchase artworks click here. Proceeds of sale of artworks go to LandAid.

LandAid is a charity to help the young and disadvantaged access the facilities, skills, and opportunities to achieve their potential and thrive within their local community.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra Ticket Giveaway

2010-09-14T18:35:00.001+01:00

On 11th October, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra will make its long-awaited debut at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, marking the orchestra’s first visit to the UK since 1991.

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra under Music Director Lan Shui will bring a distinctly maritime flavour to this sought-after concert. The exciting programme will include Debussy’s La Mer, Rachmaninov’s The Isle of the Dead and Zhou Long’s The Rhyme of Taigu. The orchestra’s recent recording of Debussy’s La Mer was described in BBC Music Magazine as "an unequivocally world-class performance of Debussy's masterpiece". Pianist Stephen Hough will join them for Mendelssohn's glittering showpiece, his Piano Concerto No 1.

'a world-class ensemble that plays its heart out at every concert

and where each musician is a hand-picked virtuoso.'

(American Record Guide)

COMPETITION
To celebrate the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s first appearance at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Sinergy is happy to offer one lucky member/subscriber a pair of tickets to the concert on 11th October.

For your chance to win this fabulous prize, simply answer the following question:

The home of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra is named after which great British monarch?

(a) Queen Victoria
(b) King Edward VII
(c) King George V

Email your answer to info@creativesinergy.com before 20th September 2010 and you may have the unique opportunity to see the Singapore Symphony Orchestra perform in London this year!

Creative [SIN]ergy has teamed up with the Southbank Centre to offer a 10% discount off the top three price tickets to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s concert to all the members of the network. Simply quote ‘SINergy’ when booking your tickets at the box office or by phone: 0844 847 9910.

Do book your tickets in advance to avoid disappointment! Click here.

We very much hope you will join us for what promises to be a spectacular evening.

Kind Regards,
The Creative [SIN]ergy Team

Singapore Symphony Orchestra supports Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project

ARTWORKS: Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?

2010-09-13T08:00:00.006+01:00

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
KEVIN HUNG (LDN) - RETAIL SPACES
50 x 50cm, Edition of 2

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
LEE MAY ANNE (SG) - RETAIL SPACES
50 x 50cm, Edition of 2
Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
VINCE ONG (LDN) - TRANSIT SPACES
50 x 50cm, Edition of 2

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
KELVIN ANG (SG) - TRANSIT SPACES
50 x 50cm, Edition of 2

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
VOON WONG (LDN) - OCCUPATIONAL SPACES
50 x 50cm, Edition of 2

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
PAN YICHENG (SG) - OCCUPATIONAL SPACES
50 x 50cm, Edition of 2

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
JANITA HAN (LDN) - LIVING SPACES
50 x 50cm, Edition of 2

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
TEOW YUE HAN (SG) - LIVING SPACES
50 x 50cm, Edition of 2

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
AGNES YIT (LDN) - LEISURE SPACES
50 x 50cm, Edition of 2

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
RANDY CHAN (SG) - LEISURE SPACES
50 x 50cm, Edition of 2

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
LINGXIU CHONG (LDN) - EATING SPACES
50 x 50cm, Edition of 2

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London?
JUSTIN ZHUANG (SG) - EATING SPACES
50 x 50cm, Edition of 2

To purchase artworks click here. Proceeds of sale of artworks go to LandAid.

LandAid is a charity to help the young and disadvantaged access the facilities, skills, and opportunities to achieve their potential and thrive within their local community.

FABRIZIO MATILLANA + JOHNNY GAO

2010-09-12T08:00:00.009+01:00

TRANSIT SPACES (UK, SG)
Fabrizo Matillana + Johnny Gao

(UK)
Spaces of transit circulation manage flows of passengers, arriving as groups, individuals, walking, on bikes, on wheelchairs, into an open plan increasingly challenged by new means of passenger transit.

(SG)
An “air-conditioned integrated interchange” materializes as a prescriptive solution to a combination of an increasingly stronger outward entity of the national framework of satellite town planning and a tropical climatic issue.

EATING SPACES (UK, SG)
Fabrizo Matillana + Johnny Gao

(UK)
The moment of eating as a moment of contemplation in a fake idyllic setting becomes a ritual that creates a space separated from the city.

(SG )
In a hyper-productive microstate of 5 million people where there is one food vendor for every 570 people, the hawker centre was the Singaporean government’s answer to a potential rip in the social fabric by the aggressively efficient removal of street food vendors in the 1960s.

RETAIL SPACES (UK, SG)
Fabrizo Matillana + Johnny Gao

(UK)
The formally permanent with the transient market stalls build up into a social impromptu space, institutionalised by routine and defining an indeterminate indoor as a meeting point, which, by virtue of its own success, settles into a venue that contradicts its unpredictability into an expected retail space.

(SG)
The escalator acts as networked urbanism’s tool in its manifestation within modern retail building types where under the transmission of this urban object, users are treated as components rather than human beings, transforming a nation’s perceived notion of value-free assumptions.

LEISURE SPACES (UK, SG)
Fabrizo Matillana + Johnny Gao

(UK)
A square as a leisure space is framed by an increasing congestive flow that transcends the capacity of restrain, yet stoic users override the incongruence by sheer will of occupation.

(SG)
Singapore’s “garden city action committee” enforces the nation’s long term commitment to one hectare of green space for every 1000 people, part of a prescriptive national framework made more remarkable by Singapore’s status as the 3rd most dense country in the world.

OCCUPATIONAL SPACES (UK, SG)
Fabrizo Matillana + Johnny Gao

(UK)
Minimal changes in table orientation, table and chair layout and spacing in between enacts a work space located in between a canteen and gallery within the British Library on a Sunday.

(SG)
The success of adaptive re-use of a small office/home office (SOHO) programmatic building type in what initially set out to be an escape from the city to be a unique abandoned village, has resulted in a landscape of sameness.

LIVING SPACES (UK, SG)
Fabrizo Matillana + Johnny Gao

(UK)
Overlapping the seriality and material choice from the past with the modernist brutality in linearity and material weight; London’s living environment oscillates from these regimes of genericness.

(SG)
The Singaporean balcony – an upward extrapolation of leisure spaces proliferated within the generic modern private residential type.

These photographs are taken by Architects, Fabrizo Matillana and Johnny Gao as part of the Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London? exhibition.

Using photography as a medium of observation, communication and representation, this project has been a series of ongoing conversations on generic spaces between architects in London and Singapore over the past year. Six key activity spaces (Transit, Eating, Leisure, Retail, Living and Occupational) that define our contemporary life have been identified as the basis for discussion.

These artworks are sold individually framed (50x50cm), in an edition of 2 + 1 AP.

To purchase artworks click here. Proceeds of sale of artworks go to LandAid.

LandAid is a charity to help the young and disadvantaged access the facilities, skills, and opportunities to achieve their potential and thrive within their local community.

OCCUPATIONAL SPACES

2010-09-11T08:00:00.005+01:00

OCCUPATIONAL SPACES
Voon Wong, Director, VW+BS
Yicheng Pan, Director, P.A.C

As a former outpost of the East India Company and later a Crown Colony of the British Empire, Singapore had inherited its economic stance from its colonizers giving it a head start in the region. However, it has since created an economic environment that is almost the antithesis to London’s. These differences can be seen from the comparisons of specific building types as well as the urban fabric.

Singapore’s economic foundation is deeply rooted in the events of 9th of August 1965, when Singapore was thrust into independence. Momentarily shrouded by a cloud of uncertainty, a primeval instinct for survival became the guiding principle for its economic planning. Every aspect of planning, from policies to the urban environment is orchestrated, designed and tailored to ensure an efficient economic engine whilst eliminating unpredictable organizations that might retard growth.

The administration of comprehensive large-scale masterplans becomes the modus operandi for urbanization in Singapore. Large parcels of land, dedicated to specific industries are developed rapidly, often with the mass implementation of a single building type. Such engineered clusters of industry demonstrate the political will to not only facilitate the operations of large corporations but also accommodate and sustain foreign investments. In Singapore, architecture and urbanism serves as agents that could stimulate growth and realize economic goals.

Despite the image of homogeneity which industry clusters in Singapore create; the mix of functions within a cluster can be unique, unimaginable or even schismatic, such as the configuration along Bedok North Avenue 4 - a “Stacked-Up Factories” building type, arguably a local invention arising from the need to multiply “land” while maintaining accessibility and convenience for factories, is dovetailed with and towers over 三清宫, a Taoist temple. This unlikely configuration evidently defies any conventions and accepted principles within the discipline of urban planning and design, however, it is unquestionable that logics and careful scrutiny have been applied to create this anomaly. A masterplan driven largely by Utilitarian and Functionalist criteria can produce an urban fabric that generates an experience that is contrary to our common understanding of cities. Is the adjoining of the temple with the “Stacked-up Factories’ a way to isolate buildings that create pollution -fumes created from daily burning of incense and fumes from the large trucks and factories? Or is it a socio-centric decision to provide a place of worship for the Chinese population in the area?

For whatever reasons it may be, and no matter how truly unique the urban configuration is, Singaporeans are not surprised, for everything that one can or cannot imagine has been planned and serves a larger purpose. Perhaps this sense of indifference; this apathy, best describes the Generic City - Singapore.

In contrast to the highly planned environment of Singapore we look to the area of Shoreditch, located in the East End of London. The antithesis of the highly purposed urban areas in Singapore, Shoreditch has seen a slow and organic evolution over the centuries. Activities continue to evolve, thus changing the life of the area and in some instances, the physical environment as well.

Despite the efforts of the likes of Sir Christopher Wren to introduce a masterplan after the fire of London in 1666, a holistic strategy was never adopted by the City. Later attempts to impose order and logic to the city were localised, an example being John Nash’s plan for linking Regent’s Park to Regent Street. Patrick Abercrombie’s plans in 1944 tackled the problem of expanding London by creating new towns in a ring outside of the City. The City itself was, unlike Singapore or Paris, never the subject of wholesale sweeping away of the old fabric in favour of the new.

The East End of London originally
developed in response to the increased number of ships coming in and out of London in the 16th century. Shoreditch was in the 16th century a centre for theatres and was the location for the first playhouse in England. Wealthy Huguenot silk weavers moved to this area in the 17th century, thus establishing it as a centre for textiles. Later it became the home for clothing and furniture workshops – due in part to the large Jewish community that lived in the area. It fell into decline in the 19th century, becoming rife with prostitution, crime and poverty. Recently Shoreditch was the subject of considerable gentrification, finding new life as a hub for creative industries. It has evolved in a way that is free of government intervention – from a light manufacturing area to an area for a service industry which is related to what has gone on before.

The building types here are in the main low-rise Victorian workshop buildings. This has afforded a flexibility of usage that has been demonstrated over many years. Additionally spaces under railway arches, between railway bridges and disused warehouses have all found new uses with the influx of creative and their support industries. The result is an untidy but layered and vibrant piece of urban life.

The comparison with the occupational typologies found in Singapore is an interesting one; on the surface both cities feature areas that are populated with a single building type. Singapore’s (relatively) instant masterplanning realigns both buildings and infrastructure, resulting in entire areas that are in danger of not only losing flexibility of use, but also severing connectivity to the adjacent areas.

Could a third way be found by drawing lessons from both the highly organised strategies in Singapore and the organic growth patterns found in Shoreditch?

These photographs are taken by Voon Wong and Yicheng Pan as part of the Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London? exhibition.

TRANSIT SPACES

2010-09-10T08:00:00.005+01:00

TRANSIT SPACES
Vince Ong, Architect, Fosters + Partners
Kelvin Ang, Head of Heritage Studies, URA

Bus stops are transitional spaces most city-dwellers encounter on a daily basis. The need to provide them on an urban scale requires a set-up that allows bus stops to perform their basic functional roles efficiently which gave rise to the generic transitional space we find in both cities today.

The basic set-up of a bus stop provides
1) Shelter, 2) Seating, 3) Bus service information, 4) Bus route information, 5) Means to generate revenue (advertisement stand)

However, beneath the banality of the generic is the information that brings us to different places, making each and every bus stop unique from one another. This information, usually in the language common to its locality, is presented on surfaces that may be updated and replaced easily. The places we go make us scrutinise the bus stop up-close after having walked up to it; like the white-washed walls which reflected the psychology of its time or the glass curtain walls that attempted to make buildings invisible, the surfaces we encounter today gives meaning to the generic. Both cities currently lay claim to be multi-cultural cities where the English Language is the medium of communication between peoples as reflected on the bus route maps in both places. While London fashions itself as a ‘World City’ in terms of its current day range of inhabitants, how much ownership of the city do these groups have when they have to navigate the Mother City of the old Empire through place names that are not of their own making?

Imposed by the British East India Company through its agent, Sir Stamford Raffles, (Singapura) – became SINGAPORE. But within the nascent settlement, the immigrants from all around the world named places and landmarks in their own tongue as they saw fit, and the authorities only sought to regulate the naming in a means that would facilitate documentation, taxation, and pronunciation by the administrators.

Through these names, seen at an anonymous generic bus stop, and, strangely made universal through the Roman script, one can sense and visit vicariously in Singapore, many different worlds.

What would happen if the new non-Anglo Saxon communities are to rename London’s places? Would Singapore still be Singapore if we were to rename all places only in English?
How would each city then ‘look’ like in the mind’s eye, from the map at the bus stop.

‘Places We Go’ takes the bus route map as the starting point for our place-making story.

These photographs are taken by Vince Ong and Kelvin Ang as part of the Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London? exhibition.

LEISURE SPACES

2010-09-09T08:00:00.003+01:00

LEISURE SPACES
Agnes Yit, Architectural Student, AA
Randy Chan, Director, Zarch Collaboratives

Our last discussion overall identified our recreational space moved from an informal home-based play area into a more institutional arena when we’ve grown up, it can otherwise be a soccer field, gynasium, skating rink, well in this case I’ve explored the cinema as an adult’s leisure space, and thinking about the social and cultural background differences comparison between London and Singapore that somehow determine the built-up structures of the HDB Blocks for example, the literally playground space of a badminton court (shown in the progress photos) is located at the back of house, while here in London, it is actually planned not as the focal point in the central of the estate when you step into the so-called main entrance of the estate, while Singapore’s way of planning is always centralizing the children’s play area right in front of the estate where it is visible from the main road. The corridor-way is a zig-zag formation that is a continuously link from one block to another, I went up to the 5th floor in block 2 and just walk through 6-7 slab-blocks on the same corridor on the same floor, while there will be lift-car area demarcated by a front door & back door when arrived to each block, the doors are free to open andthere is little security, to enter the lift area, you just have to push through the front door and out from the back door and you’ll be in another block, so the structure is definite different contrasting Singapore’s. Here one can perceive the usage of the horizontally-linked corridor as escape routes, that one can ‘play’ in a really long horizontal corridor without the need to go to the designated park downstairs, one can also try to escape in this horizontal span, like an alternative route to take not only rely on getting up & down the lift and stairways. Its interesting to think about this long span of corridor space serves a different & wider purpose when we grown up. So if the generic-ness is obvious, then we can maybe look at the differences between this 2 built-ups to think of how a change in our perception of things can affect our way of associating with the same space, same structures but at a different growing-up phase, which is not the same moment as it used to be before. The cinema as a place of fantasy; the realisation of a constructed world.

These photographs are taken by Agnes Yit and Randy Chan as part of the Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London? exhibition.

Great Western Studios invites Creative [SIN]ergy to exhibit

2010-09-08T08:00:00.010+01:00

Great Western Studios invites Creative [SIN]ergy to exhibit Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London? at their premise during London Design Festival from 20 - 26 September 2010.
Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? is supported by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), Contact Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? Is an Architectural Photographic exhibition derived from ongoing conversations on generic spaces between six pairs of architects and architectural students in London and Singapore over the past year. An online version of this dialogue was launch during The London Festival of Architecture.

Using photography as a medium of observation, communication and representation, this project has been a series of ongoing conversations on generic spaces between six pairs of architects and architectural students in London and Singapore over the past year. Six key activity spaces (Transit, Eating, Leisure, Retail, Living and Occupational) that define our contemporary life have been identified as the basis for discussion. This exhibition showcases the collective findings by the correspondents.

The main position of the project arise from the prevailing condition of cities striving to be unique through icons, but yet reinforcing the generic with cities made the same through the endless repetition of differences by the same set of building programs and signature ‘starchitecture’ styles. Therefore, rather than claiming uniqueness through cultural references in architectural expression or iconic figurative gestures; this project questions and rediscovers the uniqueness of urban spaces through the most generic and banal scenes of everyday life. Perhaps, the uniqueness of the city can only be revealed through celebrating the generic.

About Great Western Studios:
Great Western Studios aims to provide affordable studio space to practitioners across the visual arts. The individual studio spaces range in size from 250 sq ft plus. Good light is afforded by the internal glass atrium and all studios come with integrated broadband and telephone systems. 24 hour access is from the main entrance by individual electronic fob.

Alongside the studio spaces Great Western Studios also houses a cafe that is open weekdays from 10am - 4pm and caters for everything from morning coffee and breakfast to cheap, delicious and nutritious lunches. Studio users also have access to basic office facilities such as the photocopier and fax.

RETAIL SPACES

2010-09-07T08:00:00.004+01:00

RETAIL SPACES
Kevin Hung, Architect, Serie Architects
May Anne Lee, Director, makk architects

Retail spaces have evolved over time since industrial revolution during the turn of the last century. The comparison attempts to identify a common element – the Escalator, that has existed within retail spaces through time and unravel the possible meanings it has encoded through the changing periods and how it, as a signifier, evolved through the periods in different locations of the world.

• Difference on time period/era (TECHNOLOGICAL)

Harrods
The formal, side by side arrangement of escalators in Harrods speaks of the very early stage of use as a functional and efficient machine which transport people vertically since the discovery of steel. Being the first generation of machine incorporated into the user environment during that era, it coincidentally echoed the symmetry of the Classical arrangements – evident in the photo.

ION Orchard
The similar machine has since evolved technologically into sophisticated, long straddling element, flying across voids, dressed up in mirror-finished undersides and concealed lighting which appeared like a huge architectural lamp of seduction. It has moved away from a mere functional machine into a machine of experience which seems to be tightly integrated into the retail spaces during design planning stage, thus affecting the arrangement of retail spaces.

• On difference in Historical Past and Social Politics

Harrods
The escalator was once a signifier of riches, synonymous with the lifestyle of aristocrats since machines was created to ease mankind. The working class barrier seemed to be further reinforced by such machine. Hence, the association as a bias space.

ION Orchard
These machines of today are accessible to all, including our pet. It has become a common sight and a daily element that literally ‘bridge the gap’. To pun it, it bridges all man, black and white, blue collar and white.
Thus evolving into a neutral space.

• On difference in cultural pursuit

Harrods
The glorious past of the English, being the upper caste – known historically to the Asians as colonial masters has become a good nostalgia. It seems like it has become a culture for Londoners to pursue the old or classic. Hence, however primitive the escalators are in Herrods, it will always be read as a sign of the rich past.

ION Orchard
Singa poreans being a young and fast growing city with little past to look back to, pursues everything new and technologically advanced as sign of riches and growth. The long flanking escalators through voids and its purposeful dynamic arrangement reflect such hungry appetite for speed as a cultural preference.

These photographs are taken by Kevin Hung and May Anne Lee as part of the Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London? exhibition.

EATING SPACES

2010-09-06T08:00:00.006+01:00

EATING SPACES
Lingxiu Chong, Architectural Student, AA
Justin Zhuang, Writer, reclaimland.sg

“EATING IN, EATING OUT”

The kopitiam, or coffeeshop, is one of the most popular type of eating space in Singapore. Despite each being privately owned, most have been created in the mould of a generic space. Each kopitiam is typically anchored by a stall selling drinks and has two or three other stalls each selling one type of food. The eating space is then filled with tables and chairs that are shared amongst these stalls. In London, however, similarly popular eating spaces usually serve only one genre of food. While they are built in similar kinds of spaces to Singapore, the results are standalone cafes, bars, and restaurants, that reflect a personal wish of its owner, instead of a multi-flavoured kopitiam.

In these different spaces, people seem to eat differently as well. In London, customers who sit outside the streets, are readily orientated towards the street to people watch as they enjoy a meal. Yet in Singapore, people eating at food spaces are turned away from the street as if it’s not there. There are several reasons this may be so. Does the tropical climate in Singapore, as compared to London’s less harsh weather, encourage people to eat ‘in’ rather than ‘out’? Or is the the street as a stage, rather than just a functional traveling space, a concept that has a stronger tradition in Europe? This might explain the increased spectatorship in London. Perhaps how each eating space has been designed in these cities has an effect on how we eat? More space for stalls, means less space for people. Tables and chairs in the kopitiams seem arranged to maximises eating capacity, while those in London give space for viewing street activity while eating. These are some things worth chewing over.

These photographs are taken by Lingxiu Chong and Justin Zhuang as part of the Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London? exhibition.

LIVING SPACES

2010-09-05T08:00:00.005+01:00

LIVING SPACES
Janita Han, Architect, FAT
Teow Yue Han, Media Student, NTU

Doors and windows are generic portals to the living space. They protect and frame the spaces, diving interior from exterior. On the facade they give structure and rhythm, offering a glimpse to the sizes of living spaces within. Close-up, they tantalise with the possibility of a space beyond the wall. Although merely a generic living space within a block of flats, numbers and objects surrounding the door and window marks that particular living space as unique. On the inside, doors and portals mark the entry point to a living space beyond. The apartment block in London and Singapore, the symbol of modern, concentrated city living, becomes the object of study in this comparative investigation.

These photographs are taken by Janita Han and Teow Yue Han as part of the Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London? exhibition.

SHOWCASE: Shangyi Xie

2010-09-02T08:00:00.000+01:00

Shangyi Xie was trained as a traditional painter during her school days in Singapore, with most of her paintings concentrating on realistic social commentaries. Inspired by the vibrant contemporary art scene in Britain while pursuing her art degree, Shangyi took a great leap towards exploring new mediums. Discarding the paints, she investigates the use of photographic images in her recent practice.

Sensitive to social trends that people often follow unconsciously, Shangyi closes in on certain social norms in the contemporary culture and brings attention to them. Through her works, Shangyi highlights these common behaviours that individuals are guilty of and yet many a time are ashamed to own up to. One such example is that of scrutinising strangers based on their superficial appearances and passing personal judgments on them.

However, Shangyi’s work is definitely not just a simple attempt “to burst the bubble and pinpoint on something that you shouldn’t be doing but is guilty of”. Instead, through her work, she provided “more support for such socially impolite mode of conduct because it is such a norm”. It is with such an unconventional perspective that often injects in her works a sense of humour and absurdity. In Shangyi’s usual spirited and bold fashion, she encourages us once again, “don’t be afraid to do it”.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project

2010-08-31T08:00:00.007+01:00

Creative [SIN]ergy presents,
Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project.

This project is supported by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), Contact Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, is the name of a group exhibition showcasing works from the diverse creative industries from UK based Singaporeans and is part of the London Design festival.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, opens at The Crypt Gallery on Euston Road with a private view and reception on 16 September 2010 from 6:30 - 9:00pm and the exhibition will continue to 19 September 2010.

This exhibition includes Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? An Architectural Photographic exhibition derived from ongoing conversations on generic spaces between six pairs of architects and architectural students in London and Singapore over the past year. An online version of this dialogue was launch during The London Festival of Architecture. This exhibition will conclude on 19 September with a discussion forum comprising of correspondents' presentation, followed by a panel discussion. Panellists include, Kathryn Firth (Director of Urban Design, PLP Architecture), William Tan (Architect, Zaha Hadid Architects) and Ting-Ting Zhang (Architect, Studio Egret West)

Also featured in Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, are works from Lilia Yip (Fashion Designer), Karen Yeh (Fine Artist), Johnny Gao (Architect and Photographer) and Shangyi Xie (Fine Artist).

VENUE
Crypt Gallery, St Pancras Church, Euston Road, London NW1 2BA

EXHIBITION
16 – 19 September 2010

OPENING NIGHT
16 September 2010, Thursday, 6.30 - 9.00pm

Singapore Tourism Board Supports Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project

2010-08-30T08:00:00.004+01:00

Singapore Tourism Board supports Creative [SIN]ergy's Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project at the London Design Festival during September 2010.

The Singapore Tourism Board has launched an evolution of Singapore’s destination brand – from “Uniquely Singapore” to “YourSingapore”. The new brand places the visitor at its core and reflects the concentration of sights, sounds, tastes, culture and attractions that allow Singapore to deliver a unique, personal experience to each visitor.

YourSingapore is future-facing and inspiring, empowering travellers to personalise their own Singapore experience. Its digital approach incorporates an innovative new website (YourSingapore.com) which allows travellers to conceptualise and plan their individual Singapore travel itinerary and share experiences.

The evolved brand is being launched at an exciting time of development for Singapore, with a wide range of recently and soon-to-be launched products adding to the already extensive tourism landscape in Singapore. These include:

• The Singapore Flyer – world’s tallest observation wheel
• The world’s first Formula 1 night race – and Asia’s first street race – which launched in Singapore in 2008
• Resorts World Sentosa – an exciting integrated resort featuring six hotels, South East Asia’s first Universal Studios and the world’s largest oceanarium
• Marina Bay Sands – a second integrated resort featuring exciting hotel, retail, shopping and entertainment options
• The inaugural Youth Olympic Games, took place in Singapore this August

These developments, along with exciting developments in dining and nightlife and Singapore’s unique and diverse mix of cultures, demonstrate that it has far more to offer than may be realised.

Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London?

2010-08-27T08:00:00.010+01:00

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? is supported by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), Contact Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

It is presented as part of a group exhibition called Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, showcasing works from the diverse creative industries from UK based Singaporeans and is part of the London Design festival. The exhibition opens at The Crypt Gallery on Euston Road with a private view and reception on 16 September 2010 from 6:30 - 9:00pm and the exhibition will continue to 19 September 2010.

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? Is an Architectural Photographic exhibition derived from ongoing conversations on generic spaces between six pairs of architects and architectural students in London and Singapore over the past year. An online version of this dialogue was launch during The London Festival of Architecture, www.generi-city.net. This exhibition will conclude on 19 September with a discussion forum comprising of correspondents' presentation, followed by a panel discussion. Panellists include, Kathryn Firth (Director of Urban Design, PLP Architecture), William Tan (Architect, Zaha Hadid Architects) and Ting-Ting Zhang (Architect, Studio Egret West).Using photography as a medium of observation, communication and representation, this project has been a series of ongoing conversations on generic spaces between six pairs of architects and architectural students in London and Singapore over the past year. Six key activity spaces (Transit, Eating, Leisure, Retail, Living and Occupational) that define our contemporary life have been identified as the basis for discussion. This exhibition showcases the collective findings by the correspondents.

The main position of the project arise from the prevailing condition of cities striving to be unique through icons, but yet reinforcing the generic with cities made the same through the endless repetition of differences by the same set of building programs and signature ‘starchitecture’ styles. Therefore, rather than claiming uniqueness through cultural references in architectural expression or iconic figurative gestures; this project questions and rediscovers the uniqueness of urban spaces through the most generic and banal scenes of everyday life. Perhaps, the uniqueness of the city can only be revealed through celebrating the generic.

Uniquely Singapore, Distinctively London? Participants:
Kelvin Ang - Head of Heritage Studies, URA
Vince Ong - Architect, Fosters and Partners
Justin Zhuang - Writer, reclaimland.sg
Lingxiu Chong - Architectural Student, AA
Randy Tan - Director, ZARCH
Agnes Yit - Architectural Student, AA
May Anne Lee - Director, Makk Architects
Kevin Hung - Architect, Serie Architecture
Yue Han Teow - Media Student, NTU
Janita Han - Architect, Fashion Architecture Taste (F.A.T)
Voon Wong - Director, voonwong&bensonsaw
Yicheng Pan - Director, Project Architecture and the City (P.A.C)
Fabrizio Matillana - Architectural Assistant, AStudio Architecture Ltd.
Johnny Gao - Graduate, AA

Singapore Symphony Orchestra Supports Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project

2010-08-26T08:00:00.005+01:00

Singapore Symphony Orchestra supports Creative [SIN]ergy's Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project at the London Design Festival during September 2010.

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is returning to London after nearly two decades (19 years) since it first performed in London at the Barbican Centre. When it gives the concert at the Royal Festival Hall on 11 October 2010, the 97-strong SSO will be joined by renowned British pianist Stephen Hough. The orchstra will be perroming under the baton of award-winning Conductor and Music Director of the SSO, Maestro Lan Shui.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project Taking Flight

2010-08-25T08:00:00.003+01:00

While we are gearing up for our exhibition in London. Creative [SIN]ergy's Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, is taking flight back in Singapore.

We have been invited to present at the next Rojak on 28th August 2010. Rojak is a quarterly creative sharing session organized by Farm.sg.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project is also part of a group exhibition called 'Our Singapore' held during Archifest 2010 between 3rd to 23rd October 2010. Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project will also be part of a presentation at Really Ar? on 9 Oct October 2010. All of which will be held at Illuma in Singapore.

The overall theme for Uniquely Singapore? organized by Creative [SIN]ergy and Really AR? organized by re:ACT will take on the title ‘Our Singapore’ (questioning what makes Singapore unique and if these uniqueness are the defining qualities to Singapore, and how we identify Singapore as ours.)

What makes Singapore, Our Singapore? What makes our home so endearing that everywhere Singaporeans go, we can identify a part of our environment as something uniquely Singapore? Hence, we decided to play a pun on the Singapore Tourism Board tagline and reflect upon the idea of Our Singapore, but ending that with a question mark. The 3-week public exhibitions, that feature a series of pictorial studies done on generic spaces across UK and Singapore, will be held at Illuma Bugis from the 3rd to 22nd October. Also, we have planned a informal sharing session titled ‘Really Ar?’, showcasing a variety of projects that centred upon deriving inspiration from our truly Singaporean context. Through the events that will happen at Illuma during the Archifest 2010, we hope to inspire people to start discovering their spaces they can define as being Uniquely Singapore.

Proposed Screening Selection for PROJECT: slingSHORT 2010

2010-08-24T08:00:00.003+01:00

Tickets by Sherman Ong
Cold Noodles by Kirsten Tan
Promises of December by Elgin Ho
5 films in an anthology of a film a month - David Shiyang
Masala mama by Michael Kam

Contact Singapore Supports Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project

2010-08-23T08:00:00.012+01:00

Contact Singapore supports Creative [SIN]ergy's Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project at the London Design Festival during September 2010.

Contact Singapore is an alliance of the Singapore Economic Development Board and Ministry of Manpower. It aims to attract global talent to work, invest and live in Singapore.

With offices in the Asia Pacific, Europe and North America, Contact Singapore is the one-stop centre for those who wish to pursue a rewarding career in Singapore, as well as individuals and entrepreneurs who are keen to invest in or initiate new business activities here. Contact Singapore actively links Singapore-based employers with global talent and provides updates on career opportunities and industry developments in Singapore. We work with private sector partners to facilitate the interests of potential individual investors in Singapore.

For more information on working, investing and living in Singapore, please visit www.contactsingapore.sg

Interested in a career in the design industry? Experience @Singapore

PROJECT: slingSHORT part of [SIN]efest

2010-08-20T08:00:00.009+01:00

Part of PROJECT: slingSHORT will once again be held in London. This screening presented by Creative [SIN]ergy in November 2010 is part of [SIN]efest, which is presented by Creative [SIN]ergy and Cinefest Productions. Curated by celebrated Singapore filmmaker/ Director, Boo Junfeng, this event is a 3 day film festival showcasing Singapore films to the UK audience.

The 5th edition of PROJECT: slingSHORT is curated by Kirsten Tan. Featuring a selection of 5 short films by up and coming filmmakers from Singapore.

PROJECT: slingSHORT is an ongoing series of Singapore short film screenings occurring annually. The selection of short films for each series comes from an ensemble of up and coming Singapore short filmmakers. A different Singapore short filmmaker will curate each screening. The out going curator will select the next curator from one of the filmmakers from the current screening.

Creative [SIN]ergy Announces London Venue for Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project

2010-08-18T08:00:00.008+01:00

Creative [SIN]ergy Announces the Crypt Gallery as the London Venue for Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project exhibition. The Crypt Gallery is located at the St Pancras Church on Euston Road. This exhibition is part of the London Design Festival and will be held from 16th -19th September 2010.

In 2002 the Crypt at St Pancras Church became a gallery space where the imagination, thoughts and emotions of 21st century artists are shared with visitors from around the world. Now this popular venue hosts a year-round programme of art exhibitions. As a church we are pleased to include art that provokes and questions, as well as art designed for contemplation, because all form an important part of our common humanity. Throughout history the Church has encouraged and supported the arts and artists. Long may this continue.

The Crypt provides an intensely atmospheric backdrop to promote the work of a wide variety of artists, kept under the watchful eye of the caryatids.

The Crypt Gallery
St Pancras Church
Euston Road, London NW1 2BA

Creative [SIN]ergy a Partner of the London Design Festival 2010

2010-08-13T08:00:00.003+01:00

Creative [SIN]ergy is once again proud to be a London Design Festival partner.

The London Design Festival is a nine-day celebration of design in the world’s creative capital. The Festival is a platform for the widest spectrum of design disciplines, brought together as a unique and accessible programme.

Uniquely Singapore? discussion has arrived on the shores of Singapore

2010-08-12T08:00:00.010+01:00

After several discussions and an official project launch in London, the Uniquely Singapore? discussion has arrived on the shores of Singapore last Saturday 7th August at makk architects on 17 Woking Road in Portsdown area.

Several pertinent points were raised during the session, including the apparent differences in the housing typology of typical public housing in Singapore and social housing in London, the increasing lack of civic spaces within the city centre and the gentrification of industrial practices versus the gentrification of industrial spaces in Singapore and London respectively.
Stay tune for the final outcome of our discusssions during our exhibitions in London during the London Design Festival in September and in Singapore during the Archifest in October.

Biography of Participants for Uniquely Singapore - Distinctively London?

2010-08-11T08:00:00.016+01:00

London Correspondents

Vince Ong graduated from the Architectural Association last year and is currently an architect at Fosters and Partners. He has organized and taken part in several exhibitions both in London and Singapore.

Chong Lingxiu is currently enjoying her time dissecting bugs, designing zeppelin-like infrastructures as a first year student at the Architectural Association.

Agnes Yit is currently exploring the contested spaces along the coast of Europe in Diploma Unit 4 at the Architectural Association. Prior to studying at the AA, she was practicing as an interior architect for several years in Singapore.

Kevin Hung is currently a practicing architect at Serie. Prior to his graduation, he was researching on the spaces of airports and the university campus in relation to the city through the investigation of architectural types at the Architectural Association.

Janita Han completed her undergraduate degree at the National University of Singapore and her Masters at Delft Technical University. She is currently a project architect at Fashion Architecture Taste (F.A.T) and enjoys making short films as a hobby. She is also involved in re:act, an architectural interest group that is concerned with the development of architecture in the Asian region.

Voon Wong studied at the National University of Singapore and the Architectural Association in London. After graduating, he worked in various practices in the UK and Singapore including the Office of Rick Mather and Zaha Hadid where he worked on the University of East Anglia project and the Vitra Fire Station project respectively before setting up VoonWong&BensonSaw in 1996 in London. Since then he has been heavily involved in both architectural and product design projects in the practice.

Singapore Correspondents

Kelvin Ang is currently the Head of Heritage Studies at the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore.

Justin Zhuang is a Singaporean writer and designer where one can find can find his works and thoughts about Singapore's politics, society and visual culture on justrambling.sg. Several of his articles have been published in Singapore Architects and The Design Journal Society.

Randy Chan graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1997 and has since maintained a long-standing interest in the fields of art and installation. He is currently the principal of Zarch Collaboratives, a multidisciplinary practice that actively involves itself in the fields of both art and architecture.

Lee May Anne is currently the principal of MAKK Architects.

Teow Yue Han is currently a second year media student at the School of Art, Design and Media. He is actively involved in several exhibition and performances that experiment with space and time-based media and has recently started an online project, ImagingCities, which explore how cities are being represented visually and shape the environment.

Pan Yi Cheng is currently the director of Project, Architecture and the City (P.A.C). Prior to setting up his office, he was an architect at T.P Bennett and UN Studio. Yi Cheng graduated with honors from the Architectural Association with his project ‘Resisting the Generic Empire’ winning him the accolade of being one of Building Design top graduates and a second prize at the Evolo design competition.

Johnny Gao first graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. In his final year, his project “An Animal Assisted Therapy Centre for the New Elderly” was one of 2 nominated for the RIBA President’s bronze medal. The project has since been exhibited at both the 2007 NUS City Exhibition and NUS Department of Architecture Exhibition.

Dorcas Ng will be featured at Dreams London 2010

2010-08-10T08:00:00.007+01:00

Creative [SIN]ergy member, Dorcas Ng will be featured at Dreams London 2010 from 31st August to 4th September at the Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street London EC1V 9LT.

Dorcas will be presenting, Pao & the balloon. 泡(pào) is a wedge head carrot with a bad attitude. His background is dubious, even he doubts his own existence. One day, 泡(pào) finds that a balloon has grown behind his head. 泡(pào) doesn't know it, but this marks the start of a change which is to affect him... in a way.

Dreams London 2010 is a group exhibition of 50 young designers and artists from 15 different countries, sharing the same dream to set up an exhibition, showing London how passion and belief can make something amazing happen. Innovative, interesting, mysterious and fun ideas involving 20+ different types of creativities, Dreams Exhibition provides a stage for these young creators to show their talent. Like a playground, like magic, and like dreams, anything can happen. At the end of the day, knowing how to dream is the most beautiful thing in the world.

Private view:
31st August 1830 - 2230

Opening hours:
31st August - 4th September from 0900 to 1800, except 4th sept, 1200 - 1500

Venue:
Shoreditch Town Hall
380 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT

For more information visit:

www.ourdreamslondon2010.com

Creative [SIN]ergy announces [SIN]efest site.

2010-08-09T08:00:00.015+01:00

Creative [SIN]ergy x Cinefest Productions announces the [SIN]efest web site on Singapore's National Day. [SIN]efest is UK's largest Independent Singapore Film Festival, showcasing Singapore Films over a 3 day period. The screening will be curated by celebrated Singapore filmmaker/ Director, Boo Jungfeng.

www.sinefest.org

PRESS RELEASE

UKs largest independent Singaporean film festival launches in November.

London is set to be the host city for the inaugural [Sin]efest film festival to be based at several Central London venues over 3 consecutive days. The festival which seeks to raise international awareness of Singaporean cinema will screen a mixture of 5 feature length narrative and documentary films in addition to a selection of shorts, from new and established filmmakers. Rising young Singaporean film director Boo Jun Feng, whose debut feature “Sandcastle” screened in this year’s International Critics Week at Cannes, will be curating the film selection as well as hosting his own filmmaking workshop.

The [Sin]efest is the result of the first collaboration between one of the UK’s largest Singaporean cultural organisations, Creative [SIN]ergy and film production company and festival organiser, Flynn Film Co.

While Steven Flynn of Film Co explained why the festival is important to the current London cultural offering “Singaporean film has really enjoyed a renaissance in recent years. Increasing levels of inward investment into the Singaporean film industry has allowed more new as well as established Singaporean filmmakers get out there and make their films. And with more of those films gaining international awards attention now is really a great time to share as many of these with British audiences”.

The final film selection and dates for November will be announced in early September. Tickets will be available to buy online up to 6 weeks in advance from the official [Sin]efest website or from screening venues during the festival.

SIF Supports Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project

2010-08-06T18:34:00.006+01:00

Singapore International Foundation (SIF) has awarded Creative [SIN]ergy the Singapore Internationale grant in support of Creative [SIN]ergy's Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project at the London Design Festival during September 2010.

The Singapore International Foundation (SIF) is a non-profit organisation founded in 1991. Its mission is to build a better world through shared ideas, skills and experiences, so as to uplift lives and create greater understanding between Singaporeans and world communities.

Our activities are organised around three strategic thrusts: working with communities for sustainable development, exchanging ideas for greater understanding, and showcasing Singapore to build ties. We focus on five core areas: healthcare, education, the environment, arts and culture, and livelihood and business.

For its work, the SIF was presented the Excellence for Singapore Award. Our Patron is His Excellency S R Nathan, President of the Republic of Singapore.

Please visit:
www.sif.org.sg and www.singaporekopitiam.sg

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, Features: Lilia Yip

2010-08-01T08:00:00.003+01:00

Lilia Yip makes clothes and music with a human story.

Architecture is often referred to as the third space that exists beyond the human body. Fashion and Art then can be seen as delightful companions to architecture, with clothing creating the second space between fabric and skin while art delves into the human interior.

These pieces are part of larger collection of digitally printed artwork on clothing, cut to rectangular freeform shapes. They reflect Lilia’s minimal-maximalist approach to clothes, which is minimum cut, seam and waste, maximum effect in form, feeling and touch.

They propose a subtle and intimate form of design and art activism, where art and fashion combine to ask questions about urban human life: how we interact with each other, how we feel, what impact do we have on the environment and other living beings.

Lilia and Mona met by chance through the Victoria and Albert Museum, where Lilia was exhibiting and Mona was their artist-in-residence. Having grown up in Singapore and honed their creative skills abroad, their work embodies the essence of who they are and what makes them Singaporeans:“ We are a unique blend of East to West, with a depth of heart that stems from our roots and an eye to the world, embracing its vastness and diversity.”

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, Features: Chong Lingxiu

2010-07-30T08:00:00.003+01:00

Chong Lingxiu, mostly a student at the Architecture Association School of London but also amateur writer/musician/artist. She is the product of a childhood spent wandering around Singapore's civic district and an education acquired in some really nice schools, especially Hwa Chong Institution (College). She figured herself out during her time in dance studios, music rooms, eventually concert halls; then the school field, muddy reservoir tracks and stadia; then lecture halls, meeting rooms and the podium... finally to settle down in the architecture studio where she attempts to reconcile everything.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, Features: Kevin Hung

2010-07-29T08:00:00.001+01:00

Kevin Hung is currently a practicing architect at Serie. Prior to his graduation, he was researching on the spaces of airports and the university campus in relation to the city through the investigation of architectural types at the Architectural Association.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, Features: Fabrizio Matillana

2010-07-28T08:00:00.001+01:00

Fabrizio Matillana graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London in July 2010. He was awarded the Howard Colls Studentship 2009 and academic bursaries throughout his 4 years. He was put forward by the AA as the school nominee for the 2010 Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship.

Previously he studied at the University of Nottingham and obtained the Diploma in Foundation in Art and Design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. He participated in the SmartGeometry Conference, San Francisco in March 2009 elaborating techniques of parametric representation for his 4th year thesis Informal Interchange, Rio de Janeiro. At ecoLogicStudio he worked on the office’s exhibition for the 11th Venice Biennale and Seville Biennale of Art and Architecture. He participated in the International Workshop Pisco/Medellin “How to Rebuild the City” organized by Claudia Amico from NGO “Espacio Expresion” on housing projects for the reconstruction of the disaster-struck city of Pisco, Peru. His proposal was taken for competition for 1 house – 1000 homes, Sydney and exhibited at the Peruvian Embassy as part of the LFA 2010.

Recently his work was selected to be exhibited alongside other AA students at the Takenaka Corporation in Tokyo. He currently works at AStudio Architecture in London.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, Features: Yue Han Teow

2010-07-27T08:00:00.001+01:00

Teow Yue Han is currently a second year media student at the School of Art, Design and Media. He is actively involved in several exhibition and performances that experiment with space and time-based media and has recently started an online project, ImagingCities, which explore how cities are being represented visually and shape the environment.

SHOWCASE: Vince Ong

2010-07-26T08:00:00.004+01:00

Vince Ong Choon Hoe AADip RIBA II Recipient of the Architectural Association School of Architecture London (AA) Scholarship and the DesignSingapore Scholarship, Vince Ong left Singapore in 2003 to pursue Architecture in London and graduated with RIBA Part II (Royal Institute of british Architect) in 2009. He is Associate to DesignSingapore Council and works in the practice of Foster+Partners on projects such as the India Tower which would challenge the current world's tallest building and a ski resort that sits on a World Cup slope in Italy.

In 2007, he worked in WOHA Architects on an award winning residential project along Cairnhill Road, Singapore, and participated in the Singapore Art Show 2007. He had also collaborated with an artist in 2004 and staged one of the biggest multi-media art installations in Singapore at Sculpture Square gallery. Vince currently lives and works in London, and often reminisces the heat of Pulau Ubin where he grew up as a child.

Name: Vince Ong
Location: London, UK
Website: NA
Email: Click here

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, Features: May Anne Lee

2010-07-23T08:00:00.002+01:00

Lee May Anne is currently the principal of MAKK Architects.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, Features: Agnes Yit

2010-07-21T08:00:00.003+01:00

Agnes Yit Mun Khwan has recently completed & passed the 4th year in Architectural course in the Architectural Association London School of Architecture, AA London, UK. She has obtained

the UK RIBA Part One Certification, after completing the 3rd year of the course in 2009.

She has previously completed with a Bachelor of Arts (1st class honours) in Interior designing conferred by B.I.A.D, Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, conducted at LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts in Singapore from 2001 to 2002. Agnes also received the most outstanding achievement award for Bachelor of Arts (with honours) in Interior Design awarded by LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts in 2002. She has completed her Diploma in Interior Design from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore in 1996 with a merit award and in the same year she has also received an Honorable Mention awarded by IFI `95 NAGOYA, World Interior Design Congress, International Interior Design Fair `95 NAGOYA Executive Committee & Design Nagoya Organizing Committee, Japan.

Agnes is also one of the finalists selected from Singapore in the Hong Kong Interior Design Association (HKIDA) and exhibited for the business of design week in Hong Kong Design Centre & the Exhibition & Convention Hall, Hong Kong in 2002.

A member of The Artists Village, Singapore since1998, she has worked as an Interior Designer/ Consultant for the past 11 years since 1996, and consistently participated in various local and international art exhibitions & performance festivals in various countries. As a Visual Artist, Agnes has consistently been trying to explore various aspects of expressions and experimentations in her works. Most often to communicate & connect with the audiences through gestures presented in Performance Art and Spatial awareness created in her Installation works. She believe in making direct engagement with people/ audiences who creates a platform which allows her to make awareness to the general public and constantly engage herself through these opportunities to continue the engagement process with people, which is rewarding to her practice and as representative from Singapore to promote art & to encourage more art exchanges with the International Art circuit, in this instant, it is an exchange between Singapore and European art practitioners.

Recent & Past Performance Art Festivals/ Events/ Exhibitions she had participated include (London) UK, (Belfast) UK, (Sète and Montpellier) France, (Beijing) China, (Helsinki) Finland, (Hildesheim) Germany, (Bucheon-City, Kimcheon-City, Sacheon- City & Chungju) Korea, (Fuokuoka) Japan, (Bangkok & ChiangMai) Thailand, (Jogyjakarta & Jakarta) Indonesia, (Sydney) Australia & Singapore, including selected International Art Festivals/ Events namely IPAH 2008 Festival of Performance Art ZOOM! Südostasien (Hildesheim, Germany), LaBas 2007 (Helsinki, Finland), Maju Jaya 2007 (Yogyakarta), BIPAF 2007- Bucheon International Performance Art Festival (Korea), CIPAF 2007-Chungju International Performance Art Festival (Korea), FetterField 2006 & 2007 Singapore Performance Art Festival, Perfurbance 3 -“Spiritual Renewal” 2007 (Yogyakarta), Birds Migration: Indonesia International Performance Art Event [IIPAE] 2006 (Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta), Episode5 2006 Singapore Art Event, The 1st Fukuoka Asia Art Festival 2000 (Japan), SITUATION 2005 The Museum of Contemporary Art-MCA (Sdyney), Asiatopia 4 2002 (Bangkok), Fusion Strength 2003 (Yogyakarta), Future of Imagination 1 FOI 2003 (Substation, Singapore), AIM I 2000-Artists Investigating Monument (Singapore) & AIM 2-SENI 2004-Artists Investigating Monument (Singapore), and as organizer for „STORM‟ pixxel motion art 2003 (A Public Video Art Event under the Esplanade Bridge,

Singapore).

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, Features: Janita Han

2010-07-20T08:00:00.004+01:00

Janita Han completed her undergraduate degree at the National University of Singapore and her Masters at Delft Technical University. She is currently a project architect at Fashion Architecture Taste (F.A.T) and enjoys making short films as a hobby. She is also involved in re:act, an architectural interest group that is concerned with the development of architecture in the Asian region.

SHOWCASE: Brian Cheng

2010-07-19T08:00:00.004+01:00

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, Features: Kelvin Ang

2010-07-16T08:00:00.000+01:00

Kelvin Ang Kah Eng (b. 1972, Queenstown, Singapore. I currently reside in Tiong Bahru)

I was trained in Architecture at the Bartlett School from 1993-1999 on a Government Scholarship.

Since starting work in the public planning sector, I have been focussing on heritage issues relating to the conservation of buildings as well as the how local identity within each part of Singapore could be identified and better protected for future generations.

On a personal level, the diverse histories of Singapore is for me, a resource to be better understood as it should form the basis for the continuous creation a more organic Singaporean identity. Therefore, it is important for such awareness to be cultivated and shared. My Singapore is one that is a multi-ethnic country, where our dreams for happiness, whatever these may be, should have a chance to come true.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, Features: Justin Zhuang

2010-07-15T08:00:00.003+01:00

Justin Zhuang is a writer and editorial designer who is interested in stories about Singapore's politics, society and visual culture. He divides his time between working for a newspaper for kids and pursuing stories on the Singapore graphic design scene and everyday life in this city.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra returns to London

2010-07-14T08:00:00.000+01:00

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, Features: Pan Yi Cheng

2010-07-13T08:00:00.002+01:00

Pan Yi Cheng is the co-founder of P.A.C Singapore and Type0 Collaborative UK. He graduated with honours from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and was chosen as one of the top eight graduates in 2006 for the UK by BD magazine in 2006. He has also presented his research at the 10th Venice Architectural Biennale representing the Architectural Association.

Yi Cheng joined UNStudio in October 2008 and was the lead architect for the first prized Beijing River Creative Zone masterplanning competition. He has also worked on other high profile projects including “Raffles City”, a 60 storey mixed-use building in Hangzhou and a landmark sports centre in Dalian.

Prior to this, Yi Cheng has conducted workshops and design tutorials for the Architectural Association in London and Singapore while working on various public and private projects at Serie Architects and TP Bennett Architects in London. He was awarded 2nd prize for the Evolo International Skyscraper Competition and Special Mention for LEX Walsall Architectural competition. His works has been published widely in magazines and journals such as the prestigious AA Files and AD.

SHOWCASE: Johnny Gao

2010-07-12T08:00:00.000+01:00

Johnny Gao first graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. In his final year, his project “An Animal Assisted Therapy Centre for the New Elderly” was one of 2 nominated for the RIBA President’s bronze medal. The project has since been exhibited at both the 2007 NUS City Exhibition and NUS Department of Architecture Exhibition.

Johnny is also an avid photographer, having his photos exhibited at the 2nd Ngee Ann Kong Si Photographic Exhibition and HYPE Gallery at Parliament House. A photo of the Cambodian temple, Angkor Wat was also purchased by the Ngee Ann Kong Si Archives in 2006. He has also been commissioned several times to choreograph photo publications of built works by architecture firms and the Singapore Encyclopaedia.

His interest in the portrayal of urban paradoxes through film has led to his photography works and articles being published extensively in The Architectural Review, AD (Architectural Design), journal of Southeast Asian Architecture and SA (Singapore Architect) magazine.

In the recent 3 years at the Architectural Association, Johnny has taken interest in constructing polemical ways to confront and understand the insurmountability of the city. In 2008, he was part of a class who travelled to Lalibela, Ethiopia to construct a mobile cinema for the villagers with materials packed straight out of a suitcase. The project has received massive praise and was published in several design magazines. He recently graduated from the Architectural Association in London from Diploma Unit 14 run by Pier Vittorio Aureli, Barbara Campbell Lange and Fenella Collingridge with his project titled “The Enclosed Garden” where its design was intended as an opportunity to put forward innovative and extreme living standards in light of increasingly merging living and working activities of today’s post-Fordist landscape.

More recently, he is moving on to greener pastures and is actively involved in the “Uniquely

Singapore – a generi-City project”.

Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project, Features: Randy Chan

2010-07-09T08:00:00.002+01:00

Randy Chan graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1997 and has since maintained a long-standing interest in the fields of art and installation. He is currently the principal of Zarch Collaboratives, a multidisciplinary practice that actively involves itself in the fields of both art and architecture.

One of Singapore’s leading young architects, Randy Chan was featured in `20 under 40 up and coming architects by the URA in 2004 and in the acclaimed international magazine `Monocles’ by critic choice as the local firm to watch out .

Randy’s architectural and design experience includes work on projects as diverse as stage design, private housing, cluster housing and master-planning – all of which are guided by the simple philosophy that architecture and the aesthetics are part of the same impulse.

He takes a multidisciplinary architectural approach to his projects and specializes in the convergence between Art and Architecture. His works are published in the numerous

local architecture magazines and international publications like the latest edition of Singapore houses by Robert Powell.

He also won a Gold Award in the 3rd SIA Façade Design Excellence Awards in 2006 for his work on the Singapore Pavilion at the World Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan.

His other interesting works include the Stage Design for the Singapore National Day Parade 2005,2008 and 2009, and the Uniquely Singapore Pavilion at the 2nd China- Asean Expo 2006 Nanning, China. He is also currently the stage and set principal designer for the upcoming Youth Olympic Games.

Randy’s private art works, including “dark nights & white days”, “bodies” and “moves” have been exhibited to much acclaim commissioned by the French Embassy .

www.generi-city.net Goes LIVE!

2010-07-08T08:00:00.004+01:00

Creative [SIN]ergy presents, Uniquely Singapore? a generi-City project. An architectural project that investigates the urban spaces of Singapore, aiming to rediscover the uniqueness of Singapore's urban spaces through the most generic and banal scenes of everyday life. These 6 nominated categories of spaces sets the basis of comparison of similarities and differences in their spatial usage in hosting these activities in other cities.

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For more information please visit www.generi-city.net

Msxi Presented In London Group Show

2010-07-07T08:00:00.000+01:00

Creative [SIN]ergy member, Msxi will be part of a group show, Summer Showcase 2010, organised by Candid Arts which runs from 13 - 18 July. The private view of the showcase is on 15th July.

Msxi will be showing works from her latest series, Ten Years Of Work For Every Minute On Stage, which was exhibited as her first solo exhibition, in Singapore in April this year.

'Ten Years Of Work For Every Minute On Stage' is an outright documentation of: failure, process, training, suffering, bruising, determination and a toast to “the beginner’s spirit”. Serving as a reminder that success in anything never comes easy. It is her privilege to be able to showcase this new series here in London.