Facilitator

Arts for Social Change Tour, India(2019)
Puppet Artist and Facilitator

A series of workshops across 3 states in India introducing Artists, Social and Charity workers into concepts of how to use puppetry for social good and community development.

'ASEAN Puppets Exchange (APEX)’,  ASEAN Puppetry Association & ASEAN Foundation

Puppet Artist, Moderator, Facilitator, Director

Facilitated dialogue and praxis-led exchanges and performances between ASEAN’s puppeteers and musicians of various traditional and contemporary puppet arts.

Exchanges include: 

2016

• (Vietnam“APEX One ASEAN” ) : All 10 ASEAN member states and Japan, with the National Theatre of Vietnam

• “APEX Live” (Malaysia): 7 ASEAN member states and Japan, with Joe Sidek Productions

• “APEX Earth” (Myanmar): 5 ASEAN member states and Japan, with Htwe Oo Myanmar Puppet Family

• (Brunei): 5 ASEAN member states and Japan“APEX Light” , with PeSTAB

2015 

• (Cambodia): 5 ASEAN member states and Japan, with Cambodia Living Arts and “APEX Fire” Sovannah Phum Art Association

• “APEX Manila”(The Philippines): Indonesia-Philippines, with Wanlu and his puppets

• “APEX Kuala Lumpur” (Malaysia): Cambodia- Malaysia, with University Malaya 

• “APEX UNESCO” (Malaysia): 8 ASEAN member states, with Kakiseni

2014

• “APEX Brunei” (Brunei): Singapore- Brunei, with PeSTAB 

‘Puppets & Passages’ (2013 - 2017)

Puppet Artist, Moderator, Facilitator, Director

A series of outreach workshops using basic concepts of puppetry to empower communities while developing Singaporeans’ perspectives of humanity and the Southeast Asian region. Over 6 Years Puppets and Passages have reached out to over 6000 participants and audiences.

Projects include:
 

• Jogjakarta, Indonesia (2013, 2014):

With GaiaFoundation, training youth affected by the Merapi volcanic eruptions in 2010 on how to use puppetry for community engagement and working with children.

• Fukushima/Singapore (2014):

Working with Peace Boat and the Fukushima Youth Ambassadors empowered Japanese youth affected by the 2011 nuclear meltdown in storytelling as to become future leaders in their community.

• Bangkok, Thailand (2014): 

For the World Harmony Puppet festival, teaching Thai youth and International puppet artists on the use of recycled items for community engagement.

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• Tacloban, the Philippines (2014, 2015, 2016): 

A series of workshops training youth affected by typhoon Yolanda in 2013 with puppetry, leadership and community development skills so that they may be able to become leaders in their community and affect local change.

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• Yangon, Myanmar (2016):

Empowering young traditional Burmese puppeteers in facilitation to give workshops to engage more youth to become interested in puppetry and save their art form.

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• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2017): 

Supported by UNIMA Kanguru, working with refugee youth and traditional Malay puppeteer to create better social cohesion in the area.

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• Singapore/ASEAN (2017): 

Supported by the National Art Gallery of Singapore, bring puppeteers from Southeast Asia to engage Singapore Children and parents in the ASEAN arts and community in a workshop and interactive performance.

Imagining ASEAN: Puppets for Social Change Workshop (Singapore, 2018)

Expert Facilitator

Supported by the National Youth Council, trained 25 ASEAN youths, professional South Korean and Indian artists, alongside trainers Cariad Astles (UK) and Erina Saji (Japan) in the use of puppetry for social change. Participants learnt skills in puppetry, theatre, social development, and community work so they may enrich their projects addressing issues of poverty, climate change, education, violence, and culture in their home countries.

‘Art for persons with dementia’ (Singapore, 2015-2018)

Facilitator and programme design

Using the arts to connect and build relations between persons with dementia and their family and professional caregivers.

Hospitals reached:
Yong En Care Center, SWAMI Care, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, St Lukes Hospital

'Social Emotional Learning Through the Arts’ (Singapore, 2014-2017)

Facilitator, psychosocial intervention

Teaching puppetry and facilitating a performance as a communications, cognitive and empathy tool for students with social and emotional difficulties

Schools engaged:
Morning Star Community Center (Hougang, Bedok North) in collaboration with Ground Up Initiative, Princess Elizabeth Primary School, PCF Sparkletots Preschool (Bedok South), Society for the Physically Disabled, Early Intervention for Infants and Children (Jurong)

Mural Project, Ground-Up Initiative (Singapore, 2015)

Facilitator, Mural Artist

Facilitating workshops with various communities to paint 200m wall for a local community centre

Participants included Primary, Home School and High School Students, Boys on Probation, Mental Health Patients and international Volunteers.

LPE Programme with Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (Singapore, 2014)

Facilitator

Teaching puppetry as a communication and empathy tool for Medicine and Nursing students of the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

Forums, Presentations

‘Understanding ASEAN through Puppetry and the Ramayana’ at Waseda University with Utervision and Singapore International Foundation (Japan, 2017)

Presenter/Facilitator

‘Playing for our future: Puppetry works as international aid’ at Singapore Drama Educators Association (SDEA) Theatre Arts Conference (Singapore, 2017)

Presenter

‘Artists on Best Practices’ at ASEAN Puppetry Conference with Kakiseni, ASEAN Puppetry Association and UNESCO (Malaysia, 2015)

Moderator 

‘An Insight into ASEAN Puppetry’ at ASEAN Puppetry Conference with Kakiseni, ASEAN Puppetry Association and UNESCO (Malaysia, 2015)

Curator

An exhibition presenting puppets of 9 ASEAN states both from professional and community artists. This exhibitions looked into the history of ASEAN puppetry but also presented contemporary developments. 

'Art as Psychological First Aid', 3rd United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (Japan, 2015)

Presenter

Introduction and education on psychosocial intervention through arts and puppetry to international participants of the 3rd UN WCDRR

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'Art for Empathy', Asia-Pacific Medical Education Conference (Singapore, 2015)

Presenter

Introduction and education on art for empathy, communication and empathy through arts and puppetry to international participants of APME

'Puppetry for Psychosocial Intervention', The Red Pencil Foundation (Singapore, 2015)

Presenter

Introduction and education on psychosocial intervention through puppetry to art therapists and medical workers with The Red Pencil Foundation

ASEAN Puppetry Association's 6th Annual General Meeting (Vietnam, 2014)

Assistant to Singapore Delegate, Rapporteur

Researching and developing ideas for the promotion and development of the ASEAN puppetry community to present to other ASEAN delegates.