The Singapore Arts Festival 2010 will be held from 14 May to 13 June, and is one of the most vibrant and important events in Singapore’s arts calendar. Now in its 33rd edition, the Festival started in 1977, celebrating art forms from Singapore’s diverse communities. Since then, the Festival has evolved and grown and now showcases an international mix of contemporary programmes while retaining an Asian edge. This year, there are 34 productions from 20 countries and regions, exploring, creating and encouraging connections between heritages, artists, cultures and people.

Bridging the Gap
The theme is “Between You and Me” this year, and the Festival is reaching out to build a stronger sense of interconnectivity between artists and audiences to show how accessible art can be. Audience participation is essential to programmes like The Mobile Sewing Company’s In The Mood, where tailoring entertainers Karin Arts and Mariken Biegman transform the participant’s clothing into original wearable art.

Reaching Out
The Festival is also launching a new year-long education and outreach programme, com.mune, to keep the public engaged with the arts outside of the Festival’s performances. Visitors can check out the series of three-minute interviews with selected Singapore Arts Festival artists on the Festival’s website or even participate in the Festival’s first Twitter review competition.

* Pictures courtesy of National Arts Council.