Singapore, 7 September 2011 – The SMU Arts Festival returns in 2011 with a fresh format and a brand new name “U+Arts”. The Festival has grown in scale and matured in depth, through a unique model led by SMU students in close collaboration with the university's Office of Student Life. Featuring student performances by groups such as contemporary dance club InDanCity, string ensemble Obligato, piano ensemble Ivory Keys and latin dance group Caderas Latinas, U+Arts aims to inject a greater appreciation of the arts to our local cultural scene in the first season from August to November.
U+Arts officially opens on 9 September in conjunction with the opening of the SMU Film Festival and Voice, the visual arts exhibition, and this kickstarts a series of celebrations till November.
Viewers can also expect to be treated to a wide range of highly-acclaimed local and international films at the Film Festival, including two Academy nominees - Waste Land featuring artist Vik Muniz and Oscar-winning animated film The Lost Thing.
At Voice, the annual showcase of contemporary visual arts works by student artists and curators, the everyday becomes less mundane at this exhibition of site-specific installations. The inaugural collaboration between art club Artdicted and photography club SMUSAIC provokes viewers to re-read, re-listen and re-discover narratives to gain fresh perspectives.
Dance aficionados can also look forward to BEYOND, InDanCity's annual concert series of contemporary dance. In this third instalment, the dance group presents the works of resident choreographer Dan Kwoh as well as that of award-winning guest choreographers Andy Cai and Liz Fong.
On the music front, SMU's piano ensemble The Ivory Keys will present their annual piano festival Klaviesta! First conceptualised and debuted in 2009, this is the first tertiary-level piano festival programmed and organised by a tertiary piano ensemble. Look out for the highly anticipated Tri-University concert which brings together all piano ensembles from local universities to perform on the same stage.
Another highlight of U+Arts is the annual Voice Personality Hunt 2011 organised by the Broadcast and Entertainment group. From the Quarter-finals on 12 September through the Semi-finals on 23 September, fans and supporters can watch their favourite personalities online and cast their votes, culminating in the Grand Finale on 30 September, when the deserving winners walk away with amazing prizes and one is crowned SMU Voice Personality.
Rounding up this season of the arts, SMU Soundfoundry presents Starry Night XIV for an evening of live rock music and communal sing-a-longs to celebrate the end of the school term.