Media Release

SMU ARTS FESTIVAL 2017: A shared endeavour by university students to create a vibrant art and culture scene

Singapore, 23 August 2017 (Wednesday) – Come September, the Singapore Management University (SMU) will be holding its annual celebration of creativity and the arts, involving over 20 student clubs from SMU’s Arts & Cultural Fraternity.

The SMU Arts Festival takes place from 8 to 17 September 2017 across different venues in the civic district and will feature 35 music, dance and theatre performances; visual arts showcases and workshops. Launched in 2015, the festival is a ground-up approach where students provided creative inputs on the entire festival programming including its marketing, sponsorship, ticketing, operations and production. It is also one that allows the university to foster deeper connections with the public and wider arts community in Singapore through partnerships and showcases.

Heading this year’s student organisation committee of 29 members, Chairperson Tessa Lim, a second-year business student at SMU said, “Majority of the committee members are from the university’s art clubs.  We came together due to our innate curiosity for the arts and a dedication to push our university arts festival to greater heights. I believe that with a student-led secretariat, we would be able to provide fresh insights and create a festival targeted towards the youths and beyond.”

Into its third consecutive year, the festival revolves around the theme of Pages. “We wanted a theme that students could relate to with their education journey. The theme branched into four ideas - education, literature and stories, paper as a medium, and the causes we fight for. These helped to shape our festival programming,” said Sarah Goh, a second-year social sciences student and the festival’s Programmes Director.

2017 saw many new developments in the campus’ landscape including the newly renovated Campus Green, the opening of the School of Law building and the rebranded lyf@SMU. The theme of Pages seeks to highlight this turning chapter in SMU’s history. To celebrate these milestones, many of the festival programmes will be held on campus this year and except for nine ticketed performances and four workshops, most are free and open to the public. The festival hopes to attract at least 6,000 this year.

In addition to performances, SMU Arts Festival’s Festival Village would be occurring on two separate weekends – 8, 9 and 15, 16 September. Both weekends will see food vendors such as Three Buns by Potato Head Singapore, 1925 Brewery, Kebab’Yano and more serving mouth-watering delights while one enjoys nightly performances. The first weekend will also showcase 12 local artisans and their hand-crafted merchandise through the festival’s first ever makers’ market of sorts, STORiES.

The festival opens on 8 September where the highlight is a collaboration between Six.5 Urban Dance Company and SMU. Titled Elements@SMU, this performance uses urban dance, music and sets to showcase the elements of Air, Earth and Water against the university’s Campus Green. This site-specific dance performance will feature dancers weaving the use of trampolines, sand and water into their piece. The performance will include 15 students from SMU Eurhythmix, the university’s hiphop dance club. To get an idea of what the performance would be like, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0ZqI5QulIk

Shawn Sim, a second-year business student and the Vice President of SMU Eurhythmix who will be part of the performance, said, “Being able to work alongside professional dancers and instructors from  have really opened my eyes as it is the first time such a collaboration is happening, for SMU and for SMU Eurhythmix. I have learnt so much and have been challenged through the process, as a dancer and a person. I’m certain that Elements@SMU would be a visual treat for all!”

The SMU Arts Festival Programme Highlights can be found in the Annex. More information on the SMU Arts Festival and the full list of programmes can be found at: http://www.smuartsfestival.com and the festival guide can be found here. Tickets can be purchased through SMU Office of Student Life. Email artsfestival [at] smu.edu.sg to enquire. FB: https://www.facebook.com/SMUARTSFEST/

Media Contact:  

Corinne Kang

Assistant Director, Corporate Communications, SMU

DID: +65 68085238

Email:  corinnekang [at] smu.edu.sg