20 June 2016    Issue Nine
 
 
 
 
the avenue 
for creative arts 
  
 
        
A Visual Feast in Singapore

Art Apart Fair: Bigger and Better
The 8th edition of Art Apart Fair is this time showing at Isetan, Wisma Atria in Orchard Road 11 July to 28 August, 2016. This is the art event that explores the ways in which Art merges and mingles with Living Space.  It will showcase how contemporary Art, Furniture and Design interact to reveal the most enchanting interiors, coupled with interactive workshops and exclusive promotions. In the full programme of activities, there's action and variety to suit a wide range of tastes and desires.  

Red Sea Gallery: The Greatest!
You'll find Syaiful Rachman's Mohammad Ali in acrylic on canvas at this Dempsey Hill gallery, as part of a group exhibition by artists from Korea, China, Indonesia, France, Australia and US. The Summer Group Show at Red Sea Gallery runs from 24 June through 29 July 2016, with works by Jieun Park, Zhuang Hong Yi, Cha Jong-Rye, Val, Hwang Sae-Jin, Dedy Sufriadi, Peter Steinhauer, Johnson Tsang, Choi Young Wook, Leigh Hewson-Bower and Anton Pulvirenti. 


Miaja Gallery: Artist's Journey
In this solo exhibition which runs until 8 July, Miaja Gallery in Bukit Timah Road,  presents Iranian artist Ali Esmaeilipour and his newest mixed-media collection, Immigrant. Creating snapshots of a life lived has remained a central theme in Ali's paintings, the story of which unfolds to reveal a diary of his journey over the years and, to the discerning eye, the artist's self-portrait emerges. 

Art by Numbers: 222+51
For the uninitiated, that's 222 Queen Street + 51 Waterloo Street. An arts centre located in the heart of Bras Basah/Bugis Precinct, a thriving cultural district in Singapore. A place where creatives meet to seek unique experiences, offering an eclectic mix of lifestyle spaces, including art, music, dance, and fitness. The Private Museum is just one such place. Read the TODAY story Remembering History through Art and learn about what's coming up at this old-becomes-new art and cultural space.  For even more, go to the website

National Gallery: Roof-top Benches
This large scale sculpture by Singaporean artist Chun Kai Feng plays on a familiar local sight - the concrete benches seen on the grounds of Housing Development Board (HDB) estates. Its primitive form evokes a tribal totem, albeit a modern one for the city. Chun Kai Feng, who graduated from The Glasgow School of Art with a Masters in Fine Art in 2010, bases his works on ordinary urban elements. Just a slice of what's to see in, around and on top of the National Gallery.

Intersections: Singapore Sidewalk Sheba
Queen of Sheba refers to the artist's early childhood memory. Kavita Issar Batra remembers playing this game, which consisted of collecting pebbles, flowers, leaves and other botanical treasures, during long walks with her mother. Since 2012, she has been observing, collecting organic and industrial detritus, composing Montages. This exhibition is on from 30 June to 28 August at Intersections in 33 Kandahar Street, includes one oversized mixed media painting on canvas, which is an imprint of the Singapore sidewalk. 

LASALLE: Impermanent durations
On painting and time is an experimental exhibition by three artists who are also academic specialists in contemporary painting: Professor Beth Harland, Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts, Lancaster University, UK; Professor David Thomas, School of Art, RMIT University, Melbourne; and Ian Woo, Programme Leader, MA Fine Arts, LASALLE College of the Arts. The exhibition runs from 18 June until 24 July 2016 at LASALLE, McNally Street. 

UOB Art Gallery: Sensibility in Art 
Sensibility in art relates to emotions and feelings. It also relates to how we perceive meaning from looking at an artwork.This exhibition is held in conjunction with the launch of 2016 United Overseas Bank (UOB) Painting of the Year competition which started in Singapore in 1982. Today, the annual art competition is the longest-running in Singapore and one of the most prestigious in Southeast Asia.



Seeing is Believing: The American Club
An exhibition of encounters with art and artists from America and Asia, continues at the American Club right through to end July. Must see paintings and prints by Walasse Ting, Ross Bleckner, Katrina Reed, Goh Beng Kwan, Cai Heng, Chua Ek Kay, Jim Dine, Frank Stella, Ketut Tagen and Grace Chen Liang. From the Daniel Teo private collection, the Wetterling Teo Gallery and The Private Museum. Here's more on the American Club exhibition.

Love Les Miserables 
at the Esplanade 

Loved it! My enduring love affair with Les Miserables has been reinforced and reinvigorated by another night of passion and artistry. 
I still have the music and the characters, the visuals and the scenes, filling my head hours and days after seeing the show. 
I also had the pleasure meeting many of the wonderful people who make this one of the very best musical theatre experiences to be staged in Singapore. 
The fact that I've seen Les Miserables five times before this, in three different countries, did not diminish my total immersion into "the world of Jean Valjean." 
Not only thoroughly professional and capitivating performances by Simon Gleeson (Jean Valjean) and Chris Durling (Enrolas), but one of the most engaging Javert's I've ever seen in Earl Carpenter. 
A wonderful collection of Australian talent practically dominates the cast - Emily Landridge as the grown-up Cosette, Kerrie Anne Greenland as Eponine - but we must draw special attention to two very special New Zealand sisters who play distinctly different roles in this travelling show. 
Patrice Tipoki is the adorable Fantine - who's been playing the same role on the West End recently - with the music director and conductor being Laura Tipoki (pictured at left).  
Executive Producer Michael Cassel told me that only once has a sibling pairing like this, in the same show, been exceeded. 
That was when the Tipoki girls were joined by their younger brother Tama Kratzman, playing the loveable rascal Gavroche, in Perth and Sydney performances!. 
I must not take up any more space here with my Les Miz ravings, but for another view - and a very good one - read what Soo Kian Hing has to say in The Flying Inkpot
But whatever you do, don't miss this musical treat. It will run in Singapore until 24 July. Book through SISTIC
I'm going back for more.  - Ken Hickson

With a similar, familiar musical flavour - also at The Esplanade:

Enjoy some of the greatest Broadway hits - Tonight, I Could Have Danced All Night, Cheek to Cheek - at this SSO Pops Concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall on 29 July, featuring conductor Joshua Tan and singer Rani Singam. Go to

The Esplanade presents more arts programmes than anywhere else in Singapore - many of them free and practically every day and night. So check out what's coming up at The Esplanade Theatres on the Bay. 
The Faces of 
Les Miserables

Simon Gleeson as Jean Valjean
Patrice Tipoki as Fantine
Emily Langridge as Cosette 
Earl Carpenter as Javert
Kerrie Anne Greenland as Eponine 
In Singapore, Shakespeare Lives 400 Years after his Death!  

There's much to remind us that Shakespeare Lives in Singapore. It fits in with the Read Fest programme as well, as the National Library promotes the plays and works - to read and watch - from the Shakespeare collection. Displays and action at these libraries continues:

Central Public Library: 19 May - 19 June 
Marine Parade Public Library: 23 June - 23 July 
Clementi Public Library: 27 July - 29 August 
Woodlands Regional Library: 2 September - 29 September 

Singapore Philatelic Museum continues with its "Shaking it with Shakespeare" exhibition, featuring stamps, philatelic materials, interactive exhibits, 3D objects and other events and workshops.
 
Shakespeare in the Park this year was a remarkably suberb performance of Romeo and Juliet by a very professional Singapore Repertory Theatre troupe, with a clutch of imported players, including West End/British veteran actor David Gooderson as Montague. Malaysia's
Cheryl Tan as Juliet and Thomas Pang as Romeo made a wonderful romantic pairing as appealing and practised professionals.   
But that's not to belittle the local acting talent. Benjamin Chow was a very convincing Benvolio, while Edward Choy was a very competent Paris. 
Must not forgot the very characterful nurse Jo Kukathas, who is well known to Singapore and Malaysian audiences. 
We take our hats off to the whole cast, the set designers and all. But a special big hand for SRT artistic director Gaurav Kripalani, who also managed to perform the reverse of a rain dance - keeping a storm at bay from the outdoor Fort Canning stage and audience. 
Shakespeare in the Park must continue to be a significant event on the Singapore theatre calendar for many more years. It keeps the spirit of Shakespeare alive and puts Singapore theatre on the world stage. 


2016 marks 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare, whose legacy continues to live on in theatres and concert halls the world over. The Singapore Symphony Orchestra  (SSO) celebrates Shakespeare400 with a selection of orchestral favourites by Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and Berlioz. Esplanade Concert Hall. For much more on concerts, bookings, go to SSO.
  





SSO DISCOVERING MUSIC
THE WORLD'S A STAGE: THE DRAMA OF OPERA MUSIC INSPIRED BY SHAKESPEARE 
5 November 2016, 4pm  Victoria Concert Hall
Join Singapore Symphony Orchestra  Associate Conductor Jason Lai for a Discovering Music concert exploring how composers use stories, plays and poems as an inspiration to write great music. From Shakespeare's plays to Wagner's music dramas, and Tchaikovsky's ballets to Stravinsky's colorful ballets based on folk tales, feast your ears on some incredible music!

Everything else you want to know about Shakespeare's Big Year, the British Council has it, where-ever you are in the world. To go to right here to Shakespeare Lives 
The Art of Travel to Indonesia

Art Stage Jakarta
Indonesia's first boutique art fair of international format in August celebrates the country's vibrant and diverse contemporary art scene. A exhibition for those who cannot wait until Singapore's Art Stage in January 2017!  
As Southeast Asia's largest art scene and market, Indonesia is defined by its unique artists and a strong collecting culture led by the nation's dedicated collectors.  
Art Stage Jakarta 2016 will present 50 galleries from Indonesia and beyond. In addition to the participation of all of Indonesia's top galleries, the inaugural edition of Art Stage Jakarta 2016 will also include renowned international galleries from Asia and Europe.  
5 - 7 August 2016. Sheraton Grand Jakarta Gandaria City, Kebayoran Jakarta, Jakarta 12240, Indonesia. For more about Indonesia's first Art Stage, go here. 
 

The Kupang Project
Singapore International Foundation, through Arts for Good,  partners GenerAsia to develop a creative education programme for the residents of the Roslin Orphanage in Kupang City, West Timor, Indonesia. The residents will demonstrate their artistic skills learnt in a fundraising musical performance to be held in Jakarta in September 2016, together with Singaporean and Indonesian  performers. Read all about this programme is the TODAY feature: A creative approach to making a difference.
                              Do you recognise this man? 
  
Lim Loh, also known as Lim Chee Gee, was an early Singapore entrepreneur and father of war hero Lim Bo Seng. He was involved in the building of the Victoria Concert Hall and Parliament Buildings (now the Arts House), which was obviously was an important influence on his great grandson Daniel Teo, architect, property developer, well-known art collector and owner/operator of Singapore galleries. Trained in Europe, the artist Xu Beihong advocated using scientific realism and the direct study of nature to rejuvenate Chinese painting. This 1927 oil on canvas was a gift from the Lim Family to the National Gallery and can be viewed in the DBS Singapore Gallery. 
Arts in Play:
All the world's a stage, past, present and future 
What a treat! Play upon play over the last couple of months in Singapore. Certainly a very strong emphasis on the works of English playwrights. The British Theatre Company with Noel Coward's The Vortex starring Jane Seymour, The Singapore Repertory Theatre with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and The Stage Club with a very funny Alan Bennett play,  The History Boys.  
So what's in store?

* Stella Kon's Emily of Emerald Hill. From 4 June to 31 July. At various venues throughout Singapore. Go to Sistic for dates, ticket prices and venues. 

* Singapore Theatre Festival.  From 30 June to 24 July. Presented by W!ld Rice at LASALLE's Singapore Airlines Theatre. See elsewhere for more on that feast.

* Rent by Pangdemonium.Directed by Tracie Pang, Written by Jonathan Larson. Featuring Benjamin Chow, Mina Kaye, Frances Lee, Tabitha Nauser, Juan Jackson, Aaron Khaled. 
7 - 23 October 2016, 
Drama Centre Theatre
 


 
* Singapore Repertory Theatre will stage ART by Yasmina Reza. It premiered at the Com�die des Champs-Elys�es in Paris in 1994 and was translated into English by Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) and has since been performed around the world. This time 
ART will be staged - very appropriately - at the National Gallery Singapore in the iconic City Hall Chamber. 

 Singapore Environmental Film Festival
The Singapore Eco Film Festival (#SGEFF) is a celebration bringing together all the environmental organisations in Singapore, to ignite a public passion for protecting our environment in Singapore & beyond! 
Starts 21 October and runs until 23 October.
 
The organisers call for help, in the hope it will become more than just a traditional film festival. T Look forward to a jam-packed weekend filled with unforgettable experiences - workshops, talks, panel discussions, playgrounds, children's activities, a farmers market and more!
W.O.R.D.S. - Books Come Alive!
As easy as ABC, once again we give you, from start to finish, a quick overview, highlights of a literary kind with important links for books, events, writers, publishers, awards and more, alphabetically of course:

a. Awards of note: South Korean writer Han Kang won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize for her novel The Vegetarian, splitting the �50,000 prize with her translator, Deborah Smith. The prestigious 2016 Scholastic Asian Book Award was won by the Indian author Aditi Krishnakumar with her manuscript titled Codex: The Lost Treasure Of The Indus. Comic artist Sonny Liew's graphic novel The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye took home the Book of the Year accolade at the Singapore Book Awards.  
b. Booktique for writers: In CityLink Mall (next to Starbucks), the unique bookstore is staying where it is for at least a year, says owner Anthony Koh. Always something on and ideal books to buy. Writers always welcome!
c. Colours of Life: Described as a community project, Ben Puah has produced a delightful book to show what can be done when enthusiastic creative people get together.  
d. de Botton, Alain: Yes, admittedly we're fans of his books - The Art of Travel included - and his philosophy - School of Life - so we're intrigued by his latest book "The Course of Love", which The Guardian has a lot about, along with other parts of this man's incredible life and times.  
e. Eponine and Enjolras: Two of the distinctive characters in the Victor Hugo novel Les Miserables, lovingly transported to stage by Cameron Macintosh - and his French maestros Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg. 
f. Festively Readable: Not often we have a two month long festival - this time with the clear objective to get people of all ages to read. Concerned about the low level of reading in the city state, in spite of having an excellent library service, the organisers have something happening every day all over the place from 3 June to 30 July. Read all about it on the National Reading Movement website
g. Gardens to Read About
Listening to the BBC the other morning when The Book Lounge Bookshop in Cape Town, South Africa came on featuring the Malaysian novelist Tan Twan Eng about his Man Asian Literary Prize-winning novel, The Garden of Evening Mists. You might be able to listen to the full interview here from the publisher and BBC. 
h. Hay on Wye: The wonderful international festival in Wales is over for another year but by courtesy of the festival website  you can catch some of the festive flavour and fervour. We heard George Aligiah interview Tahmima Anam about her book "Bones of Grace". Next year we want to be there in person. 
i. Independent magazines: We love these classy, quality journals - Kinfolk, Cereal, Design Anthology, Offscreen - and recently discovered Peppermint (Australia), which is not only Climate Friendly but PEFC certified too! Until the avenue goes to print as a quality ART+Travel magazine (third quarter this year, hopefully), these other titles should suffice.  
j. Jane Seymour:  Yes, once again she appears, as we had the pleasure of not only seeing the star of screen on stage in Singapore in Noel Coward play The Vortex - a treat in itself - but we interviewed the lady first hand and discovered a true artist with a heart. Besides acting, painting, designing jewelry, she's produced nine books and runs an international "open hearts" Foundation. 
k. Kumar, Satish: We've acknowledged before this "man of letters", the editor of one of the best and longest running magazines in the world, Resurgence. Finally, this esteemed gentleman of the press is stepping down. But we are sure you'll hear and read more from him. Read all about him. 
l. Little Toby, the Pen Pal: With the world that is. Yes, five year old Toby Little started in mid 2013 writing to get letters back. Inspired by Alison Hawes "Letter from New Zealand". Now that's turned into a book called Dear World, How are you? Read what the Straits Times had to say about it. 
M. Me Migrant, the Poet: What a heart warming story about the foreign worker from Bangladesh in Singapore, who in his spare time wrote poetry and got it published. Md Mukul Hossine's book Me Migrant, is published by Ethos Books.  

We've run out of space for our alphabetical selection, so next issue we'll take you from N to Z. 

Last Word: The Big Read 
Wednesday 29 June 6.30pm at the Central Library, Singapore, when former Straits Times editor Han Fook Kwang will be on hand to talk about his latest book Singapore in Transition. 
The Big Read Meet

 


 









 



 
 
Open, Participate, Engage, Negotiate. A pre-festival of ideas, 22 June to 9 July.
The O.P.E.N. is a public engagement initiative from the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) that offers 18 days of exploration. It raises fascinating questions and offers eye-opening insights about our world and humanity.The O.P.E.N. looks around the globe at world issues through a different lens. This year at The O.P.E.N., it celebrates the potentialities of courageous individuals who are change agents and continue to be role models in challenging contexts. Noorlinah Mohamed conceives this year's Club Malam at the old Kallang Airport. As The O.P.E.N. did last year, it concentrates on the potentialities of old forgotten sites in Singapore. She has brought together some of the most amazing young artists from Southeast Asia today - Speak Cryptic, NADA, Senyawa, to name but a few. 
 
W!LD RICE proudly presents the 2016 Singapore Theatre Festival, a thrilling theatrical event about a nation on the edge and the people who live, love and dream in it. The award winning HOTEL will run for the entire festival season. Unanimously acclaimed as an instant classic and a five-star experience following its sold-out premiere at the 2015 Singapore International Festival of Arts. This a ground-breaking theatrical event that highlights the eclectic energies born from the collisions between old and new, East and West, and tradition and modernity. But that's not all. There's at least another seven plays to enjoy and a host of other theatrical activities. Go to W!ld Rice for more on the festival.
Singapore International Festival of Arts

THE THEME FOR 2016: POTENTIALITIES

Inaugurated in 1977, the annual arts festival went on a hiatus after 2012 and returned in 2014 under the baton of Festival Director Ong Keng Sen. With the mission to artistically reinvigorate and transform the festival, Ong renamed it Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA).
A selection of the shows included in the festival which runs for seven weeks from 11 August to 17 September, at many venues in Singapore, including the home of Theatreworks at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road, pictured 

Hamlet | Collage, the first Russian production by legendary Canadian stage director Robert Lepage. Taking more than two years to create, the result is a high-tech, high-energy action performance designed for only one actor - Russia's national artist, Evgeny Mironov. Original, imaginative and totally inspiring, it is Shakespeare like you've never seen before. 
*****************
Five Easy Pieces. Swiss director Milo Rau, one of the most brilliant and sought-after directors of European documentary theatre today, makes his Asian premiere in Singapore with Five Easy Pieces, an emotionally powerful drama performed by children for an adult audience. 
****************
The Letter/Singapore. In a rare move, internationally renowned dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones presents his full company in a site-specific work created specially for Singapore. Ever generous and adventurous, Jones has agreed in this SIFA residency to collaborate with LASALLE College of the Arts dance students to create an integrated new work with his company called The Letter.


Matthew Bourne's dazzling dance production, Sleeping Beauty is a gothic tale for all ages; the traditional tale of good versus evil and rebirth is turned upside-down, creating a supernatural love story that even the passage of time itself cannot hinder.
Sleeping Beauty has won the hearts of thousands and smashed box office records across the UK and the USA since its premiere in 2012. It completes Matthew Bourne's trio of re-imagined Tchaikovsky ballet masterworks that started in 1992 with Nutcracker! and, most famously, in 1995, with the international hit Swan Lake.
For a limited season - 4 to 7 August - its here at The Esplanade, Singapore. Go here for more on Matthew Bourne's take on Sleeping Beauty.
The Writing Life 
by Meira Chand

What a joy for fellow writers to read the wonderfully perceptive and resonating words of Meira Chand in her opinion piece in the Straits Times 24 May 2016, illustrated by the extremely creative cartoonist Miel:

Writers experience many lives in one. From their desk, they can travel the world, or go backwards and forwards in time. They can set themselves down in ancient China or project themselves into the future and describe those destinations in exact detail. A writer can wind the clock of a story backwards and forwards. Time can stand still for the length of a book or a lifetime can be lived within a few pages, or, tent-like, it can cover generations. A writer can become a king or a pauper, a devil or a saint.
"Writing is a way of living," the famous French novelist Gustave Flaubert declared in one of his marvellous letters to his many friends. Indeed, writers across time and across the world know the truth of those words. 

Dr Meira Chand has written eight novels, including A Different Sky, set in Singapore. She wrote the story for award-winning The LKY Musical. She is involved in programmes to nurture and promote young writers, and is a board member of the National Arts Council. For the full article go to:  The Writing Life by Meira Chand.



For all furious and festive writers - and fellow travellers:

While we're on the subject of writers, let's share what we know about Writers and Literary Festivals around the world for the upcoming months of 2016:
* Maleny Celebration of Books - 1-7 July. With four bookshops, numerous writers in residence and myriad book events and book clubs, Maleny has a well-earned reputation as a town of books, reading and writing. Located in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. 
* Noosa Long Weekend festival - 15-24 July - presents a diverse program of events which in its twelve years has attracted some of the best Australian and international performers, writers, film-makers, musicians, artists, chefs, environmentalists and commentators. Located on the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane. 
* Bryon Bay Writers Festival runs from 5-7 August. It's the 20th Anniversary event with a stellar line-up of 150-plus writers and thinkers converging on Byron Bay, the iconic coastal town in northern New South Wales, which hosts Australia's largest regional writers' festival.
* The WORD Christchurch Writers & Festival takes place from 25-28 August this year, with over 70 events and more than 100 speakers. New Zealand poet and novelist Anna Smaill, who  has just been long-listed for the Man Booker prize for her superb novel The Chimes, will be in Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand for the event.
* International Book Town Festival, Saint-Pierre-de-Clages, Switzerland 25 - 28 August 2016. A book town is a small rural town or village in which second-hand and antiquarian bookshops are concentrated. Most Book Towns have developed in villages of historic interest or of scenic beauty. The concept was initiated by Richard Booth of Hay-on-Wye in Wales.
* Melbourne Writers Festival - 26 August to 4 September - is part of the Word Alliance, a strategic international partnership which supports and showcases the work of writers and facilitates the creation of international literature projects. 
* Brisbane Writers Festival - 7-11 September - includes well-known Australian media personality Barrie Cassidy's in Conversation about writing the memoir "Private Bill". 
* 29th Vancouver Writers Fest. Celebrates stories with 6 days of events on Granville Island, 18 - 23 October. 
* Ubud Writers & Readers Festival  26 to 30 October, celebrating the theme Tat Tvam Asi or  'I am you, you are me.'
* Singapore Writers Festival is on from 4 - 13 November. Look forward to another wonderful event for writers and book lovers. 
* 16th Hong Kong International Literary Festival will take place from 5 - 13 November. 
Clare Readers & Writers' Festival - 26-27 November - in the Clare Valley of South Australia, where's there's plenty of wine to go with the writing!
Art and Sustainability - a creative and innovative approach to planning and building liveable and sustainable cities - looks like it is infecting the heart and soul of World Cities Summit (WCS) hosted by Singapore next month (10-14 July). 

It is one of the most all encompassing events the island city/state has hosted for many of year, even though it was first presented as part of the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW)  with CleanEnviro Summit Singapore (CESS) back in 2012. 

With the theme "Liveable and Sustainable Cities: Innovative Cities of Opportunity", it will explore how urban places can be better governed and how they can build up resilience through policy, technology and social innovations. From around the world, 104 mayors and city leaders will visit Singapore and participate. 

In one key section of the wide-ranging programme -
"Building Resilient Cities and Communities"
- there will be expert speakers from Europe, the Americas and Asia. Michael Berkowitz, President of 100 Resilient Cities, pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation is one of the notable contributors

.
"Culture - Should Cities Care?" is the title of another primary theme, with strong particpation from Asian cities, including Rosa Daniel CEO of the National Heritage Board, who is also Secretary General of the Singapore National Commission for UNESCO.




"Innovative Solutions for a Smart City"comes to the fore with speakers, 
including Mayors from Hamburg and
Copenhagen joining Singapore's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vivian Balakrishnan, who's also Minister in charge of the Smart Nation Programme.


Read why Melbourne, the second-largest city in Australia has been judged, four times consecutively, as the most livable of 140 major cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Melbourne's Lord Mayor Robert Doyle will attend the Singapore event.


Also see a perceptive background article, which first appeared in the Business Times Singapore, by Larry Ng, the Managing Director of the World Cities Summit and Group Director of Architecture and Urban Design Excellence at the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore (URA).

 
Stop Press:
Launch of Tales of Two Cities: 25 June. Singapore and Hong Kong 
Tales of Two Cities is an anthology that comprises twenty three short stories in which writers from The Singapore Writers Group and the Hong Kong Writers Circle introduce their respective cities to the readers. Told from a variety of unexpected angles, the stories are grouped by theme: the changing city; the historical city; the mystical city; the capricious city. Published by Ethos Books, Tales of Two Cities will be launched at Kinokuniya (Ngee Ann City, Orchard Road) on Saturday 25 June , from 4pm to 5pm. For more on this and many other events and activities of interest to writers and readers, go to the Rosie Milne's Asian Books Blog

Launch of Visions 2100: 12 July Singapore
Future Cities is just one chapter out of 23 in the Visions 2100 book and one of the 80 contributors to the very visionary work is Dr Remo Burkhard from the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore. Author, editor and publisher of the book, John O'Brien, Managing Director of CleanTech Australia, will be in Singapore as one of the speakers at the Green Growth and Business Forum 12,13 July at Marina Bay Sands.  Chairman and moderator at the same forum will be Ken Hickson, one of the contributors to Visions 2100 with his view of a New World order. For more on the book and the visions, go to the Visions 2100 website

Found: an editor on the avenue for creative arts

If you've got to the end of this issue, I venture to guess that you're surprised and pleased to see that there's so much happening on the arts scene in Singapore, in Asia Pacific and the wider world. Admittedly, once again, we have a strong focus on Singapore, notably for performing arts, visual arts and literary arts. But you will notice that we have a very cosmopolitan and international approach - particularly in regards to literary events around the world and in our selection of artists and books to highlight. 
It's still our plan to continue to distribute this free arts e-newsletter, more or less on a monthly basis, to who-ever wants it, where-ever they are in the world. We also have very much in mind our vision, hopes and a plan to publish a quality arts magazine on a quarterly basis - in print and for purchase - with a strong focus on arts plus travel. We're aiming for the third quarter - that's somewhere between July and September this year - so not far away. We welcome your ideas, contributions, and support for this newsletter and our planned magazine.

                                                                      Ken Hickson 
                                                                      managing editor, the avenue for creative arts 

the avenue for creative arts | 987 Bukit Timah Road #02-07 | Singapore | Singapore | 589628 | Singapore