• The cat's out of the bag!!! First ever cross-border collaboration between StoryFest Singapore and @bukufixi Fixi Malaysia! This is a project very close to my heart and home, to celebrate StoryFest's 5th anniversary this year. Working with Deric Ee across the causeway, to dream up a digital series of adapted texts into storytelling videos! 7 short stories adapted from the 'KL Noir: Magic' anthology by 7 performers to create 7 short, storytelling videos. It has been very difficult producing an international festival with so many travel restrictions, quarantine guidelines and other hurdles. I wanted to commemorate our 5th edition with something different, and I wanted to showcase the writing and authors from Malaysia through storytelling adaptations. I've always been an admirer of Amir Muhammad and his independent publishing work, and 'KL Noir' was the perfect collection of short stories for this concept that I had. Thank you Amir for supporting this project. So many people were involved in this project, and I'm so happy that StoryFest could platform 7 authors and 7 performers through this project. Thank you to the writers for trusting my idea: @ribhkus @masamimustaza @rizalramli82 @derekkho @bissmethewriter @chowpinglee P.Maheswary And thank you to the super talented performers who brought these texts alive: @babybinbaik @burningsingh @kutufutubom @nich3nair @lafster @myzhrdn @maybesnaps And Adibah Khalil thank you for filming these stories so evocatively! Deric Ee, our meeting 1.5 years ago at @georgetownlitfest has definitely been fruitful! So happy that it was you on the other side, helping to make this project possible, despite lockdowns and delays! All 7 videos will be available to view, for free, from 20 June - 11 July on @storyfestsg YouTube channel - so make sure to follow us! Here's the sneak peek trailer! #StoryFestSG #ReStory
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    The cat's out of the bag!!! First ever cross-border collaboration between StoryFest Singapore and @bukufixi Fixi Malaysia! This is a project very close to my heart and home, to celebrate StoryFest's 5th anniversary this year. Working with Deric Ee across the causeway, to dream up a digital series of adapted texts into storytelling videos! 7 short stories adapted from the 'KL Noir: Magic' anthology by 7 performers to create 7 short, storytelling videos. It has been very difficult producing an international festival with so many travel restrictions, quarantine guidelines and other hurdles. I wanted to commemorate our 5th edition with something different, and I wanted to showcase the writing and authors from Malaysia through storytelling adaptations. I've always been an admirer of Amir Muhammad and his independent publishing work, and 'KL Noir' was the perfect collection of short stories for this concept that I had. Thank you Amir for supporting this project. So many people were involved in this project, and I'm so happy that StoryFest could platform 7 authors and 7 performers through this project. Thank you to the writers for trusting my idea: @ribhkus @masamimustaza @rizalramli82 @derekkho @bissmethewriter @chowpinglee P.Maheswary And thank you to the super talented performers who brought these texts alive: @babybinbaik @burningsingh @kutufutubom @nich3nair @lafster @myzhrdn @maybesnaps And Adibah Khalil thank you for filming these stories so evocatively! Deric Ee, our meeting 1.5 years ago at @georgetownlitfest has definitely been fruitful! So happy that it was you on the other side, helping to make this project possible, despite lockdowns and delays! All 7 videos will be available to view, for free, from 20 June - 11 July on @storyfestsg YouTube channel - so make sure to follow us! Here's the sneak peek trailer! #StoryFestSG #ReStory
  • 🧡 StoryFest celebrates our 5th anniversary – what a ride it’s been! Thank you for taking this journey to explore the power of stories with us: from empowering transformations in ‘Stories For Change’ (2017), to bridging time and space with ‘Be Legendary’ (2018) and stretching our imaginations in ‘Make Believe’ (2019), to seeking comfort in a new digital sphere in ‘The Heart of Story’ (2020). It’s been an honour to hold space for oral traditions and communities of listeners and tellers from all over the world. Presented by The Storytelling Centre Ltd and The Arts House, ‘ReStory’ invites audiences to harness the power of stories. In view of additional restrictions and safe management measures, all events at StoryFest 2021 will take place online. We invite you to enjoy high quality storytelling videos and engage in livestreamed workshops and lectures from 20 June – 11 July. The five editions of @storyfestsg would not be possible without the artists, crew and partners and supporters – thank you for listening and sharing your stories with us. Thank you for your patience as we regrouped and made changes to this edition of the Festival. We invite you to ReStory with us – whether it’s exploring an online storytelling workshop or virtually visiting The Arts House to enjoy our stories. We can’t wait to celebrate our 5th StoryFest online with you this June! Kamini Ramachandran Creative Producer, StoryFest DATES: 20 June - 11 July 2021 TICKETING: storyfest.peatix.com WEBSITE: storyfestsg.com Link in my bio #ReStory #StoryFestSG Filmed and edited by @thatzanelee
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    🧡 StoryFest celebrates our 5th anniversary – what a ride it’s been! Thank you for taking this journey to explore the power of stories with us: from empowering transformations in ‘Stories For Change’ (2017), to bridging time and space with ‘Be Legendary’ (2018) and stretching our imaginations in ‘Make Believe’ (2019), to seeking comfort in a new digital sphere in ‘The Heart of Story’ (2020). It’s been an honour to hold space for oral traditions and communities of listeners and tellers from all over the world. Presented by The Storytelling Centre Ltd and The Arts House, ‘ReStory’ invites audiences to harness the power of stories. In view of additional restrictions and safe management measures, all events at StoryFest 2021 will take place online. We invite you to enjoy high quality storytelling videos and engage in livestreamed workshops and lectures from 20 June – 11 July. The five editions of @storyfestsg would not be possible without the artists, crew and partners and supporters – thank you for listening and sharing your stories with us. Thank you for your patience as we regrouped and made changes to this edition of the Festival. We invite you to ReStory with us – whether it’s exploring an online storytelling workshop or virtually visiting The Arts House to enjoy our stories. We can’t wait to celebrate our 5th StoryFest online with you this June! Kamini Ramachandran Creative Producer, StoryFest DATES: 20 June - 11 July 2021 TICKETING: storyfest.peatix.com WEBSITE: storyfestsg.com Link in my bio #ReStory #StoryFestSG Filmed and edited by @thatzanelee
  • This is what festival producing looks like in a pandemic! This video sums up the helplessness many of us in the arts currently feel ... I'm finding moments of humour and time to laugh at the multiple roadblocks and changes and impermanence of plans! It's been so difficult to organize, direct, produce, present, perform for more than a year. Losing track of days and time, seeming to be all the time repositioning, revisiting, relooking at every project. #ReStory The StoryFest team is no stranger to adapting last minute, we did it very early during the April circuit breaker (aka lockdown) last year; and we were prepared to do the same this year. And here we are, again! Our hybrid Festival will now be fully online and accessible globally. We are still working to convert our in-person programmes to digital experiences. Nature, like this noisy bird in this video, will throw things our way (viruses included). I tried patiently, repeatedly to film a few words under this tree - but the bird wasn't having it! And so I moved to another part of the garden, and filmed it there. My team and I are super proud to welcome all of you to StoryFest 2021, in another space, to ReStory with us. Interruptions (like noisy birds) aren't going to silence our stories. Big thank you to all our featured artists and speakers for continuing to journey with us as we go online. @storyfestsg Thanks @thatzanelee for taking on the mantle of Festival Digital Editor, @tabithasurita @starryeyedspaceranger @letsthecelery and @theartshouse team for understanding why I'm moving to the other side of the garden. And thank you @peatix @octopusinktest @15squirrels @khushvsaraf and our many supporters. #StoryFestSG Video was filmed while observing Covid safety precautions.
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    This is what festival producing looks like in a pandemic! This video sums up the helplessness many of us in the arts currently feel ... I'm finding moments of humour and time to laugh at the multiple roadblocks and changes and impermanence of plans! It's been so difficult to organize, direct, produce, present, perform for more than a year. Losing track of days and time, seeming to be all the time repositioning, revisiting, relooking at every project. #ReStory The StoryFest team is no stranger to adapting last minute, we did it very early during the April circuit breaker (aka lockdown) last year; and we were prepared to do the same this year. And here we are, again! Our hybrid Festival will now be fully online and accessible globally. We are still working to convert our in-person programmes to digital experiences. Nature, like this noisy bird in this video, will throw things our way (viruses included). I tried patiently, repeatedly to film a few words under this tree - but the bird wasn't having it! And so I moved to another part of the garden, and filmed it there. My team and I are super proud to welcome all of you to StoryFest 2021, in another space, to ReStory with us. Interruptions (like noisy birds) aren't going to silence our stories. Big thank you to all our featured artists and speakers for continuing to journey with us as we go online. @storyfestsg Thanks @thatzanelee for taking on the mantle of Festival Digital Editor, @tabithasurita @starryeyedspaceranger @letsthecelery and @theartshouse team for understanding why I'm moving to the other side of the garden. And thank you @peatix @octopusinktest @15squirrels @khushvsaraf and our many supporters. #StoryFestSG Video was filmed while observing Covid safety precautions.
  • The future of museums, galleries, arts and cultural spaces may just look like this ... ‘Kancil Menghadap Beringin’ (The Mousedeer Comes Before the Banyan Tree) is an installation by #ShooshieSulaiman at @malayheritage located on the front lawn of the old istana grounds. The tiny animals are frozen and they have all come from far away to meet the Banyan Tree. Maybe they’ve been waiting for a very long time to see the Tree, and became old, pale and still. The little creatures also remind me of people queuing everywhere for everything- a common sight in the last year. They remind me of myself, patiently looking, waiting, hoping. Today is International Museum Day and most celebrations are happening online. I’ve been fortunate to be able to direct a series of in-gallery storytelling videos for @acm_sg and so blessed to have intimate, in-person storytelling sessions earlier this year at @natmuseum_sg. Was so looking forward to sharing powerful stories for the opening of @changichapelmuseum but that’s been put on hold because of current restrictions. And I’m waiting to proceed with more hybrid storytelling at @nationalgallerysingapore. The pokok beringin (banyan) is also known as the tree of life. Coming here reminded me of being in familiar cultural spaces and remembering the stories I’ve told within all these many walls. This mousedeer formation, with their tiny hooves poised and lifted, reminds me of the way artists and performers have lived the past year - one step forward, two steps backwards! Kancil in Malay folktales, never gives up in the face of adversity... not even when faced with the mighty jaws of Harimau (Tiger) or Buaya (Crocodile). She always finds a way to ‘get to the other side’. Being outdoors in the presence of art, surrounded by heritage, is but just one way we can ‘Recover & Reimagine’ @icomofficiel and celebrate #InternationalMuseumDay 📷 @joseph.mak
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    The future of museums, galleries, arts and cultural spaces may just look like this ... ‘Kancil Menghadap Beringin’ (The Mousedeer Comes Before the Banyan Tree) is an installation by #ShooshieSulaiman at @malayheritage located on the front lawn of the old istana grounds. The tiny animals are frozen and they have all come from far away to meet the Banyan Tree. Maybe they’ve been waiting for a very long time to see the Tree, and became old, pale and still. The little creatures also remind me of people queuing everywhere for everything- a common sight in the last year. They remind me of myself, patiently looking, waiting, hoping. Today is International Museum Day and most celebrations are happening online. I’ve been fortunate to be able to direct a series of in-gallery storytelling videos for @acm_sg and so blessed to have intimate, in-person storytelling sessions earlier this year at @natmuseum_sg. Was so looking forward to sharing powerful stories for the opening of @changichapelmuseum but that’s been put on hold because of current restrictions. And I’m waiting to proceed with more hybrid storytelling at @nationalgallerysingapore. The pokok beringin (banyan) is also known as the tree of life. Coming here reminded me of being in familiar cultural spaces and remembering the stories I’ve told within all these many walls. This mousedeer formation, with their tiny hooves poised and lifted, reminds me of the way artists and performers have lived the past year - one step forward, two steps backwards! Kancil in Malay folktales, never gives up in the face of adversity... not even when faced with the mighty jaws of Harimau (Tiger) or Buaya (Crocodile). She always finds a way to ‘get to the other side’. Being outdoors in the presence of art, surrounded by heritage, is but just one way we can ‘Recover & Reimagine’ @icomofficiel and celebrate #InternationalMuseumDay 📷 @joseph.mak
  • Better prepared and bracing ourselves for the months ahead! The @storyfestsg team is no stranger to the multiple whammies the pandemic throws at the arts sector. We learnt a lot last year when we had to go fully online (with about two weeks lead time!). So for this year, we have a separate digital strand that is virus-proof. I’m proud to announce a new addition to the Festival team, @zanemotalif who is our Festival Digital Editor. One thing I learnt about producing from last year’s experience, is to build in-house capabilities. Together with @tabithasurita @starryeyedspaceranger @letsthecelery @khushvsaraf and all our beautiful artists and presenters, we’ve prepared an incredible programme to celebrate our 5th anniversary edition. Zane has patiently and meticulously handled all the tech and filming for my ambitious 21-video interview series, Story Talk! Travel restrictions weren’t going to stop us from getting up close and personal with our global storytelling community. Look out for some honest sharing amongst storytellers and practitioners, interviewed by me, from June 20 onwards available for free on our platforms. We’ll update you as soon as we can about our in-person programming and how we can safely proceed to share stories with you. You can’t fake that laugher or that sense of achievement. Knowing that I have the support of my awesome team, artists and @theartshouse I know I can bring you #ReStory very soon. Find out more about this year’s StoryFest at the link in my bio. #StoryFestSG #ReStory
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    Better prepared and bracing ourselves for the months ahead! The @storyfestsg team is no stranger to the multiple whammies the pandemic throws at the arts sector. We learnt a lot last year when we had to go fully online (with about two weeks lead time!). So for this year, we have a separate digital strand that is virus-proof. I’m proud to announce a new addition to the Festival team, @zanemotalif who is our Festival Digital Editor. One thing I learnt about producing from last year’s experience, is to build in-house capabilities. Together with @tabithasurita @starryeyedspaceranger @letsthecelery @khushvsaraf and all our beautiful artists and presenters, we’ve prepared an incredible programme to celebrate our 5th anniversary edition. Zane has patiently and meticulously handled all the tech and filming for my ambitious 21-video interview series, Story Talk! Travel restrictions weren’t going to stop us from getting up close and personal with our global storytelling community. Look out for some honest sharing amongst storytellers and practitioners, interviewed by me, from June 20 onwards available for free on our platforms. We’ll update you as soon as we can about our in-person programming and how we can safely proceed to share stories with you. You can’t fake that laugher or that sense of achievement. Knowing that I have the support of my awesome team, artists and @theartshouse I know I can bring you #ReStory very soon. Find out more about this year’s StoryFest at the link in my bio. #StoryFestSG #ReStory
  • 5 year anniversary! @storyfestsg So much of what makes a good story comes down to ritual. Storytellers have our own private ways of practise. We mould, shape and revisit our stories. We adapt our stories for a new space, a new telling. When the audience comes to listen, we build on their reactions and respond to them. Each time we tell, the story changes, and we transform, and the ritual continues again and again. Last year, we put this routine on pause … and reached out to new people and sought virtual spaces to find new ways to keep oral traditions going. This year, ‘ReStory’ is an invitation to rebuild; to restart art forms that have been put on hold; to reconnect with stories and traditional arts, with familiar faces and places; to rethink the stories that have been written and re-imagine the stories we’ll create. ‘ReStory’ also marks the fifth anniversary of the Festival – we hope you’ll join us in celebration of the artists, the team, the crew, the listeners, partners and supporters who give us a reason to continue traditions together ONLINE FESTIVAL: 20 Jun - 11 Jul 2021 PHYSICAL FESTIVAL: 25 Jun - 27 Jun 2021 VENUE: @theartshouse TICKETING: storyfest.peatix.com WEBSITE: https://storyfestsg.com Link in my bio #ReStory #StoryFestSG #IgnitingImaginations #StorytellingFestivalSG 📷 @thatzanelee (screen grab from video)
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    5 year anniversary! @storyfestsg So much of what makes a good story comes down to ritual. Storytellers have our own private ways of practise. We mould, shape and revisit our stories. We adapt our stories for a new space, a new telling. When the audience comes to listen, we build on their reactions and respond to them. Each time we tell, the story changes, and we transform, and the ritual continues again and again. Last year, we put this routine on pause … and reached out to new people and sought virtual spaces to find new ways to keep oral traditions going. This year, ‘ReStory’ is an invitation to rebuild; to restart art forms that have been put on hold; to reconnect with stories and traditional arts, with familiar faces and places; to rethink the stories that have been written and re-imagine the stories we’ll create. ‘ReStory’ also marks the fifth anniversary of the Festival – we hope you’ll join us in celebration of the artists, the team, the crew, the listeners, partners and supporters who give us a reason to continue traditions together ONLINE FESTIVAL: 20 Jun - 11 Jul 2021 PHYSICAL FESTIVAL: 25 Jun - 27 Jun 2021 VENUE: @theartshouse TICKETING: storyfest.peatix.com WEBSITE: https://storyfestsg.com Link in my bio #ReStory #StoryFestSG #IgnitingImaginations #StorytellingFestivalSG 📷 @thatzanelee (screen grab from video)