Into its 12th year, Noise Singapore – a key youth engagement initiative by the National Arts Council (NAC) – is partnering five organisations to bring about programmes that cater to the broad interests of youths. Broadly, the five programmes are designed to appeal through what is trending, the fascination with digital technology to growing concerns for the community and to the widely accessible genres of music and visual art.
2 Following an Open Call for Programme Partners in March, five organisations - Thunder Rock School, Invasion Singapore, The Hidden Good, Band of Doodlers and Kult International - will be working with Noise Singapore to provide touchpoints to engage young people at all levels of arts exposure. Starting from July, these offerings are slated to take place across different parts of the year so that young people have sustained opportunities to learn, engage and experience the arts.
3 Chua Ai Liang, Senior Director, Engagement & Participation, National Arts Council said, “NAC continues to engage young people through diverse arts programmes as part of Noise Singapore. This time, we are happy to commission five youth-centric organisations to co-create arts programmes that are innovative, using digital media and the online space, to inspire and engage audiences.”
4 Working with Thunder Rock School for the second year running, the Noise Music Mentorship introduces two new mentors to this flagship programme. Producer Kevin Foo and guitarist Simon Yong will join a team of music industry professionals to provide mentorship and develop the confidence and work of young music aspirants over a six-month period from June to December 2017. For the first time, the entire process will be extended to the online community whereby the learning journeys are documented and released in short episodes across various social media platforms to provide the public with an insight into their artistic development.
5 Noise Invasion programmed by Invasion Singapore will provide insightful activities including music production workshops to introduce unconventional creative processes to young people – a new dimension for Noise Singapore. Online streaming of the workshops is part of the lead up to a public showcase in October 2017. The broad-based showcase is multi-disciplinary, including music and dance performances, an art programme involving audience participation, and twinned alongside popular lifestyle elements such as food and beverage stalls and a makers’ market.
6 Noise Singapore introduces a community project through #MyMusicMyNoise. Working with The Hidden Good, a social enterprise that aims to uncover hidden, creative talent among youths, this particular programme provides an arts for social good platform to encourage young people to articulate through songs purposeful stories from self to community that could resonate with others through music. Two of the most inspirational submissions received via an Open Call will be made into music videos scheduled to launch in December 2017.
7 Providing a space for young people to come together, a salient point in this peer-led mentorship is how young leaders could be cultivated through the arts for peer-to-peer influence and working exchanges to foster a sense of self and community. The Band of Doodlers, a Singapore illustrator collective is headed by Mas Shafreen, a Noise Singapore mentor from 2013 to 2015. The Noise x BOD: 52 Tales programme will give 52 mentees a canvas to express themselves alongside other like-minded individuals. The programme which revolves around the number 52, celebrates Singapore's 52 years of nationhood. This overarching theme offers young people a chance to express all things Singapore and close to their hearts through visual narratives. The public can also enjoy their artist efforts through a main showcase along Orchard Road as well as 10 other pop-up exhibitions in populous spaces such as a bus interchange and food centre.
8 Lastly, in partnership with Kult International, Noise Singapore also presents the Noise x GIF Fest 2017, a first of its kind platform for creative storytelling in Singapore. The festival is an opportunity for 50 young artists to experiment with the GIF art form, an engaging medium that loops visual data. With its appeal to a diverse audience, the GIF artworks not only have the promise of online exposure, but will also be presented for a week at Noise’s first multimedia showcase in October 2017.
9 On the use of GIF as a medium to transmit messages, Steve Lawler, Creative Director of Kult International said, “The animated .gif is being recognised globally as a modern art form in both underground and contemporary art scenes. GIF Fest 2017 will bring these artworks away from the computer screen and into a multimedia exhibition aimed at showcasing some of Singapore’s most exciting young image makers. Additionally, a series of talks and workshops will be held in the exhibition space to inspire the next generation of creatives and increase the appreciation of this growing art form.”
10 Community Artist, Jean Loo shared, "It is exciting that Noise Singapore is exploring fresh platforms for young people with varied interests to participate in the arts. With the new programmes, young people previously not exposed to the arts can take their first steps to explore new art forms, which will hopefully empower them to develop creativity, empathy and confidence.”
11 More information about each commissioned programme will be shared closer to the launch dates. For details on the programme partners, please refer to Annex A, or visit www.noisesingapore.com.
https://www.nac.gov.sg/media-resources/press-releases/NCMC-2017