KAPOR CHAT PARTY BY
OCTOP US
RE S IDENCY
S Y N O P S I S The Kapor Chatparty by the Octopus Residency connects community and creative energies in the Kampong Kapor neighbourhood. How can a group of organisers, facilitators and artists help to provide creative excuses for the diverse groups in Little India to meet and do something fun together? Is there a way to break the ice? How do we help prepare the ground for deeper conversation?
A B O U T
U S
The Octopus Residency, which started in Dec 2015, is a community initiative that is aimed at fostering a greater sense of community and belonging in Little India. It has been organising events like the Kapor ChatParty, which started 19 June 2016 and will culminate in an exhibition and cookout party on 31 July within the Kampong Kapor neighbourhood in Little India. The group consists of Ms Faye Lim, Ms Yen Goh and Ms Yunn Chee, three friends with a keen interest in community issues in Singapore. Faye is an arts practitioner with a focus on communal experience, who founded the Strangeweather Movement Group. Its focus is the creation and performance of dance works.Yen is an architect, runs community arts practice The People’s Atelier, and a design firm.Yunn is also an architect and an adjunct lecturer at the Singapore Polytechnic. Both Yen and Yunn are co-founders of The People’s Atelier.
“We began our ChatParty with a question: what sort of stories lie behind this curious building along Kg Kapor Road we call the Singai Tamil Sangam Building? Behind its quaint character, and since its days as the Kg Kapor Community Centre, what has tied the building to the neighbourhood? As we began to facilitate these conversations, we experienced a wonderful community of residents, merchants, migrant friends, local and foreign visitors. Perspectives in the community were seen in new light and suggest possibilities for deeper conversations. This is merely the start and we are privileged to build the numerous friendships here in Kg Kapor, Little India.�
COMMUNAL EXPERIENCES OF KAPOR CHATPARTY
C U R AT E OCTOPUS RESIDENCY
ENGAGE
KAMPONG KA RESIDENTS , VISITO BUSINESS OWNE MIGRANT FRIE
RESIDENT PROTOTYPING
PARTICIPATE-INDESIGN (PID)
COMMUNITY COOKOUT/POTLUCK
COMMUNITY ASSET MAPPING
DESIGN THINKING
THERAPYSERVICES
RESEARCH & DOCUMENTATION
BINDI ROADSIDE SPA (NG XI JIE ) COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH MIGRANT WORKERS
E
OUTREACH
APOR ORS, ERS AND ENDS
DESIGN GROUP & ARTISTS ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS MURAL / TACTILE ART
SINGARANGOLI ART ( VIJAYA MOHAN) TRADITIONAL ART FORMS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
COMMUNITY ART POP-UP HEALTH SCREENING
FLEA MARKET CULTURE
FRINGE
LEARNING JOURNEYS / TRAILS
RESUSCITATING UNDERUSED COMMON SPACES , QUESTIONING SHARED SPACES
DEAR NEIGHBOUR !"#$% &"'()*+,$ COMMUNITY -+..,&'/0%.#11'&( MAPPING 2".1,/% .#3#4 JEMPUT MASAK BY PARTICIPATE IN DESIGN
BY
P!D
S Y N O P S I S How might we unearth the hidden assets and positive roles that people play within the neighbourhood? In reprising three participatory art + design methods from P!D’s toolkit – a pop-up photo booth, a roving interactive map, and a community cook-out – this initiative seeks to map out the strengths of the community. By creating encounters for residents, local businesses, visitors and migrant workers to contribute personal stories and, at the same time, learn about the positive things that each party can bring to the neighbourhood, Kapor of Stories is a celebration of the people and places at Kampong Kapor and Little India. Dear Neighbour: Come participate in our pop-up photo booth and share stories about people in your neighbourhood who have made your life better in some way.
A B O U T
U S
P!D is a registered non-profit organisation that helps neighbourhoods and public institutions in Singapore design community-owned spaces and solutions.We are dedicated to engaging and enabling people in shaping their everyday environments and local communities. Founded on the firm belief that everyone has the right to participate in and influence the design and planning processes that affect them, P!D provides services in designing and facilitating the public participation and engagement process concerning the built environment.
Community Mapping: Engage with our interactive map and tell us what you care most about in the neighbourhood.
“By focusing on unspoken strengths and locally available resources – from the various individuals who have helped to make life better in the estate, to the well-loved places and foods that people hold dear – we hope to demonstrate the potential within a community and what they can do. The data gathered from these three participatory methods will be used to create a community map, with the intention of offering alternative perspectives on the people and places of Kampong Kapor and Little India. It will be made available for local organisations, community groups and interested individuals, to aid in developing future people- and place-driven programmes in the neighbourhood.”
Jemput Masak: Join us in this community cook-out, and share and exchange food and recipes in this festive ‘makan party’.
SINGA RANGOLI ART B Y
V IJAYA
MOHAN
S Y N O P S I S SingaRangoli explores new ideas and approaches in breaking new boundaries to Rangoli art-making, in turn creating the unique Singapore-Rangoli.
A B O U T
U S
Vijaya Mohan an Indian Singaporean is a renowned and acclaimed Rangoli artiste (Indian courtyard painting and floor art). She holds the Guinness World Record for the largest Rangoli in the World and additionally holds 13 Singapore records in various categories ( the largest, longest, most number of people etc).Vijaya is also working with special children from the past 15 years as an educator/ Art Therapist.
“It is Chandra and Kathick’s first experience of Rangoli art-making.They both just got off work nearby and dropped in at our Vege-Rangoli activity.”
“Ardi, a Filipino, has been based in Singapore for the past 5 years and was about to spend that Saturday afternoon taking photographs. Before that, he experimented with some Flora-Rangoli with his new found friend, Pranav.�
“Yuki, a Singaporean-Japanese student from London, spent the afternoon with her uncle Kelvin creating Rangoli art for the first time.Yuki thinks she can incorporate such tradition art forms with the design studies she’s pursuing. Kelvin finds such community art events promote both community and culture, and it is too important to be situated in “leftover” spaces of the City. They had such a good time with us, eventually returning the next day for our Jemput Masak Community Potluck!”
“Sophie and her Korean friends are here for a student exchange. It is also the first time they have experienced Rangoli Art.�
“Reswan is delighted to try out Rangoli and his favourite vegetables include carrot and eggplant for making dahl. He is curious how Rangoli Art can be done with mushrooms, another one of his favourites. We are curious too!�
“Shamal, a Bangladeshi who has been in Singapore for 8 years, tells us that Rangoli Art reminds him of his wife. He loves the colours of Rangoli as they are very vibrant.�
“Ryan is a tourist from Philadelphia and firsttime visitor to Little India.As a vegetarian, he finds such a traditional art form an interesting exposure for tourists like himself. He enjoyed handling the vegetables and agrees there is a lot of texture in the art.�
“Rubel from Bangladesh likes the Flora- Rangoli activity as it smells good and reminds him of his sister back home.�
“Ramesh, Sakthi’s 11yo son, says Flora- Rangoli reminds him of his aunt’s wedding. He is studying Art Paper in SOTA at the moment and is into “complimentary expressions of art”. Check out the outlines and hues he has created with the different flower centres and petals!”
“Sakthi, a youth mother from Tuticorin South India, came by with her husband and kids for Rangoli Art. She says it reminds her of her sister’s wedding that recently happened. She is thankful that this activity exposes her young children to traditional art forms of India.”
“Varshini, Sakthi’s 14yo daughter, shares with us that her name means “Rain”. And like showers of blessing, she gifted us with a deeply profound quote that day.” “Love is a very big thing.”
“Kumar tells us that Rangoli reminds him of his mother back home. Largely a women-only activity, it is still a communal family affair on special occasions�.
BINDI ROAD SIDE S PA B Y
N G
X I
J I E
S Y N O P S I S Bindi Roadside Spa is an alternative pop-up space of pampering and care for migrants and others in the Little India community. Free services provided include all-natural facials made with foods commonly used by South Asian migrants, head/neck massages, foot reflexology and a workshop on self-care. We invite customers to come relax in nature’s embrace.
A B O U T
U S
Xi Jie Ng creates intimate encounters for a noisy world. A sense of closeness characterises her works, which dance between the forms of film, performance, installation, social practice and writing. She has made and presented work in Singapore, USA, Finland and India. Last year, her debut feature Singapore Minstrel premiered at the 26th Singapore International Film Festival. Based in Singapore and Portland, USA (upcoming), she invents little cosmic experiences for the real and imagined lives of humans.
“Self-care doesn’t have to be classy or seen as indulgent. It can be easy, cheap, wholesome, empowering, soul-soothing & completely logical for any human being in today’s world. It was a joy serving everyone and learning about their lives. Believing in nature & wellness is magical and grounding. I hope the experience encourages more people to create their own spa- with themselves as boss, beautician, masseur, maker.”
FRINGE S TA N D U P F O R S I N G A P O R E R E A L LY R E A L LY F R E E M A R K E T H E A LT H S E R V E X A I R A M B E R TRAIL D R E A M C AT C H E R
F R I N G E
P A R T N E R S
S T A N D
U P
F O R
S I N G A P O R E
Stand Up For Our Singapore, is an events collective focused on creating social capital in Singapore. We believe how we respond to crisis can create cynicism or it can create hope. At the height of online xenophobia, StandUp held a picnic to show appreciation to Filipino domestic workers. When the haze hit Singapore last year, we crowd funded 50 air filters for lonely elderly Singaporeans living in one room flats. We are always on the look out for how Singapore can be beautiful and awesome.
R E A L L Y
R E A L L Y
F R E E
M A R K E T
The Singapore Really Really Free Market is a market where everything is free. All goods and services are shared free and nothing is for sale.Anyone with stuff or skills to share are welcome to set up a stall, and if you find something you want, you’re welcome to have it. SRRFM now roams around Singapore and takes place every 2 months.
H E A L T H S E R V E
X
A I R
A M B E R
Founded in 2006, HealthServe is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing healing and hope to migrant workers through healthcare, casework, social assistance, advocacy, research, and outreach programs. Our three clinics serve over 3,000 workers annually and our casework team supports on hundreds of work-injury and salary related claims a year. Air Amber is a social impact organisation that seeks to co-develop communities from within. Our vision of ‘Bigger Hearts, Smaller World’ speaks of cultivating compassion through transformative relationships within and across borders.We strive to nurture a global generation of youth with a HEART of compassion, a MIND harnessed with creativity, and HANDS immersed in action. Air Amber provides transformational opportunities for youth, heeding a national call for the nurturing of good values, development of character and citizenship education.To this end, we offer a suite of programs that have been creatively and poignantly designed to meet tangible development and growth outcomes.
T R A I L The Little IndiaTrail is designed as an intimate yet sobering exploration of the Little India community.The trail brings insight into the broader challenges the Little India community faces in the light of urban development and community conser vation.
D R E A M
C A T C H E R
Jaxton Su is a Singaporean Visual Artist who expresses himself through colours and surrealistic paintings. His works portray engaging narratives that delves into the ideas of archetypes and the imaginar y. Other than ar t making, Jaxton has also been actively involved in Community Ar t, Ar t Education and Multidisciplinary Arts Collaborations. As a member of the Singapore Contemporary Young Artists, he has collaborated with various communities and led them in creating large-scale faรงade artworks around Singapore. He has also initiated several community art installation and mural projects that engages various groups of people, while bringing out the shared history and heritage of Singapore.