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FACTSHEET Arts for Good Fellowship As of 17/3/2020

About The Singapore International Foundation’s (SIF) Arts for Good (A4G) Fellowship is an annual programme

that aims to grow the Arts for Good ecosystem, through a community of practice that harnesses the

power of the arts and culture to create positive social change. The Fellowship brings together cross-sector professionals such as artists, arts administrators, creatives

and programmers from the education and social sectors on a programme made up of experiential

workshops, learning journeys and networking sessions across two exchange programmes in two global

cities.

Objectives

Participating Fellows will get to:

• Build capacity, learn key skills and gain new perspectives in running effective Arts for Good initiatives;

• Connect with professionals from an international ecosystem keen in using the arts for social change; and,

• Join a global alumni network in supporting and collaborating with one another for future Arts for Good initiatives.

To date, after three successful editions, the A4G Fellowship has built an alumni network of 94 Fellows

from 18 nationalities since its inception in 2017.

https://www.sif.org.sg/home

https://www.sif.org.sg/our-work/ce/afg/about


Key Programme Components

Two Exchange Programmes The exchange programmes provide an opportunity for Fellows to convene and gain insights into the

Arts for Good ecosystem in a specific city. These fresh learnings will help to map and chart the effects

of social change through arts against the needs and demands of the communities they work with.

Each exchange programme will take place over a four or five-day period in two global cities, including

Singapore where the Fellowship is based.

Community Projects Fellows will design and develop community projects during the duration of the Fellowship. The

development of the projects will begin during the first exchange programme in Singapore and be

implemented during the second exchange programme.

Arts for Good Fellowship 2020 In 2020, the fourth edition of the Fellowship will explore the theme of Creative Empowerment for

Children and Youth, with a focus on mental health and well-being, and will comprise the following

components:

*Note: We are closely monitoring developments around the COVID-19 global situation and will do our utmost to ensure that the A4G Fellowship can take place at a safe and hospitable time. As such, dates may be subject to change.

Singapore Exchange

Programme (15 - 18 Sep 2020)*

Peer learning and sharing sessions.

Conceptualisation of community projects to be implemented during the Chennai Exchange Programme.

CommunityProject Planning

(Sep 2020 - Jan 2021)

Continual development of community projects with community leaders.

Chennai Exchange

Programme (1 - 5 Feb 2021)*

Peer learning and sharing sessions.

Implementation of community projects in Chennai.

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Be a Fellow To be eligible for the Fellowship, you should:

• Be an arts and culture practitioner, arts administrator, creative professional or programmer from the education and social sector;

• Have a minimum of two years of professional or voluntary practice, and demonstrate commitment to lead and effect change through your work;

• Have prior experience working with a community through the arts, demonstrating a strong interest in arts-based projects aimed at creating social impact;

• Be able to attend all components of the programme;

• Be financially able to support your travel expenses relating to your participation in this programme;

• Be able to communicate in English; and,

• Be of any age and nationality.

Be a Partner

Join us to grow the Arts for Good ecosystem!

• Support the Programme as a network, content or logistics partner.

• Support Fellows by sponsoring their participation.

Write to us at [email protected] to partner with us.

“I appreciate how the Arts for Good Fellowship creates circles of creative expression, cross-cultural compassion and convergence among artists and social programmers, through which the impact of their individual creativities is multiplied and harnessed toward collective action for transformative social change.”

Pia G. Ortiz-Luis, Executive Director, Cartwheel Foundation Inc. (The Philippines)

Arts for Good Fellow 2019

“By bringing together a diverse group of practitioners, programmers, educators, researchers and policy makers, the Arts for Good Fellowship is playing a unique and significant role in championing the arts for good ecology in our region”.

Brydie Leigh-Bartleet, Director, Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre, Griffith University (Australia)

Arts for Good Fellow 2018

mailto:[email protected]

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At a Glance: Arts for Good Fellowship 2019

• Focused on how the arts can creatively empower children and youth in our communities

• Held in Singapore and Delhi, India

• Connected 33 Fellows from 12 countries with close to 200 stakeholders in Singapore and India

• Implemented four community arts-based projects designed by Fellows in Delhi, India – impacting over 100 children and youth

Alumni from 2019 include:

• Andrew Wright, Co-Founder, CEO, Artistic Director, Goat Track Theatre (Australia) • Grace Lee-Khoo, Founder and Creative Development Director, Access Path Productions

(Singapore)

• Linh Valerie Pham, Founder, Artistic Director, Mat Tran Ensemble (Vietnam)

• Pia G. Ortiz-Luis, Executive Director, Cartwheel Foundation Inc. (The Philippines)

• Rebekah Lin, Co-Founder, The Social Co. (Singapore)

• Sous Sinath, Director of Community Engagement and HR, Phare Performing Social Enterprise (Cambodia)

• V Balakrishnan, Artistic Director, Theatre Nisha (India)

Our Partners

Key Partner Network Partners

Content Partners

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• Focused on how the arts can be harnessed to empower youth in our communities

• Held in Singapore and Chennai, India

• Connected 32 Fellows from 10 countries with close to 200 stakeholders in Singapore and India

• Supported a community mural art project conceptualised by three Fellows from India and UK - impacting 100 students in a government high school


• Brydie-Leigh Bartleet, Director, Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre, Griffith University (Australia)

• Charlotte Goh, Executive Director, Playeum Ltd (Singapore)

• Fiona Ferguson, Creative Development Director, Imaginate (Scotland)

• Jeffrey Tan, Artistic Director, Theatre Today (Singapore)

• Kamya Ramachandran, Director, Jaaga DNA (India)

• Stephanie Turner, Creative Facilitator, Partners for Youth Empowerment Global (UK)

• Tran Truy, Culture Programme Officer, UNESCO Hanoi (Vietnam)

Our Partners


Content Partners

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• Focused on how the arts can shape an inclusive society for people with disabilities

• Held in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• Connected 29 Fellows from 13 countries with over 120 stakeholders in Singapore and Malaysia


• Ira-Iliana Papadopoulou, Appointed Member, Working Group on the Management, Coordination and Monitoring of Refugee Education, Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs (Greece)

• Michael Cheng, Artistic Director, Tapestry Playback Theatre (Singapore)

• Misouda Heuangsoukkhoun, Secretary General, Association for Autism (Laos)

• Partho Bhowmick, Founder, Blind with Camera (India)

• Sriram Ayer, Founder and Director, NalandaWay Foundation (India)

Our Partners


Content Partners

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About Singapore International Foundation The Singapore International Foundation (SIF) makes friends for a better world. We build enduring relationships between Singaporeans and world communities, and harness these friendships to enrich lives and effect positive change. Our work is anchored in the belief that cross-cultural interactions provide insights that strengthen understanding. These exchanges inspire action and enable collaborations for good. Our programmes bring people together to share ideas, skills and experiences in areas such as healthcare, education, the environment, arts and culture, as well as livelihood and business. We do this because we believe we all can, and should, do our part to build a better world, one we envision as peaceful, inclusive and offering opportunities for all.

About Arts for Good The Arts for Good Fellowship is part of the SIF’s Arts for Good Initiative which seeks to contribute to positive social change through collaborations between Singaporean artists and their international counterparts, as well as galvanise greater community involvement in sustainable change.

+65 6837 8700

Singapore International Foundation

[email protected]

@siforg

www.sif.org.sg

@siforg

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Arts for Good Fellowship 2019 Fellows

Andrew Wright Australia | Co-Founder, CEO, Artistic Director, Goat Track Theatre Andrew Wright is the Co-Founder, CEO and Artistic Director of Goat Track Theatre, a company committed to the creation of transformational drama and theatre experiences for children and young people. He is an award-winning teacher, writer, director, community arts facilitator, actor and entrepreneur. He started his career as a drama teacher working at primary, secondary and tertiary levels, and has been empowering young people through the arts for 26 years. He is driven by values of courage, creativity, care and connection and is passionate about ‘growing the greatness’ of his young tribe.

Anurag India | Co-Founder, CEO, Manzil Mystics Anurag is one of the Co-Founders and CEO of Manzil Mystics. He began his journey as a musician through Manzil back in 2010. He graduated with a Degree in Commerce from the Delhi University, studied Marketing and Sales in Washington State and holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Other than leading the team, he teaches more than 300 children in Delhi government and low-income schools and represents himself as a vocalist and lyricist in a Delhi based choir band. He loves to teach children and believes that different art forms are an important part of a child’s life, especially school life.

Arsyad Azrai Malaysia | Head of Programmes, Pusat Kreatif Kanak-Kanak Tuanku Bainun Arsyad Azrai is the Head of Programmes for Pusat Kreatif Kanak-Kanak Tuanku Bainun (Tuanku Bainun Creative Centre for Children). He graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing from the Pennsylvania State University. He had the opportunity to pursue education through the Teach For Malaysia Fellowship and has been working with children ever since. During the Fellowship, he taught English and drama and also led an arts initiative called Artspire. With Pusat Kreatif Kanak-Kanak Tuanku Bainun, he continues his pursuit in making good arts education available to all students in Malaysia.

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Balint Komenczi Hungary | Community Music Facilitator, Autonómia Foundation Balint Komenczi is a sociologist and musician. He leads community music workshops for Roma youngsters in Hungarian segregated villages in the frame of complex community building projects organised by Autonómia Foundation. He believes in the democratisation of the rights for culture and arts creation and considers applied arts to be a great tool to enhance self-esteem and creativity. Through the method of collective creation, he tries to make youngsters aware of their own perspectives and joint interests. Teenagers are experts of their own life and they have a lot to tell about themselves and their community.

Cheryl Gan Singapore | Community Arts Practitioner and Manager Cheryl Gan is a community arts practitioner and manager. In the past 4 years, she held a role in Playeum as the Manager for Learning and Engagement. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree (Honours) in Drama, Applied Theatre and Education from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London). At Playeum, she has worked extensively with children aged 3 – 12 from varying backgrounds and their adults. Her work includes curating content for children and their families, managing training for teachers, facilitating programmes and assisting in the operations of the Children’s Centre for Creativity. She strives to bring open-ended playful experiences to all children and adults who surround them.

Chhavi Khandelwal India | Co-Founder, Saturday Art Class Chhavi Khandelwal has a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Rachana Sansad's Academy of Architecture, Mumbai. With a strong belief in the arts as a language to transcend economical, social and political barriers, she co-founded Saturday Art Class with her partner Manasi Mehan during her Teach for India Fellowship. She has a passion for the arts and wishes to change the perception of art in India. For six years, she worked in programmes providing art education in orphanages and cancer speciality hospitals. She used to work with a Mumbai-based architecture firm called White3, with the principal architect Chaitaniya Karnik.

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Clara Bloomfield United Kingdom | Theatre Maker, Lecturer and Socially Engaged Artist Clara Bloomfield is an award-winning freelance international theatre-maker, lecturer and socially engaged artist from Scotland. She specialises in creating socio-politically engaged performance exploring the stories of the everyday presented both in theatres and non-traditional spaces. She has created work with and for organisations such as the National Theatre of Scotland, Grande Blue, Lille France, Theatre NI (Northern Ireland) Youth Theatre Ireland, Hamilton Arts Festival New Zealand and National Theatre of Great Britain. She is also part of Scotland’s Catalyst for International Teaching Arts Collective (ITAC) that looks at advancing teaching artistry globally.

Daniel Dunlop Australia | Creative Producer, Teaching Artist, Theatre Maker, Theatre for Young People With a practice in theatre and performance, Daniel Dunlop is an Australian creative producer, manager, artist, educator, consultant and creative learning specialist. He works with young people, creates arts projects and develops creative programmes nationally. He has worked for the Sydney Opera House, National Institute of Dramatic Art, Australian Institute of Music, Cirque du Soleil, Australia Council for the Arts, Brisbane Festival and Queensland Performing Arts Centre. He has also taught in many schools and toured with large commercial musical productions. He is currently the Chair of Outback Theatre for Young People, a youth arts company for regional and remote Australia. He holds Master’s Degrees in Fine Arts (Cultural Leadership) and Arts and Creative Industries Management.

Evelyn Ghozalli Indonesia | Co-Founder, TaCita; Creative Director, Litara Foundation Evelyn Ghozalli is an award-winning Indonesian author-illustrator-activist. She graduated with a major in Visual Design Communication from the Bandung Institute of Technology. A freelancer since 2005, she has illustrated more than 80 children’s books under the pseudonym EorG. ‘Taman Bermain dalam Lemari’, ‘The Chair’ and ‘Ahmad dan Domba Kecilnya’ are her award-winning works. She is the Creative Director of Litara Foundation, a small indie publisher with local content value. She founded KELIR, the Indonesian Children’s Book Illustrators Circle in 2009 and serves as the Regional Advisor in Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Indonesian chapter since 2013. She also co-founded a children story festival called TaCita in 2019.

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Fredyl Hernandez The Philippines | Artist-Teacher, Philippine Educational Theatre Association (PETA) Fredyl Hernandez is a senior member of the Philippine Educational Theatre Association (PETA) and is very much involved with theatre for development programmes. He used to be the Associate Programme Director of the Advocate Right to Safety (ARTS) zone project for children, a theatre for advocacy campaign on children’s rights and positive discipline. He joined PETA through its youth theatre programme, the Metropolitan Teen Theatre League (MTTL). He participated in several youth cultural exchanges in Norway, Greece, Netherlands and France through the International Drama/Theatre and Education Association (IDEA).

Grace Lee-Khoo Singapore | Founder and Creative Development Director, Access Path Productions Grace Khoo is a Singaporean theatre-maker and Founder of Access Path Productions, a social enterprise that creates artistic experiences with the marginalised. Her most high-profile project to date is producing and performing in “And Suddenly I Disappear: The Singapore/UK 'd' Monologues” which toured to the Southbank Centre in September 2018 as part of the Unlimited Festival and other parts of the UK. In 2017, she served as International Artist in Residence at Graeae Theatre Company, UK’s flagship disability led inclusive theatre company.

Habiba Insaf India | German Chancellor Research Fellow, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Habiba Insaf is a museum educator and learning experience designer from India. Her expertise lies in creating enquiry based arts learning experiences that empower individuals to think creatively, critically and courageously. She has designed and facilitated museum learning modules for 32 innovative urban schools and cultural institutions. She has worked directly with 10,000 learners and 500 educators across India. She is presently a German Chancellor Fellow researching how teaching and learning in the 21st century can be promoted in museums and museum-like environment. She is trained in Psychology and Culture studies.

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Hannah Grant Australia | Founder and Director, Collective Impact Arts Hannah Grant is the Founder of Collective Impact Arts – an organisation which grows from her years of experience in the Arts for Social Impact sector. Hannah also currently works for Create NSW on the Strategic Projects and Engagement Team. She was the Director of Socially-Engaged Programmes at Shopfront Arts Co-op for 5 years, where she created a series of sustainable projects, working with young people using the arts as a tool for change in their schools and local communities. She has also worked with Immediate Theatre, Matriark Theatre, Leap Confronting Conflict and co-founded Theatre:Connect. Artistically, she works across storytelling, visual arts, digital arts and theatre-making with a focus on participatory practice with young people. Her work is responsive and informed by grassroots engagement. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Theatre from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London).

Hui Ling Lee Malaysia | Educator and Co-founder, Cai Hong Designs Hailing from a family of artists, Hui Ling Lee is an educator and the Co-Founder of Cai Hong Designs with her architect sister Hui Lian Lee. Cai Hong Designs is a design studio providing consultancy services for low cost, high impact social innovation projects for youth development, empowerment and capacity building through strategic partnerships with government agencies, NGOs and educational institutions in Malaysia, Japan and ASEAN. A lecturer at the University of Nottingham, she is an advocate and trainer for disaster preparedness. She attended the Sarah Lawrence College on scholarship from the Board of Trustees and Center for Humans and Nature.

Kristin Dwek United States of America | Project Manager, ArtBeatz Kristin Dwek is an artist, educator, manager and community arts facilitator. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art and Education from the University of Georgia and a Master’s Degree in Arts Pedagogy and Practice from LASALLE College of the Arts. Working with ArtBeatz, she leads large scale projects where people from all ages and backgrounds are able to participate in meaningful art projects. She believes the arts is a common language that can connect and inspire people. She hopes to cultivate an appreciation of the arts while inviting interactions and dialogues from the community.

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Lakshmi Karunakaran India | Programme Director, Hasiru Dala Lakshmi Karunakaran is an educator based in Bengaluru. She currently runs Buguri Community Libraries through her work at Hasiru Dala, an organisation working for the betterment of informal waste workers. Through her work over the past seven years, she has worked with children from diverse backgrounds using literature and the arts. She writes for ‘Teacher Plus’, a magazine for contemporary teachers. In 2017, she was an artist in residence at the Center for Contemporary Arts Warsaw, working on a project about children from abandoned mines in Poland.

Linh Valerie Pham Vietnam | Founder, Artistic Director, Mat Tran Ensemble Linh Valerie Pham is a contemporary theatre and puppet artist. Her work has been showcased at Ago Hub (Hanoi), Vincom Center for Contemporary Art (Hanoi), The Factory (Ho Chi Minh City), Soul Live Project (Ho Chi Minh City), Institute Francais Indonesia (Yogyakarta), Brick Theatre (New York), Center for Performance Research (New York) and HERE Arts Center (New York). Using puppetry as an artistic language, she organises and facilitates storytelling workshops for different communities across the country. She and Mat Tran have received support from the Japan Foundation, Prince Claus Fund, FRIDA – The Young Feminist Fund amongst others. She is currently a resident artist at Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia.

Loh Wan Ting Singapore | Founder, Red Balloon Therapy Loh Wan Ting is an artist and trained art therapist with a Master’s Degree in Art Therapy. She believes in the healing process of creating art and the essence of her work lies in the belief that every person has the inherent capacity to heal and transform. Using art-making to foster interactive experiences and elicit reflection and insights, she facilitates art therapy sessions and conceptualises art workshops to improve the psychosocial well-being of individuals. She is constantly exploring ways to integrate her experiences in design with art therapy to create a communicative therapeutic approach through community projects that facilitate change and self-discovery.

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Neil Chan Malaysia | Musician, Neil Chan Music Neil Chan is a world musician with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music (Recording Arts and Sciences) from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore. His work with music focuses on four pillars: artistry, education, research, and outreach. His passion for music and community service gave rise to his 'Music for well-being initiatives’ where he actively gathers musicians and non-musicians to reach out to communities with the goal of inspiring participants to continue good work and initiate outreach activities on their own.

Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy Vietnam | Art-based Facilitator Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy is an art-based facilitator and storyteller in a school who enjoys creating opportunities for children to explore their inner artistry. She is also a member of Vietnam Dance Movement Therapy and Mat Tran Ensemble where she uses the arts as a way to make people reconnect with themselves. Since 2011, she has organised many art festivals for ethnic minority students with the belief that the arts can empower. She also a gardener who enjoys observing the Nature.

Nilisha Mohapatra India| Lead Trainer, Partners for Youth Empowerment For 10 years, Nilisha Mohapatra has been using arts-based practices to change how everyone learn. As a trainer and learning designer, she leads experiential, inclusive trainings to build 21st century skills that rewire routine ways of thinking and doing. In education sectors across India and USA, she has trained youth workers in creating imaginative and safe learning spaces. She has empowered youths with skills like resilience, empathy, creativity and strengthened their agency to thrive. Since 2016, she has expanded her work to corporate a vision to leverage the arts in creating systemic shifts that can refresh the culture of human interactions.

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Pia G. Ortiz-Luis The Philippines | Executive Director, Cartwheel Foundation Inc. Pia G. Ortiz-Luis is a development professional who believes in harnessing the power of expressive arts in her practice. She has over two decades of experiences in the development and delivery of social programmes focused on education, children’s welfare, youth leadership and community empowerment in various development contexts. She is currently the Executive Director of Cartwheel Foundation Inc., where she leads in nurturing safe spaces for marginalised indigenous children and communities through context-based education that draws from culture and the arts. She considers it her vocation to contribute to building thriving organisations and communities through expressive approaches.

Rebekah Lin Singapore | Co-Founder, The Social Co. Rebekah Lin is the Co-Founder of The Social Co., the team that initiated the ‘50 For 50’, ‘Pledge It Forward’ and ‘Power To Progress’ movements over the last five years. Her team has brought together more than 100 individuals, 90 corporations and more than 250 partners to raise awareness and approximately $5 million dollars for more than 50 lesser-known charities in Singapore. She loves documentaries and has hosted one for Channel NewsAsia and worked with the good people at Doc Society and InDocs to bring GoodPitch, a platform that brings documentary filmmakers and changemakers together to create change, to Asia in 2017.

Samnang Chea Cambodia | Psychologist, Mango Tree Garden Organisation Samnang Chea graduated with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and Trauma Treatment from the University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She is an experienced psychologist who has been providing therapeutic services for children, their families and communities in Cambodia for 31 years. In her interventions, she integrates different methods to support children and their families to overcome obstacles. She is passionate about creativity and the usage of arts when it comes to these methods. Every Sunday, Samnang and her volunteer team organise creative play including music, painting, story-telling and dance for children in Pagoda near Phnom Penh.

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Shaza Ishak Singapore | General Manager, Teater Ekamatra Shaza Ishak is the Company Director and General Manager of Teater Ekamatra, a Singaporean ethnic minority theatre company. Aside from her commitment to producing theatre that inspires and effects social change, she is dedicated to incubating emerging talents and expanding diversity within the industry. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Creative Producing at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London) with support from the Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Award 2017, Li Siong Tay Postgraduate Scholarship 2018 and the National Arts Council Arts Postgraduate Scholarship 2018. She is also a Fellow at the International Society for the Performing Arts (USA).

Shoaib Iqbal Pakistan | Founder, The Little Art Shoaib Iqbal is an arts manager who has worked as a curator, director and arts educator since 2000. He founded The Little Art, a non-profit arts education organisation that uses the arts to promote positive social values through innovative learning opportunities among children and young adults. He founded the Lahore International Children’s Film Festival organised annually in various cities since 2008. He holds a Diploma in International Development from East Side Institute New York and graduated from DeVos Institute of Arts Management (Kennedy Centre). He was an Asia21 Fellow with Asia Society, ArtThink South Asia Fellow and New Zealand Edmund Hillary Fellow. He was the British Council Pakistan’s Head of Arts for two years in 2017-18.

Soonufat Supramaniam Malaysia | Founder, Leadspire Academy As the Founder of Leadspire Academy and Teach For Malaysia’s alumnus, Soonufat Supramaniam believes that mapping the creative potential of all children in Malaysia through performing arts education is the core for transformation. In the past five years, he has been invited to conferences championed by educators at Abu Dhabi, Cambodia, London and India. Two of his students’ theatrical productions titled ‘Find Your Light’ and ‘Singing To The Lions’ were featured as youth productions in George Town Festival 2017 and 2018 respectively. ‘Find Your Light’ won the Best English Language Programme 2018 in ASEAN region.

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Sous Sinath Cambodia| Director of HR and Community Engagement, Phare Performing Social Enterprise Sous Sinath has been working with Phare Ponleu Selpak and Phare Performing Social Enterprise for 15 years and has since created strong bonds with the staff, artists and arts community. Her best experiences are working with professional actors and creating the Phare culture. As she supervises local and international teams in Cambodia, she has made significant contributions which include strengthening the social impact of Phare’s projects and organising staff, artists, events and festivals. She is also a curator and producer of ‘Arts and Environment Festival’ in 2018 and 2019.

Sunniva Ramsay United Kingdom | Community Engagement Access and Learning Manager, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Sunniva Ramsay is the Community Engagement Access and Learning Manager at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Previously, she was the Senior Producer at the Traverse Theatre and has worked with the organisation for six years. As the Senior Producer, she works regularly as a dramaturg and workshop leader for emerging writers programmes, with a focus on young people. She has led international exchanges of the Traverse Theatre's Class Act programme and believes passionately in the potential of the arts to inspire creative ambition in young people. She holds a Master’s Degree in Theatre Studies (First Class Honours) from the University of Glasgow and has worked as an engagement artist, facilitator and director in venues including The Arches (Glasgow), The Lyceum (Edinburgh) and North Edinburgh Arts.

Tan Heng Yeng Singapore| Senior Executive (Community and Access), National Gallery Singapore Tan Heng Yeng graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the Yale-NUS College. As a recipient of the Singapore Industry Scholarship, she has been working in Community and Access at National Gallery Singapore, with a secondary portfolio co-chairing the Youth Engagement Taskforce. She has also been actively involved in various arts and justice projects, most recently with the Singapore Climate Rally movement. As a young person, she hopes to help build an arts landscape that is meaningful for and relevant to the contemporary concerns and politics of upcoming generations.

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Teng Zi Ying Singapore| Senior Youth Worker, Boys' Town Teng Zi Ying trusts fully in the power of the expressive arts to educate, intervene and heal. She topped her cohort in the Singapore Polytechnic’s Diploma course in Applied Drama and Psychology and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Drama, Applied Theatre and Education (First Class Honours) from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London). Her current role at Boys’ Town takes her to the streets where she engages youth-in-need through outreach and designs expressive arts programmes for intervention. She has also developed Applied Theatre projects with the Institute of Mental Health’s Community Health Assessment Team and HM Prison Thameside.

V Balakrishnan India | Artistic Director, Theatre Nisha V Balakrishnan is an alumnus of the Sri Ram Centre for Performing Arts and National School of Drama, New Delhi. He was awarded the Charles Wallace Scholarship to attend an International Residency with the Royal Court Theatre, London. He founded his company Theatre Nisha in 2000. He has been a theatre educator for over 20 years and is associated with more than 25 schools and colleges. He was awarded the Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching 2017 by the United States-India Educational Foundation and Dronacharya Award in 2018 by the Rotary Club, Madras East for exemplary services in education.

Zankhana Joshi India | Founder, Tatvamasi Zankhana Joshi is a Counselling Psychologist and Dance Movement Therapist (DMT). With a decade of experiences in investment banking, she found her calling in working in the area of mental health. She combines cognitive talk, dance and expressive arts-based interventions for individuals and groups at her private practice at Tatvamasi and also with various community projects like youth leadership initiatives, gender lab, survivors of sex-trafficking, patients with palliative care and mental illness. She is also a visiting faculty at Tata Institute of Social Sciences teaching DMT. She believes in exploring the mind-body connection to facilitate healing and transformation of the self and society.

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Arts for Good Fellowship 2019 Singapore Exchange Programme Webstory

29 November 2019

33 SIF Arts for Good (A4G) Fellows across 12 nationalities explore how the arts can be harnessed to empower children and youth in our communities. The third edition of SIF’s Arts for Good (A4G) Fellowship kicked-off in Singapore from 19 to 22 November 2019, with 33 Fellows across 12 nationalities to explore how the arts can be harnessed to empower children and youth in our communities.

33 arts practitioners representing 12 nationalities came together in Singapore for the Arts for Good Fellowship 2019

to explore and collaborate on the theme of Creative Empowerment for Children and Youth.

A palpable buzz was felt on the rooftop of National Gallery Singapore as accents filled the air and gestures punctuated and illustrated a point. The crowd – comprising members of the public as well as the third cohort of the SIF’s Arts for Good (A4G) Fellows – quickly took their seats as the indomitable Jeffrey Tan (A4G Fellow 2018) held court and kicked off a panel discussion around Creative Empowerment through the Arts. Featuring Caroline Essame, Steve Dixon, Yap Su-Yin and Ye Shufang as part of a wide-ranging representation of a community of practitioners who believe the arts can be harnessed for social impact, the discussion was vibrant and thought-provoking. The 70-strong audience prompted discussion on topics ranging from creating an empowering ecosystem and safe spaces to advocacy; and prompted sharing of experiences from across various countries.

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The panel discussion was one of the many components making up the four-day Singapore exchange segment of the third edition of the SIF’s A4G Fellowship from 19 to 22 November 2019. It was designed to be an experiential journey of learning and sharing during the Fellows’ time in Singapore. The exchange focused on peer learning and exemplified the overarching theme of this Fellowship for the year, ‘Creative Empowerment for Children and Youth’. Specifically, the Fellows picked up key skills and tools which enabled creative facilitation of youth activities and conversations. This was centred around the Creative Empowerment Model by Partners for Youth Empowerment (PYE) which combines experiential learning, group facilitation and arts-based practice into a framework for designing and leading transformative programmes for youth and adults. In a nod to peer-based learning, these sessions were facilitated by an A4G Fellow, Nilisha Mohapatra, who is also a Lead Trainer for PYE. During community building sessions, the Fellows also shared freely best practices and exchanged knowledge to create #artsforgood programmes.

“Arts through Play!” rocket launch activity conducted by Playeum allowed Fellows to experience creative and artful play

and discover creative possibilities in designing projects for children. The Executive Director of Playeum Charlotte Goh is also an A4G Fellow (2018).

These skillsets would be put to good use across the next stages of the Fellowship, when the participants reconvene for a webinar in January 2020 and again on a four-day study exchange programme in Delhi, India in February 2020. During the Delhi exchange, the Fellows would also execute the community-based projects they would have been working on with each other for these several months.

Cambodian A4G 2019 Fellow Sous Sinath shared, “Through the Arts for Good Fellowship, I have learnt several tools I need to create global partnerships, which are key to sustainable arts development, and strengthen the capacity of young cultural innovators in solving issues of global concerns in Asia.

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For young Cambodian artists, these partnerships will give them more opportunities to develop the arts community and get more support from the SIF and other Singapore partners in future.” Besides dialogues with representatives from organisations such as National Arts Council, the Fellows went on several learning journeys to The Artground and National Gallery Singapore to gain insights on how interactive creative experiences can empower children and youth, as well as The Arts House with master storyteller Kamini Ramachandran to get a flavour of Singapore’s history through an engaging interpretation of traditional folklore. At the end of four days, the sense of community and enthusiasm for future collaborations amongst the Fellows was palpable. British A4G Fellow Sunniva Ramsay shared: “The Arts for Good Fellowship is Singapore’s leading example of fostering global artistic engagement and sharing, with the imperative of creating new connections to harness social impact and change. The passion and creativity demonstrated by this unique group of Fellows, have the potential - with the facilitation of the SIF - to create and empower the next generation of artistically-led social innovation.”

A community mural created collaboratively by the Fellows explored what Arts for Good means to each of them. In the spirit

of harnessing the power of arts and culture to create positive social change, they explored common themes in their creations like “love”, “healing”, “connection”, “community” and “inclusion”.

Vietnamese Fellow Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy also echoed similar sentiments, “The stories I heard from the Fellows and Singaporean speakers inspired me greatly about how to effect more positive change in the community. Now I believe that cross-cultural interactions can build a better world based on peace, understanding and empathy.”

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