Singapore International Festival of Arts 2024 (SIFA)

Festival Guide

Executive Summary

The Singapore International Festival of Arts 2024, held from 17 May to 2 June, presented an ambitious exploration of multiplicity under the thematic banner "The Anatomy of Performance – They Declare." Organized by Arts House Limited and commissioned by the National Arts Council, this edition marked the third year under Festival Director Natalie Hennedige's leadership, establishing itself as a significant platform for both local and international artistic expression while addressing contemporary complexities through performance.

Festival Framework and Artistic Vision

The festival operated under Hennedige's three-year curatorial framework titled "The Anatomy of Performance," with each edition exploring the tension between unity and difference in human experience. Following "Ritual" (2022) and "Some People" (2023), "They Declare" served as an evocative call for audiences to embrace coexistence of different beliefs and ways of being, particularly focusing on relationships with the natural environment and diverse voices that surround us.

The festival's artistic vision centered on performance as a dynamic arena for both innovation and gathering, encouraging audiences from all walks of life to observe unique ways of perceiving and existing in the world. This approach reflected contemporary concerns about climate change, identity, and the need for dialogue across differences.

Programming Structure and Scale

SIFA 2024 featured a comprehensive lineup comprising five newly commissioned productions, seven invited international presentations, and two innovative programming strands. The festival introduced "Little SIFA," an all-new pillar dedicated to families and children, and "Tomorrow and tomorrow," which transformed Stamford Arts Centre into a showcase for works-in-progress by local theatre groups.

The festival achieved remarkable success with approximately 30 sold-out shows and featured more than 350 local and international artists and crew from nine countries and regions. This scale demonstrated SIFA's growing international recognition and its capacity to create meaningful cultural exchanges.

Local Commissions and Singapore Artist Development

Central to Hennedige's vision was the elevation of Singapore artists to prominent roles in developing cutting-edge works for a global stage. The festival's local commissions represented significant investments in homegrown talent across multiple disciplines.

"SUARA / ORO RUA" emerged as a standout collaboration between Singapore music artist Safuan Johari and Māori Choreographer Eddie Elliott. This performance featured original compositions centered on a choral unit comprising singers from diverse musical practices and backgrounds, combined with string and electronic music and New Zealand dance artists. The work explored a post-Anthropocene future, integrating the Māori concept of Te Kore with the Earth's sonic evolution to examine voice as a transformative force.

Visual artist Genevieve Chua presented "Wilful Machine," a performance-installation work that offered a playful examination of artificial intelligence and humanness in a world of data. The piece used the body as an interface to explore movement and technology, representing Singapore's contemporary engagement with digital transformation themes.

"The Prose and the Passion," a collaboration between celebrated Singapore theatre-makers Haresh Sharma and Chong Tze Chien, drew inspiration from the works, letters, and life of E.M. Forster. Set in 1914 when Forster completed his novel Maurice, the production created a theatrical world where reality and fiction intersected, addressing themes of forbidden love and identity in historical context.

The Observatory, Singapore's iconic experimental band, presented "REFUGE," an interdisciplinary live performance project that combined sound, live music performance, moving image, and light. After spending months exploring caves in Malaysia's Lenggong Valley, the band created a metaphysical sojourn into the subterranean world that examined relationships between self and natural environment. The work subverted conventional narratives of darkness as privation, instead embracing descent into obscurity with hope while seeking to unearth concealed wisdom from living organisms, ancient cave art, and underland histories.

International Presentations

SIFA 2024's international program demonstrated sophisticated curatorial judgment in selecting works that resonated with the festival's themes while introducing Singapore audiences to globally significant artistic developments.

The festival's opening presentation, "Moby Dick" by Norwegian director, actress, puppet-maker, and artistic director of Plexus Polaire, Yngvild Aspeli, offered a 90-minute live adaptation of Herman Melville's mythical work. Performed by seven actors with fifty puppets and video projections, the production employed filmic techniques, captivating puppetry, and clever stagecraft to manipulate audience perspective, creating an immersive oceanic experience.

"Sun & Sea" by Lithuanian artists Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė, and Lina Lapelytė made its Southeast Asian debut as a major festival highlight. Originally presented at the 2019 Venice Biennale where it won the Golden Lion, this experiential opera transformed the Esplanade Theatre into an artificial beach using 24 tonnes of sand. Vacationers in colorful bathing suits lounged while breaking into song about seemingly mundane existence, worry, and boredom, yet darkly remarking on Earth's ecological decline. The work created a global symphony addressing planetary-scale climate breakdown through what appeared to be frivolous micro-stories that gradually revealed more serious environmental concerns.

Other notable international presentations included "The Romeo" by Trajal Harrell, which reimagined the iconic Shakespearean character through speculative dance, and "ANGELA (a strange loop)" by Susanne Kennedy and Markus Selg, which blurred boundaries between virtual and real as the protagonist experienced everyday narratives in an endless loop.

Innovation in Audience Engagement

SIFA 2024 introduced several innovative approaches to audience participation and community engagement. The festival featured multiple "Open Calls" allowing audiences to become part of performances, notably for "Sun & Sea" where local performers were cast through auditions to join the beach scene.

"Little SIFA" represented a significant expansion into family programming, featuring works specifically designed for young audiences. "The Dancer's Fair" at Cathay Green invited audiences of all ages to interact with installations that breathed new life into sculptures made from recycled materials. Manual Cinema presented "Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About A Terrible Monster," bringing Mo Willems' books to life through hundreds of illustrated paper puppets, book pages, props, and songs.

The "Tomorrow and tomorrow" program created an extraordinary opportunity for audiences to witness diverse practices of local theatre groups on a single platform, opening vistas for future presentations while showcasing Singapore's fertile ground for contemporary theatre-making.

Digital Innovation and Accessibility

The festival embraced digital innovation through "SIFA Digital" programs, including "Fl(u)orescence" and "URL to IRL: SIFA Digital" by Hong Xinyi, which presented innovative responses to the festival's lineup while bridging gaps between digital exploration and real-life experiences.

Early bird ticketing offered 15% discounts from February 20 to March 31, 2024, making the festival more accessible to diverse audiences. This pricing strategy, combined with family-friendly programming and free outdoor events, demonstrated commitment to broad community engagement.

Critical Reception and Cultural Impact

The festival received positive critical reception for its ambitious programming and successful integration of local and international works. Artists praised the platform provided by SIFA, with Haresh Sharma noting the project's meaningfulness and gratitude for SIFA's investment in local artists on an international scale. Visual artist Genevieve Chua described the invitation to present at SIFA as "a gift" that expanded horizons and offered freedom to experiment with wide-ranging audiences.

International artists also expressed appreciation for the festival's impact. Norwegian director Yngvild Aspeli described it as "a great honour" to present at SIFA 2024, emphasizing how theatre creates connections across cultural differences, language barriers, and vast oceans.

The Lithuanian artists behind "Sun & Sea" found particular resonance in bringing their work to Singapore, noting how different beach cultures created intriguing contrasts with their original conception, while also appreciating the opportunity to collaborate with local performers.

Strategic Significance for Singapore's Cultural Ecosystem

SIFA 2024 demonstrated significant strategic value for Singapore's position in the regional and global cultural ecosystem. The festival's success in attracting high-profile international works while nurturing local talent created a model for cultural diplomacy and artistic exchange that extends beyond ASEAN regional cooperation.

The festival's emphasis on environmental themes through works like "Sun & Sea" and "REFUGE" positioned Singapore as a thoughtful participant in global conversations about climate change and sustainability, topics of particular relevance for island nations and APEC economies.

The integration of technology themes through works like "Wilful Machine" reflected Singapore's smart nation initiatives and demonstrated how cultural programming can engage with national development priorities while maintaining artistic integrity.

Organizational Excellence and Festival Management

Under the leadership of Arts House Limited and Festival Director Natalie Hennedige, SIFA 2024 demonstrated exceptional organizational capabilities in managing a complex international festival. The successful coordination of over 350 artists and crew members from nine countries, along with multiple venue management and community engagement activities, showcased Singapore's capacity for world-class cultural event management.

The festival's ability to achieve 30 sold-out performances while maintaining artistic quality and audience satisfaction demonstrated effective balance between popular appeal and artistic ambition. This success model provides valuable insights for other cultural institutions in the region.

Conclusion and Future Implications

SIFA 2024 established a benchmark for contemporary arts festivals in the Asia-Pacific region through its sophisticated curatorial approach, successful integration of local and international programming, and innovative audience engagement strategies. The festival's exploration of environmental themes, cultural identity, and technological transformation reflected broader concerns facing societies throughout the ASEAN and APEC regions.

Festival Director Natalie Hennedige's extension through 2025 promised continuity in artistic vision while allowing for further development of the "Anatomy of Performance" framework. The festival's success in creating space for coexistence of multiple worldviews through performance offered a model for cultural programming that addresses contemporary social and environmental challenges while maintaining artistic excellence.

For government cultural policy makers, SIFA 2024 demonstrated the value of sustained investment in both local artist development and international cultural exchange. The festival's success in achieving both critical acclaim and popular success provided evidence for the economic and social returns of strategic cultural investment, particularly relevant for creative economy development initiatives across the region.