How would a culture look like infused into our modern forms of art? Here’s the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s take on it!
The RE•MIX Festival is a youth festival organised by the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre. With the aim to offer a variety of activities to experience Chinese Singaporean culture, this year’s festival allows you to do so through the different areas of Art, Bazaar, Dance, Music, and Play to get your cultural vibe checked for free! Happening across two weekends from 18th to 27th November, here are some ways to test your knowledge of Singapore’s Chinese culture.
Art
Through four different exhibitions, we witness how artists incorporated culture into their art. God of Games! Showcases how five local artists work alongside urban artist ANTZ to turn five elements into distinctive masterpieces inspired by the artists’ experiences and visions. The elements — wood, fire, earth, metal and water — are believed to be the foundations of the universe. The works combine components of street art and games played in Singapore.
Courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
Flavours on Call features the culture of catering cooks. The exhibition teaches about hiring banquet caterers that have shaped Chinese Singaporean culture and how it has evolved to display Singapore’s spirit of diversity and generosity!
Samfoo: Reimagined in Modern Singapore witnesses how artists of the current generation would reimagine the ‘Samfoo’ to make it wearable in today’s fashion era. The physical installation will display commissioned crochet pieces by Hayley Sim from Softly Made Cottage, accompanied by photographs taken by Hazel Sim presented on a monitor screen or printed on canvas. Each piece has its own story portraying modern living in Singapore, which reflects in the choice of yarn blend, colour, silhouette and feminine form.
Finally, the popular urban art exhibition Mythology RElooked Online Video (RE•MIX Edition) returns virtually this year. Chinese mythological characters come to life with a contemporary twist by our local artists in unique and exciting ways!
Bazaar
Courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
The RE•MIX: When East Meets West market and fair provides the experience of the east and west cultures colliding and permeating into our ways of life. Exciting and interactive installations will be available for you to take insta-worthy photos! From 25 to 27 November, there will also be a pop-up fair with food, handmade products and fun activities. Workshops such as Art Jamming and Terrarium making will also be held, and there will be live performances by The Cold Cut Duo, Eason Music Chinese Ensemble and Stanley X Deborah too!
Dance
Courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
RE•MIX: The Dance is a dance competition taking place on the 26 and 27 November. There are two components to the competition — Live and Online with two categories each.
The live component begins with an Open Styles 2 v 2 Dance Battle. The battle will start with the preliminary rounds — teams will be given a number and called out in sequence with a 1-minute audition for judges to score. Next, the Top 16 will proceed to the knockout rounds, encompassing gaming elements. Lastly, from the Top 16 to Finals, the final rounds will require teams to dance concerning 1 of 4 categories randomly selected — threading, isolations, groundwork or routine. For the semi-finals and final battles, a Chinese-themed song will be played for the first round of each battle.
Moving on, we also have a Group Showcase Dance Competition. In a group of 5 to 20, dancers showcase a 3 to 7 minutes piece that can be of any genre, including fusion. Similar to the online categories, at least 30% of the music used must also be Chinese songs or Chinese instrumental music. The showcase will be judged by Fiona, Alif, Fredy and Amin.
The online competitions include the One-Take Group and the One-Take Relay Dance Categories. The former requires a team of 2 to 8 dancers performing a 1.5- to 2.5-minute piece filmed in one take, which Kamil, Gin and XT will judge.
Meanwhile, the latter requires a team of 3 to 9 dancers performing a 2 to 4 minutes dance cover filmed in one static take. Alfred, Brenda and Ah Lee judge this category. What’s interesting about this competition is that at least 30% of the music used must be Chinese songs or Chinese instrumental music, keeping to the theme of incorporating culture into dance!
More information is available here about the competition and registration requirements.
Music
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Beginning with lowKEY nua, five Year 3 Chinese Media & Communication students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic produced the exhibition, which spotlights the concept of chill music. They aim to engage more appreciation towards this niche music genre. In addition, there will be an insight into the life of an aspiring singer-songwriter, with mini-concert recordings by singers such as Marcus Lee, Jason Yu, Jarvis and Yong Kang!
Courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
We also have the TGIF Music Station featuring talented homegrown artists such as Romeo Tan, Ayden Sng, Arya Yunata, Xxmxrcs, Yanni Ruth and Jeff Ng. Themed ‘Forever Young’, their live performance will take place at SCCC, with a live stream through SCCC’s TikTok and Facebook pages.
Courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
The last music-based event is 齐: A Night of Electro-Fusion Dance Music to provide electronic dance music with a twist in an hour-long performance featuring artiste — Likie Low. The iconic melodies of Chinese orchestral pieces with the sounds of brass and Chinese instruments will be incorporated into elements of electronic dance music, so you’re in for a treat. Get your tickets now!
Play
Courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
Odyssey to the West follows the journey of Sun Wukong and his peers in conquering the highs and lows of their journey with help from Taishang Laojun. The game lets you play the roles of Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing! The journey is full of danger and insurmountable calamities. So challenge yourself in this intriguing maze and look for the special tools they need to overcome the calamities!
Courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
Not to forget, most of these events provide collectable pins that come in adorable and unique designs! So make sure to attend and participate in the various RE•MIX 2022 programs at SCCC to collect the whole set — while stocks last.
Courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
To top off this jam-packed festival, RE•MIX is having a giveaway contest for a special edition Mahjong Set! This would be a timely token, with Chinese New Year right around the corner. All you have to do is complete any four activities with your friends at RE•MIX and take a photo of you together at each activity. Share your photos, and your thoughts on your culture vibe check at RE•MIX as an IG story. Tag @singaporechineseculturalcentre, hashtag #REMIX2K22, and remember to have your account public to enter!
Here’s what went down last year, so you know what you’ll be getting into!
Are you ready for the cultural reset?
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