SIFA is back —  and ready to run with new vigor in 2022. 

SIFA 2022-2024 will focus on the question of what ‘performance’ can manifest into in both physical and virtual spaces. To reflect the dynamic and multi-dimensional nature of art in contemporary society, The Anatomy of Performance will be accompanied by a changing subtitle every year. SIFA 2022 is titled The Anatomy of Performance - Ritual. 

The festival will be held from 20 May to 5 June next year, the first of a three-year arc under new Festival Director Natalie Hennedige. 

Photo by Tuckys Photography, Courtesy of Arts House Limited 

Recipient of the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award (2007) and the JCCI Singapore Foundation Culture Ward (2010), Hennedige is also the Artistic Director of Cake — a contemporary performance company focused on foregrounding progression and integration in their works.

As the new Festival Director, Hennedige intends to hone in on the increasingly hybrid spaces — between virtual and real, online and offline —  in today’s world, encapsulated in the title: The Anatomy of Performance. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Organized on the basis of three key tracks, SIFA 2022 aims to appeal to multiple audience demographics locally, and internationally.

The first track ‘Creation’, is characterized by local talent spearheading the festival, aimed to showcase the Singapore character through an embodied experience. Utilizing various physical locations to showcase local commissions, audiences will be treated to an interesting experience where local spaces are transformed by the exhibitions and performances. The track aims to highlight the vitality and value of local spaces.

The second track ‘Life Profusion’ draws attention to the feasibility of artmaking in the virtual landscape. Partnering with System Sovereign — a new virtual space, SIFA will be elevated in 2022 beyond physical reality to encompass the virtual world.

Lastly, ‘SIFA X’ is a testament to the festival’s aim to encourage indulgence in more innovative, unconventional, and ‘out-of-the-box’ art direction for the local art scene. 

With a new direction enlarging and changing the image, there’s no saying what is to expect for SIFA 2022, which is what makes it all the more exciting. 

Keep an eye on the SIFA page for more updates.