A partnership between the National Arts Council (NAC) and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, with the Keio-NUS CUTE Center as technology consultant, the Performing Arts x Tech Lab was launched in August 2023 and was dedicated to practitioners working in the performing arts or with performance in general. It sought to encourage innovation and experimentation by seeding collaboration between arts and technology—an intersection that remains relatively unexplored within Singapore’s performing arts sector. Following an open call, six project teams were carefully selected, each composing performing arts practitioners, creative technologists, and designers.
The first edition of the Lab, inaugurated in 2021, involved a diverse range of artistic practitioners who were tasked to explore challenge statements posed by the Lab. Building upon this foundation, the second iteration of the Lab embraced a more open-ended framework that resonates with the performing arts practice. Throughout the nine-month-long process, the six project teams were free to explore their ideas and chosen technologies without the constraints of predefined problem statements, thereby allowing the creative process to guide them, catalysing shifts in perspectives to transform artistic creation in the long run.
In addition to supporting participants with seed funding to research and develop their projects, the Performing Arts x Tech Lab facilitated in-person and remote consultation sessions with an international advisory panel. The panel lent invaluable insights and introduced a global perspective to the projects. The Lab also organised various supplementary artist-sharing sessions, workshops and site visits to enrich the participants’ understanding and engagement with the intersection of performing arts and technology.
The culmination of the Performing Arts x Tech Lab was marked by an Industry Sharing held from 5 April to 13 April 2024 at the Esplanade Annexe Studio, showcasing prototypes, demonstrations, and process documentation, including participants’ reflections, trial-and-error processes, and achievements. This industry sharing also provided a platform for projects to be showcased and a launchpad to ultimately see them adopted. Open to the public, it was also a chance for dialogue and networking with potential collaborators and adopters.
Whether through experimenting with new tools and methodologies for performance-making or presenting alternative modes of expression, the six projects presented as part of the Performing Arts x Tech Lab offered a glimpse into a future of new audience experiences and possibilities in the performing arts landscape. …...more
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