TAG Online

In A New light

In a New Light is an international digital performance project, a collaboration between artists and children in Scotland, Bangladesh and Singapore to provide greater access to the arts. Young people from each country worked together with a team of artists to explore the collective voice of children and young people in relation to the current ecological crisis. Young people from St Ninian’s R.C. Primary School (Edinburgh, Scotland), Beyond Social Services (Singapore) and Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts (Balia, Bangladesh) will take part.

Three experienced artists – Gudrun Soley Sigurdardottir (Scotland), Kamruzzaman Shadhin (Bangladesh), and Renee Chua (Singapore) have delivered and documented the project whilst also responding to the young people’s ideas and the process itself.

Youths sharing with Renee their thoughts on climate change

Meeting youths from Bangladesh and Scotland online for the first time

Warm up games to kick start the sessions are always a highlight for the youth

Experimenting with movement for the piece

This cross-cultural collaboration culminates in a short performance film; capturing original movement, text, song and reflections from the young people and artists working collaboratively across the three countries. Having premiered at the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2021, this film captures the creative process which was both reflective and responsive, allowing for collective and individual responses to the themes of the project. The young people’s thoughts, ideas and experiences are at the core of this project and their performance will center around their emotional connection to the ecological crisis rather than a didactic presentation.

Watch the In A New Light film here:

(insert video link)

This film was made by Gudrun Soley Sigurdardottir (Lead Artist – Scotland and Film Director), Renee Chua (Lead Artist – Singapore) and Kamruzzaman Shadhin (Bangladesh), with filming by Conor Reilly (Scotland), Wan Man and Ler Jiyuan (Singapore) and Salma Jamal Moushum (Bangladesh). The film was edited by Conor Reilly (Scotland) and Sound Design is by Gudrun Soley Sigurdardottir (Scotland). The text is written by children in all three countries.

In A New Light is a partnership between The Artground (Singapore), Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts (Bangladesh) and Imaginate (Scotland). The project has been developed as part of the Singapore International Foundation’s Arts for Good Projects

In Singapore, the project is led by local theatre artist Renee Chua and The Artground in partnership with Beyond Social Services..

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Renee Chua Renee Chua is a theatre maker and an applied theatre practitioner based in Singapore. As a theatre maker, she is passionate about theatre with social consciousness. Some of her works investigate topics such as women’s issues, racism, bullying, inequality and environmental issues.She is inspired by devising processes and collaborating with fellow actors and artists to co-create theatrical works that are multidisciplinary. As an actress, she has worked with various Singaporean theatre companies and her notable works include Magic Lantern (Paper Monkey, won ST Life! Award for Best Production for Young), 11 (Theatre Practice, nominated for Best Ensemble), Home Boxes (Paper Monkey, nominated for Best Ensemble). Renee’s directorial works include a devised piece Wonderland (Double bill, M1 Peer Pleasure), The Puppet King (NAFA, Toy Factory), The House of Bernarda Alba (NAFA). Renee has founded Her Playback Theatre in 2018, a company made up of only women to serve women’s stories. She is also with Tapestry Playback Theatre since 2006, working with various communities to promote dialogue and social change. Renee is a graduate from Centre of Playback Theatre (Dip) and National University of Singapore (BA).

Everyday with Brocolily is a digital series that embodies storytelling, imaginative play, music, animation and puppetry about the things around us. For the project, we had the privilege of collaborating with Cheryl Kjm and Zeeaura of Brocolily to produce 2 videos, with original music pieces [that we hope children and everyone of all ages can sing and dance along to]. Songs from both videos are also available on Spotify and [Apple] music, album entitled Everyday with Brocolily

This project is supported by the National Arts Council’s Digital Presentation Grant and part of #SGcultureanywhere.

(Insert Video Link)

Super Hero Tissue is an animated video with a catchy theme song that follows the adventures of a helpful pack of tissue. Super Hero Tissue helps keep a runny nose dry, wipes away tears and blood, keeps sweat away from your eyes and does many more things. However, the act of offering a packet of tissue to help each other is something everyone has the means to do, not just a super hero. “We hope that this song empowers and encourages children from birth to 120 years to be helpful and kind in doing little great things.” – Brocolily.

Film Credits:

Creative Concept – Brocolily

Producers – The Artground

Character Design – Seraphina Tan

Animation – Christiantio Giovanni Sanjaya

Music Composition and Lyrics – Zeeaura and Cheryl Kjm

Music Arrangement – Zeeaura and Clement Yang

Vocalists – Rizman Putra, Zeeaura, Cheryl Kjm

Production meeting held over zoom between TAG, Brocolily, Animation Designers

Brocolily’s initial storyboard concept. Photo by: Brocolily

(Insert video link)

Super Hero Tissue is an animated video with a catchy theme song that follows the adventures of a helpful pack of tissue. Super Hero Tissue helps keep a runny nose dry, wipes away tears and blood, keeps sweat away from your eyes and does many more things. However, the act of offering a packet of tissue to help each other is something everyone has the means to do, not just a super hero. “We hope that this song empowers and encourages children from birth to 120 years to be helpful and kind in doing little great things.” – Brocolily.

Focus Group Discussion where children determined the look and character design of the water bottles featured.

Film Credits:

Creative Concept – Brocolily

Producers – The Artground

Director and Videographer – Julian Reyes

Editing and Animation – Nicolai Marckie David

Actors – Hanis Azrina Shotton, Luth Reo Shotton, Luna Rose Shotton, Zeeaura

Voiced By:

Ben – Rizman Putra

Rosa – Zeeaura

Kimmy – Cheryl Kjm

Music Credits:

“ I Dream”

Music Composition – Zeeaura

Lyrics – Zeeaura and Cheryl Kjm of Brocolily

Music Arrangement – Zeeaura and Vick Low

Music Mix and Mastering – Clement Yang

Vocalist – Rizman Putra

“Swing, Flip, Roll!”

Music Composition and Lyrics – Zeeaura

Music Arrangement – Zeeaura and Vick Low

Music Mix and Mastering – Clement Yang

Vocalist – Cheryl Kjm

Formed in 2019 is made up of theatre makers, Cheryl Kjm & Zeeaura. “Brocolily” the name, is a fun combination of the nutritious veggie and the Lily flower; with a hidden meaning that represents their belief to create memorable works for the young that are both visually enticing and enriching. They embrace the quirks of everyone’s imagination and aim to create a safe and fun environment for learning and parent-child bonding.

#HomewithTAG

TAG’s closed and we miss the children. If you’re on the lookout for activities to do at home with the kids, we have some creative and fun ideas for you. This contribution of ideas is from our wonderful artist friends. If you complete any of these activities, do share a photo or video with us so that we can continue to share them with other families and artists in our effort to “Let art do, what art does”

Donations are welcome so that we can continue to support our community of local artists.

TAG US @THEARTGROUND AND #HOMEWITHTAG

#17. Hey, How are You! – Let’s Write a Letter

by Jeremy Leong

Sometimes when the Astronauts of Z3 Space Station are on a mission to explore planets, they may be away from their family and friends for a long time. During these times, our Astronauts may feel sad, lonely, bored, maybe even angry. Even after going on countless missions, It doesn’t get any easier and we still miss our loved ones. In times like these, we’ll write a letter to those we miss, or even send them a video message.“Hey, How are You!” we’ll ask our loved ones; and if you want to write to your family or friend and send them a letter, you can download the printable letter down below, together with the Parents/Educators Guide, to start! This activity is created by Jeremy Leong, co-founder of Zip Zap Zoom Collective, who is developing Blast Off!, a space-themed roving theatre experience.

About Jeremy

Jeremy Leong is the Co-Founder of Zip Zap Zoom Collective together with Claris Tan and Elizabeth Loh. The collective is dedicated to creating arts experience for young audiences, and believes that every child is inherently creative and possess a unique voice. Zip Zap Zoom Collective is currently undergoing The Artground’s GroundBreakers Artist Incubation programme (2020) and is developing Blast Off!, a roving site-specific theatre experience that puts children’s voices at the forefront. Jeremy is also a freelance actor, drama educator, and an Associate Young Storyteller with The Storytelling Centre Limited. He is passionate about his work with young children and sees the arts as an opportunity for children to develop a strong sense of individuality.

INSTAGRAM: ZIPZAPZOOM.COLLECTIVE

#16. Object Puppetry at Home!

by Bright Ong

Object Puppetry is a really fun way to experiment with the art of puppetry without having to have a puppet with you. All you need are objects that are in and about your house. It’s a great way to use your imagination and learn some puppetry skills at the same time! Come join Bright in the #HomeWithTAG series, and have a good laugh with some Object Puppetry!

Music: « BoogieBounce » by Drew Banga

About Bright

Bright Ong is a multidisciplinary performance-maker and has developed diverse specialisations in theatre and puppetry. In his capacities as a director, actor and puppeteer, he also greatly believes in the power of theatre for young audiences (TYA), and has worked on numerous TYA productions both locally and internationally. He is an Associate Director with Five Stones Theatre (UK, Singapore), Associate Artist with Mascots and Puppets Specialists (Singapore), and is a participant member of the Closed Community of Artists under The Paperboats Collective (Australia) as well as a member of the UP Collective (Singapore). He is also developing The Sultan’s Palace as part of The Artground’s Groundbreakers (2020) Artist Incubation Programme..

INSTAGRAM: BRIGHT.ONG

#15. Make a Pull Tab UFO

By art@homesg

Fifi visits Earth again after 200 years! She remembers the kind humans the last time she visited, but due to the virus, there were no one in sight. Instead, she picked up a… worm? Watch the video for tips on how make your own pull tab UFO with simple materials you have at home. What will your alien pick up?

Music: « Paper Ships » from Freckleland

About art@homesg

“art@homesg is made up of a merry group of magical creatures disguised as art teachers. And they can’t wait to share their magic and love for art with you!”

Art plays a more important part in every child’s development than most people are aware of. Did you know that doodling actually increases attention span? At art@homesg, they use art as a medium to cultivate creativity and bring the joy of art making to the comfort of your home. They don’t believe in the impossible. They believe in stepping out of comfort zones and pushing limits. They also believe that clouds can be the colours of the rainbow and unicorns exist. Who says a cow must be black and white, and fishes can only swim in water? In the world of art, there are endless possibilities. Art, brings the world of impossible, alive.

FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM: Artathomesg

#14. Make a Cardboard Peekaboo Box

by Stan

Make a Cardboard Peekaboo box out of recycled carton boxes for lots of open-ended play for your babies! Choose materials and objects that are safe and will stimulate their senses. A peekaboo element also helps develop hand-eye coordination. This Peekaboo box doubled up as a mini ball drop and a walker! Show us your creations so that others moms can get inspired too! The Cardboard Peekaboo Box was inspired by Stan’s work – “Cardboard City”.

A cardboard installation for pre-walking babies to explore and extend their spatial awareness, “Cardboard City” was developed as part of Stan’s artist residency at The Artground.

Music: « Yona » by Stan

About Stan

Stan is a musician, educator and a TYA artist with a passion for creating lo-fi experiences for little people, borne out of simple ideas. Mummy to Yona, a budding little bookworm, she believes that anything can be taught to young minds with the right tools. She is also the Artist-In-Residence at The Artground.

Facebook: tintyfeatsg

Instagram: eradiva

#13. The Rolling Basket

By Rolypoly Family

“The Rolling Basket” is a dance movement that you can do at home, and even on your mattress/bed. You can do it alone, or with a partner in your lap. You can also do it while trying to add cushions and stuffed toys and other things to your “basket”!

Not only is rolling fun, it helps children’s nervous systems to mature and organize — for children, rolling provides crucial sensory input and helps to develop motor skills. After trying the Rolypoly way, do share other ways of rolling with us on IG stories by tagging #homewithTAG @theartground @rolypolyfamilysg

Music: « Acoustic Folk » from Bensound.com

About Rolypoly Family

Rolypoly Family dance projects and programmes support the artistic, creative and social emotional learning of young children and their families. They are a team of dance artists brought together by their intuitive and sensitive movement practices and their dedication to the creative genius of children. Their name is a statement of their beliefs – that families come in all shapes and sizes, that kinship can grow through creative and physical play, and that rhyming is as fun in language as in dance. Rolypoly Family is a division of Derring-Do Dance.

Facebook: rolypolyfamily

Instagram: rolypolyfamilysg

#12. My Puppet, My Choice: Yarn-Ster

by C!puppets

Look around you. There are many everyday objects that you can use to make your own puppets. With a little imagination and creativity, puppet play at home becomes accessible and enjoyable for all. The best part is… YOU get to decide what puppets C!puppets make! With your choices and input, C!puppets create the puppet and story especially for you. In this edition, find out more about the Yarn Monster puppet.

Music: « Buddy » from Bensound.com

About C!puppets

C!puppets is made up of three individuals (Auderia Tan, Isabelle Low, and Shirley Sim) who believe that anything can be a puppet. Yes! Anything! They would like to empower their creative little friends to discover the potential of objects that are ‘useless’ and experience the joy of transforming household ‘waste’ into puppets!

#11. Make a Sensory Board

By TAG Team

Create your own sensory board with items found around the house. Excellent for sensory and fine motor development, a sensory board will keep the little ones busy with options to pull, feel, press, tug, poke, squeeze, and open, all in one place. Remember to use items that are safe and age appropriate. Home’s the limit! Here’s what TAG team made (some time ago), and had lots of fun in the process.

Music: « Funnysong » from Bensound.com

#10. The sun is a natural dehydrator

By Cultivate Central

Do you know how fruits were kept edible for long periods of time before refrigerators and dehydrators came into existence? There are a few different techniques used to preserve fruits, and one of these is to sun-dry the fruits!

Try this at home

Make your own dried herbs, flowers or peels for cooking and making tea, or spruce up your home with dried flower art!

Cultivate Central is a social enterprise on a quest to bring about a cultural shift in our food system by making growing food, working with soil, composting with worms and reducing food miles in the city. We are educators. We are urban farmers. We are facilitators of change. We build the journey from Soil to Soil, and we urge you to join us on this journey. Whether you are an educator, a community organiser, a passionate business owner or a corporate leader, we can help you bring about a positive change, and create beautiful and bountiful food gardens while also managing food waste and engaging your community on wellness and earth care.

Based on their performance Outside, Brocolily brings us a charming music video that you can sing along to, as they take us around their backyards. From North, South, East to West, let us know which you like the best! Outside was first performed at part of The Artground’s GroundBreakers artist incubation programme.

Brocolily, formed in 2019 is made up of theatre makers, Cheryl Kjm & Zeeaura! Cheryl has been actively involved with Theatre for Young Audience for 7 years now. Currently, she’s exploring a different form of storytelling and involving herself in video production a little more. Since 2019, Zee, a musician by profession has branched out become a theatre maker herself and finds it exciting to be able to marry the two. “Brocolily” the name, is a fun combination of the nutritious veggie and the Lily flower; with a hidden meaning that represents their belief to create memorable works for the young that are both visually enticing and enriching. They embrace the quirks of everyone’s imagination and aim to create a safe and fun environment for learning and parent-child bonding.

Instagram: teambrocolily

Look around you. There are many everyday objects that you can use to make your own puppets. With a little imagination and creativity, puppet play at home becomes accessible and enjoyable for all. The best part is… YOU get to decide what puppets C!puppets make! With your choices and input, C!puppets create the puppet and story especially for you. In this edition, find out more about the Plastic T-Rex puppet.

C!puppets is made up of three individuals (Auderia Tan, Isabelle Low, and Shirley Sim) who believe that anything can be a puppet. Yes! Anything! They would like to empower their creative little friends to discover the potential of objects that are ‘useless’ and experience the joy of transforming household ‘waste’ into puppets!

Music: « Cute » from Bensound.com

Dance Playground is where Rolypoly Family explore dance and movement through unusual play structures. This Playground accompanies their dance theatre performance “The Basket”, which in turn was inspired by “The Incredible Basket”, written by local writer Quek Hong Shin. In this activity, test your balancing skills and explore dance and movement with baskets.

Rolypoly Family dance projects and programmes support the artistic, creative and social emotional learning of young children and their families. They are a team of dance artists brought together by their intuitive and sensitive movement practices and their dedication to the creative genius of children. Their name is a statement of their beliefs – that families come in all shapes and sizes, that kinship can grow through creative and physical play, and that rhyming is as fun in language as in dance. Rolypoly Family is a division of Derring-Do Dance

Facebook: rolyp[olyfamily

Instagram: rolypolyfamilysg

If you’re missing The Curious Sky – Galaxy Edition as much we are, here’s an idea for you – Make a Food Art Platter that’s Outer Space themed! Using what you have in your fridge, create your own Galaxy that’s out of this world, and is healthy too. Here’s what TAG team made, and no, we were not playing with our food. 😝

Music: « Buddy » from Bensound.com

Look around you. There are many everyday objects that you can use to make your own puppets. With a little imagination and creativity, puppet play at home becomes accessible and enjoyable for all. The best part is… YOU get to decide what puppets C!puppets make! With your choices and input, C!puppets create the puppet and story specially for you. In this edition, find out more about the Sock Seahorse puppet.

C!puppets is made up of three individuals (Auderia Tan, Isabelle Low, and Shirley Sim) who believe that anything can be a puppet. Yes! Anything! They would like to empower their creative little friends to discover the potential of objects that are ‘useless’ and experience the joy of transforming household ‘waste’ into puppets!

Music: « Cute » from Bensound.com

Kamini Ramachandran, Founder of TSCL

Tired of colouring? Turn your pencils into a forest of trees! Have some old ribbons? Transform them into rivers and rainbows! Are you running out of things to do at home with your little ones? Here are some tips for a simple storytelling session using objects lying around the house.

Kamini Ramachandran is a master storyteller with extensive experience in the art of storytelling. She founded The Storytelling Centre Ltd (TSCL) to advance the art of storytelling through the Young Storytellers Mentorship Programme. She has developed and designed specific storytelling experiences targeted at little listeners between the ages of 3 – 7 years, such as ‘Terrific Tales’ at The Artground. Kamini is the director of Moonshadow Stories and creative producer of StoryFest Singapore. A respected teaching artist, she is a highly sought after storytelling trainer and facilitator.

Facebook & Instagram: storytellingSG

Instagram: kaministoryteller

A game that improves communication bonds and fires the imagination. All you need to do is respond to body language and have a few pieces of paper. Suitable for children 3 years and above.

The Kueh Tutus are a collaborative team of creatives (dancers, a composer, a dramaturg) who dove into exploring dances and dance-based experiences for the young and very young. They have spent hours teaching, playing with or being children. Now they also feed a desire for discovery and unlock the imagination through works that are developed with children as an integral part of the creative process. Egged on by choreographer Melissa Quek, they combined their super-powers of productive curiosity in 2017 when our playful engagement with music and movement captured the hearts of parents and children alike.

Facebook & Instagram: thekuehtutus

One of artathomesg’s signature lessons of encouraging children to use their imagination and giving them the free reign to create monster friends with just a few simple materials. What kind of monsters can you create from dropping a bunch of googly eyes on paper?

art@homesg is made up of a merry group of magical creatures disguised as art teachers. And they can’t wait to share their magic and love for art with you! Art plays a more important part in every child’s development than most people are aware of. Did you know that doodling actually increases attention span? At art@homesg, they use art as a medium to cultivate creativity and bring the joy of art making to the comfort of your home. They don’t believe in the impossible. They believe in stepping out of comfort zones and pushing limits. They also believe that clouds can be the colours of the rainbow and unicorns exist. Who says a cow must be black and white, and fishes can only swim in water? In the world of art, there are endless possibilities. Art, brings the world of impossible, alive.

Facebook & Instagram: arthomesg

An audio book on a story about Little Ganesha and Little Karthikeya from Indian Mythology. Children at home can learn the various mudras (otherwise known as hand gestures) commonly seen in Indian dance in this dance-telling activity led by Soumee De and Mei Fei Soo. Colouring Sheets are available to download as well.

Ethos was founded by two passionate Odissi dancers, Soumee De and Manishikha Baul early in 2014 at Singapore to inspire, propagate, develop and influence the spread of Odissi and related arts & music disciplines across geographies, cultures and generations. Ethos, under Soumee’s leadership today continues to work with a larger group of local artistes and schools in Singapore to teach at workshops, perform, co-create new works to fulfil the vision set by the co founders. Ethos is a community and it welcomes all artistes, non-artists, writers, bloggers, arts, music, dance professionals and amateurs, photographers and interrelated discipline students to get connected with your exciting thoughts and ideas. Soumee teaches Odissi to children and adults on weekends at Goodman Arts Centre.

Facebook & Instagram: ethosodissi

Interactive Storytelling Session through Oddisi and Puppetry

The Artground produced this Interactive Storytelling session through Odissi and Puppetry in collaboration with Soumee De, presented by Indian Heritage Centre. In conjunction with the Indian Heritage Centre’s CultureFest 2020, this first digital edition celebrates the diversity of Indian arts, culture and heritage in Singapore through the epic literary work Ramayana.

Soumee De conducted two dance-telling sessions via Zoom. She told the story of how Prince Rama tries to save Princess Sita, after she was captured by the demon king Ravana, with the help of some friends by building a stone bridge. With Soumee incorporated some dance creative movement in the sessions for the children to engage in, as well as included an craft activity to decorate and create puppets of the various characters as part of this [blended approach of a digital and physical experience. For the registered participants, The Artground also posted physical craft kits to kids that attended the session.

For the registered participants, The Artground also posted physical craft kits to kids that attended the session.

Soumee is a dancer, teacher, mother and a management consultant. She is also the founder of a dance collective of Indian Classical dance called, ETHOS: Exploring the Odissi Spirit with the vision of creating awareness and appreciation of traditional dance

Sing, Play and Move with Wigglepods!

The Artground together with Wigglepods have partnered up with Singapore Book Council to produce a music movement programme for the first ever online KidLit event. Ready for KidLit is a platform for local writers, illustrators and more come to together to present fun activities by the Singapore Book Council.

The Artground and Wigglepods presented a fun music and movement programme inspired by the book titled Benji, Yumi, Origami! by Emily Lim-Leh and Kazumi Wilds.

You can check out the full session on Singapore Book Council Facebook page

x

Lavina has been an Early Childhood Educator for the past 30 years, as a classroom teacher, teacher trainer, professional staff development instructor, consultant, curriculum specialist, conference speaker and a University professor. She is the Managing Director of Wigglepods Pte Ltd, a creative music movement company that specialises in the arts for children 0-12 years.