GO WEST WHERE THE ACTION IS

- by Zachery Rajendran

Be excited, be very excited.
The two-month NUS Arts Festival, combining professional and undergraduate talents starts February! Part of NUS Centennial celebrations, it will showcase activities over weekends, Fridays to Sundays. You can spend your leisure on campus with more dash than cash. For example, you can enjoy an afternoon workshop on Italian culture and language, followed by live music performance and a foreign film screening – mostly free-of-charge.

CORRINNE MAY: NUS alumnus kicks off Festival.

The Festival’s eight artistic platforms, with more than 100 performances and workshops on music, drama, dance, film and visual arts, include over a dozen ticketed shows. Los Angeles-based NUS alumnus singer-songwriter Corrinne May kicks off the Festival and there’s Swing dance group Harlem Hot Shots from Sweden; Russian piano virtuoso Konstantin Scherbakov and Indian classical music giant L Subramaniam to boot.

Also in the line-up are fringe activities such as screenplay-writing clinics, rock band gigs, free-admission foreign film screenings and hip hop dances. Treat yourself to Korean zither music, ethnic Balinese tunes, percussion beats – and head-banging rock! For more, visit www.nus.edu.sg/cfa.

NUS Centre For the Arts hopes to draw visitors to the western part of Singapore. This is now the happening place – the upcoming lifestyle, arts and sciences hub – with the development of Rochester Park and the nearby biomedical science hub Biopolis, the expansion of Holland Village and NUS’ commitment to create a vibrant University Town at the former Warren golf course. NUS Arts Fest is a big step towards getting there.

OVATION FOR BABA HOUSE MUSEUM

-by Michele Thompson and Karen Lim

Baba House Museum received extremely positive response when it participated at The Peranakan Festival – Raising the Phoenix at the Millenia Walk (18-26 Nov 2005). Many commented that it was time for a dedicated facility in Singapore to document and create awareness of the Peranakan culture.

Helping to draw public interest were arresting publicity materials – in the form of a video of the Neil Road shophouse now being preserved as a centre for Peranakan heritage by the Museum, NUS Centre For the Arts (CFA) – as well as postcards with the iconic image of Malaccan Nonya, a sculpture from the Museum’s collection by artist Aw Eng Kwang.

BABA HOUSE MUSEUM: Applauded at the Peranakan Festival.

At the Festival, CFA staff members explained how the shophouse would be conserved and transformed into a museum. Also on display were architectural models and drawings by NUS Architecture students, showcasing possible extensions to the shophouse. At another highlight, Forum: Heritage Initiatives Now! Ms Christine Khor, Director, CFA, discussed initiatives taken to preserve and enliven the Peranakan heritage.

Come September 2006, walk back in time with CFA to the era of babas and bibiks. Experience authentic Peranakan culture in perhaps the last remaining Peranakan house in Singapore. Exhibitions and events held at the Baba House Museum will showcase fascinating aspects of Peranakan heritage that are best captured in its eclectic mix of artifacts, signature decorative ornaments, Peranakan cuisine, social customs and lifestyle in a living context. Listen to Peranakan stories and songs while enjoying ayam buah keluak, kueh kueh and rojak. View artefacts such as the beautifully restored wedding bed and ancestral altar table.

Stay tuned to the Tan Cheng Lock Baba House Museum at 157 Neil Road!