Staying in touch with our humanity has been my message, whether through making theatre, traditional and contemporary puppetry, or my paintings. I’ve spent a decade on community development-based work in Singapore, and staged several transnational productions with ASEAN. In Audrey’s term as NMP, I volunteered to call for better working conditions and, when the pandemic began, advocated the protection of artists’ livelihoods as well.
I've experienced first-hand how art helps address traumas and anxieties. Our crisis, unfortunately, has been sidelined in Parliament, and we stand to lose that which keeps us Singaporean. So with the support of peers and colleagues, I decided to step up to emphasise how essential the arts are. I would work on strengthening channels between the NAC, MCCY, and our creative communities, canvas our state officers, and work with artscomm to represent our needs and goals.
The Arts NMP nomination process represents our democratic right of way. I therefore hope the best of us enters Parliament for our arts’ sake. My work with Pulau Ubin means I intend to protect our kampung heritage too, among other social efforts. Nevertheless, I will work towards bettering our support schemes, with the hope we shall meet as artists again.