Residency Journey

 For the summer break, students have to partake in a residency program. We have the option to self-propose, where we will seek out our own residency program related to our research topic, or we could attend open calls residency program or choose a partner to work closely with. Lasalle has an amazing list of partners, however, my topic is quite specific on the Peranakan crafts and I have a list of associations that I want to work with. And of course, the self-proposed residency is much preferred over the open calls.

However, we are facing a big step-back right now with Singapore tightening up its restriction for the first time in a year. Everyone is struggling to cope and a lot of businesses slow down in response. And I'm working with cultural organizations that are not considered essential businesses, so the response got even slower as they are not performing at 100% capacity. I had to come up with a lot of plan Bs in case things don't work out.  

This is a list of organizations that I'm planning to carry my residency with and spend my 200 required hours:

1. Changemaker Forum held by Ashoka Singapore and Lien Center for Social Innovation

It is a 2-days workshop that deals with social innovation, I found it very interesting so I can see culture through the lenses of humans too. The problems of future will be solved by those who are able to hone their humanness by cultivating their 21st Century skills. Through a combination of crash courses, inspiring panels, and workshops, The Changemaker Forum will prepare today’s youth for the challenges of tomorrow by providing them with opportunities to access collective intelligence, lead with humanity, and engage in rigorous, creative problem-solving. 

2. Shared Campus Summer School - "Arts and Crafts Matter in a Digital Society"

Lasalle is part of seven art institutions that form part of the Shared Campus partnership, we are eligible to participate in any of the cross-disciplinary summer schools.

"The summer schools provide exciting opportunities for students to collaborate digitally with participants from other cultures and disciplines. in times like these when international borders have been forced to close, international exchange and cross-cultural cooperation are more important than ever to facilitate creative thinking and actions."

I am particularly interested in this because one the topics that are offered is "Arts and Crafts Matters in a Digital Society!" held Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), Switzerland. This topic is spot-on for me as it revolves around culture around materials and production methods. "Around this, social and political systems are being transformed by digitalization and globalization. Booming digital technologies are disrupting design and production, as well as heavily impacting the affected societies". How can material-based techniques and styles be renewed and digitally translated? How to establish the notion of a global digital crafts movement? Those are some of the questions they wish to answer from this program and they are aligned with my research objectives. I have signed up for this Summer School and hoping to hear back from them by early June.

3. National Heritage Board, Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth, and the Peranakan Associaton of Singapore

These are the top 3 cultural associations that I have contacted, but have yet to hear back from. All of these associations are directly related to my research topic. These are the centers of culture in Singapore because I realized in Singapore the culture comes from top-down, which makes everything feel so structured. The good side is, if I get into one of these associations, I would know how Peranakan culture or even culture in general works in Singapore.

4. Shadowing craftsmen at work

This is the alternative that I think of doing if nothing else works out. I'm thinking to choose one Peranakan craftsman and I would follow them on their daily business and craft making. To see the life of a craftsman is in Singapore and of course to learn about the craft. I have gathered a list of Peranakan craftsmen in Singapore and will be in contact with them if nothing else work out.  

5. UAL: Design Transform

As the last option, we have Design Transform. It's sort of like a summer school hosted by Central Saint Martins, where they will be talking about design challenges that we face today. Also talking about globalization, people's access to technological innovation, and we as designers should come up with different ways to facilitate ‘difference’ to enable an empathic experience in a live situation through a designed, object-mediated interaction bringing together two or more individuals or communities. As the current situation is making things difficult, this is a great opportunity for us.