Imaginate to work with Singapore and Bangladesh on school project

Imaginate has launched its latest schools project, In A New Light, a collaboration between artists and children who face barriers accessing the arts in Scotland, Bangladesh and Singapore.

Article Source: Imaginate
Last Updated: 5 October 2020 14:57

Imaginate has just launched its latest schools project, In A New Light, a collaboration between artists and children who face barriers accessing the arts in Scotland, Bangladesh and Singapore.

Young people from each country will work together with three experienced artists (Gudrun Soley Sigurdardottir in Scotland, Kamruzzaman Shadhin in Bangladesh, and Renee Chua in Singapore) to explore the collective voice of children and young people in relation to the current ecological crisis.

In A New Light will connect children and artists across borders, celebrating diverse stories, cultures and experiences through contemporary performance. The groups (including a group of children from St Ninian’s Primary in Edinburgh) will meet online between now and December 2020 and will participate in a range of arts activities encouraging creativity, reflection and collaboration. The project will culminate in the creation of a performance using original text, movement and song, with young people and artists working collaboratively across the 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 (SIF)’s Arts for Good Projects 2020, following the participation of Imaginate’s Creative Development Director Fiona Ferguson in the SIF’s Arts for Good Fellowship. This is an annual programme which brings together individuals from diverse sectors all over the world – including artists, arts administrators and social sector professionals – to harness the power of the arts to enhance cross-cultural understanding and create positive social change. Fiona Ferguson met with Renee Chua (Singapore) and Salma Jamal Moushum (Bangladesh) during the 2018 Fellowship and together, they decided to collaborate on Arts for Good projects.

Imaginate’s Creative Development Director Fiona Ferguson said:

“Connecting children and artists across borders forms the foundation of In a New Light. We are delighted to have been selected as an SIF Arts for Good Project and hope to take this opportunity to celebrate diverse voices of children and to share their ideas and hopes at this time of uncertainty.”

Lead artist Gudrun said:

“It's hugely exciting to be at the beginning stages of 'In A New Light'. I am particularly interested in how this international collaboration will shape the work, influence my work and impact the young people. The experience of reimagining my practice over the last few months of lockdown has allowed me to see the exciting possibilities in working remotely. The idea for the project came from my desire to make dynamic and emotive work that responds to our ecological crisis, whilst questioning the pressure put on young people to change the future. The international collaboration with partners and young people in Scotland, Singapore and Bangladesh is at the heart of the project, where our collective explorations and discoveries will shape the final outcome.”

Ms Jean Tan, Executive Director of the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), said:

“In 2016, SIF launched Arts for Good to grow a community of practice that harnesses the transformative power of arts and culture to create positive social change. COVID-19 may have disrupted our progress and adversely impacted the arts and culture scene here and abroad, but SIF stands in solidarity with our community. We are ramping up our Arts for Good Projects to help support our arts practitioners and their arts-based collaborations that build a better world.”

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