ITS ABOUT 'D' FEST!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Nevertheless, 2009 is no exception. This 4-week extraordinary festival is filled with with incessant events and performances!
A massive range of performances and productions are carried out by Grammy Award and leading artistes from all parts of the world. Ranging from a French urban theatre to the Substation and Timbre Music as the traditional Papuan movement, hip-hop and contemporary and the list continues, this Festival is the largest event on Singapore's arts calendar!
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ONE OF THOSE HAPPENINGS!
BE THE STARS OF THE PERFORMANCE!
(A video to give a rough idea how's Etiquette like. However, it is not in English version.)
One the events that I went for Singapore Arts Festival is the Etiquette. This was conducted on 1st June 2009 in Dome, Marina Square.
Originated in London and Brighton, UK and produced by ArtsAgenda, Etiquette is a Rotozaza Production written by Ant Hampton and Silvia Mercurialli. Rozaza is one of the UK's lost consistently astonishing and creative performance groups who engaged in experimental theatre, performance and live art.
In my opinion, Etiquette has it's own unique characteristics that stands out among theatre performances. It gives an opportunity for an individual to play both the roles of a performer and audience. This half-hour performance is a shared experience for two people. In this case, it's me together with a friend!
Being the actors of the performance, we are assisted with instructions that is given through the headphones in order for us to respond accordingly. In addition, simple objects, considered as the "props" for the performance such as pens, papers, two minis statuesque of a male and female are provided as well. It gives a unique and private performance as only the two of us knew that a performance is actually going on in the cafe. Furthermore, I personally think that this performance test our listening skills and it offers the fantasy of speaking to someone without having to plan what to say and respond. Shots are taken below!
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WHO'S BEHIND THE SCENE?
Singapore Arts Festival 2009 features 7 new commissions, which consists of the 2 world premiers and 1 Asian premier co-commissioned with international partners, and 5 other international partners.
Below shows the list of partners of Singapore Arts Festival 2009.
To give a clearer view, the stakeholders of Singapore Arts Festival 2009 is listed below.
a) Host Organization:
National Arts Council
b) Host Community:
Singapore
c) Sponsors:
i) Official Sponsors:
Official TV Station Channel 5
Supporting TV Station OKTO
Official Sparkling Beverage Coca-Coca Light.
ii) Major Sponsors:
Lee Foundation
Urban Redevelopment Authority
Hong Leong Foundation
Vivo City
WingTai Asia
Raffles City Shopping Centre
PUB, Suntec Singapore and SMRT.
iii) Other Sponsors:
Marina Mandarin Singapore
Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Starhub Cable Vision
Yahoo!
d) Media:
Official TV Station Channel 5
Supporting TV Station OKTO
e) Co-Workers:
Singapore Tourism Board
Tote Board Singapore Turf Club
Shaw Foundation
University of Western Australia.
f) Participants and Spectators:
i) The Committee of Singapore Art Festival
-Steering Committee
-Festival Director
-Programme Advisors
-Programme/ Operations
-Marketing and Sponsorship
-Corporate Communication
-Ticketing
-Fest Connect
-Corporate Services
-Interns
ii) Artistes from all over the world
iii) Visitors and Patrons
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ARTS FESTIVAL ACROSS THE UNIVERSE!
The Three Rivers Arts Festival is a 10-day event (5 June 2009-14 June 2009). This event was held in downtown Pittsburgh. The Women's Committee of Carniege Museum of Art founded this festival in the 1960s. This "little outdoor art show" in the past is currently the region's biggest multidisciplinary showcase of visual and performing arts.
However, these two festivals do share some similarities and differences in terms of their marketing strategy. Broken down into 2 components, this marketing strategy refers to the 8Ps'.
Experiential Components:
*Product
*Place
*Programming
*People
Facilitating Components:
*Partnerships
*Promotion
*Packaging & Distribution
*Price
A) Product
Singapore Arts Festival 2009 and The Three Arts Festival share a common product. Both of these festivals offer a massive range of activities
of the arts, dance, music and theaters be it a performance or film.
Some performances from both festivals will be shown below.
Music:
Singapore Arts Festival 2009
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
The Three Arts Festival
Ben Hardt and his Symphony
Dance:
Singapore Arts Festival 2009
The Three Arts Festival
However, Fun for Kids, an event by The Three Arts Festival, is one factor that differs from Singapore Arts Festival. One of the events is called Caribbean Vibes Steelpan Workshop.
B) Place
Under the category of place, one definitely differs from the other. As for 2009, Singapore Arts Festival is held at a wide array of place. The opening of the festival, which marked the start of the event took place in Marina Barrage. Being the latest Singapore's downtown icon and the largest and most urbanized catchment area, this venue is a perfect spot to gather a massive amount of patrons. The dance and theatre performances were mainly held in either the Victoria or Esplanade Theater. Other venues include National Art Museum and Drama Centre Theater. Music covers venues such as the Esplanade Concert Hall and LASELLE College of Arts. The closing ceremony took place in the heartlands of Yishun.
On the other hand, venues for the Three Rivers Arts Festival includes the Point State Park which is the festival's main stage, Dollar Bank Stage, Theatre Square Carbaret and a whole lot more. Point State Park caters more to art lovers whereby arts activities was held here. These activities includes calligraphy, quilting and Widgets into Yard Arts. Dollar Bank Stage, on the other hand, caters more to music lovers whereby concerts and music performance are held there.
C) Programming
In Singapore's Arts Festival context, I observed that most of the major performances starts from 7.30 pm onwards. This is the timing whereby people will usually end their work of school and it is convenient for them to attend these events. The earliest programme, Dream-Work/ Dream-Home, starts at 8.30pm. On top of that, only a minority of performances starts at 3pm. Also, all these programs run throughout the week; be it weekdays or weekends.
However, most of the weekends or performances that took place in the Three Rivers Arts Festival started as early as 12pm. Two events taken from this festival includes the Calligraphy Guild of Pittsburgh and Turners Anonymous.
Programming of the respective festivals can be found in brochures as well as their websites. However, I personally think that Three Arts Festival website is a more detailed one. To give a better clarity to the people, the website has actually categorized the events by date and location. Below is taken from the website itself.
For more infos, log on to:
(click on the website for further details.)
Events By Date
................................................................
Events By Location
D) People
People here refers to the interaction between visitors and the staff/ volunteers which plays a large part of the event experience. One common practices of both of the events is the involvement of volunteers. Throughout the year, Singapore Arts Festival involve volunteers preferably the youths in running the event. One example is stated below depicted from http://singaporeartsfest.com/news/?m=200904.
This is an advertisement whereby they are recruiting volunteers performers for The Big Game and Closing Celebration.
VOLUNTEER PERFORMERS WANTED
Author: Singapore Arts Festival
04 28th, 2009
The same goes for the Three Arts Festival. These volunteers can actually sign up through their website. According the sources, Three Arts Festival rely on a a massive amount of volunteers yearly. Below shows the positions for volunteers for Three Arts Festival. This is taken from their website
(click on the website for further details.)
Volunteer Positions
Three Rivers Arts Festival seeks volunteers for many different positions during the Festival.
Working as a group? Sign up here!
Artists Market Booth Sitters
Artists have to eat too, you know. Booth Sitters in the Artists Market relieve artists who need to take a quick break. As a Booth Sitter, you'll stand watch at artists' booths while they run quick errands. Booth sitters do not make sales.
Shifts
Afternoon: Noon - 4pm daily
Evening: 4 - 8pm daily
Sign up now!
Loading Assistants
It takes a lot of help to set up and break down the Artists Market. 260 artists will move in and out of booths in Hertz Gateway Center and Point State Park over the 10-day Festival. Loading Assistants help artists find their booths and assist with loading and unloading vehicles. This position requires some heavy lifting and can be labor-intensive.
Shifts
Night: 6 - 11pm, Thursday, June 4
Night: 8pm - Midnight, Sunday, June 7
Night: 8pm - Midnight, Tuesday, June 9
Night: 8pm - Midnight, Thursday, June 11
Night: 8pm - Midnight, Sunday, June 14
Sign up now!
Juror's Assistant
Juror's Assistants help judges in the Artists Market keep track of their judging assignments and scores.
Shifts
Afternoon: 1-5 pm, Friday, June 5
Afternoon: 1-5 pm, Friday, June 12
Sign up now!
Concierge
Concierges assist patrons in getting where they want to go. If you are familiar with downtown Pittsburgh and love talking to people, we can definitely use your skill here!
Shifts
Afternoon: Noon - 4pm daily
Evening: 4 - 8pm daily
Sign up now!
Children's Area Monitor
Monitors in the Children's Area help program partners get ready for the day and close up for the night. You'll also assist kids and families with hands-on activities.
Shifts
Afternoon: 11:30am - 3pm, Saturdays and Sundays
Late Afternoon: 2:30 - 5:30pm, Saturdays and Sundays
Sign up now!
Gallery Attendant
The perfect assignment for a relaxing time at Three Rivers Arts Festival! Gallery attendants oversee gallery spaces, ensuring that artwork is secure and keeping attendance records. Gallery attendants are encouraged to learn as much as they can about the artwork in the galleries they are attending. You're also encouraged to bring reading materials, as the galleries tend to be quiet.
Shifts
Evening: 4 - 8pm, Monday - Friday (including June 5)
Afternoon: 11:30 am - 3 pm, Saturdays and Sundays
Late Afternoon: 2:30 - 6:15pm, Saturdays and Sunday
Sign up now!
Three Rivers Arts Festival seeks volunteers for many different positions during the Festival.
Working as a group? Sign up here!
Artists Market Booth Sitters
Artists have to eat too, you know. Booth Sitters in the Artists Market relieve artists who need to take a quick break. As a Booth Sitter, you'll stand watch at artists' booths while they run quick errands. Booth sitters do not make sales.
Shifts
Afternoon: Noon - 4pm daily
Evening: 4 - 8pm daily
Sign up now!
Loading Assistants
It takes a lot of help to set up and break down the Artists Market. 260 artists will move in and out of booths in Hertz Gateway Center and Point State Park over the 10-day Festival. Loading Assistants help artists find their booths and assist with loading and unloading vehicles. This position requires some heavy lifting and can be labor-intensive.
Shifts
Night: 6 - 11pm, Thursday, June 4
Night: 8pm - Midnight, Sunday, June 7
Night: 8pm - Midnight, Tuesday, June 9
Night: 8pm - Midnight, Thursday, June 11
Night: 8pm - Midnight, Sunday, June 14
Sign up now!
Juror's Assistant
Juror's Assistants help judges in the Artists Market keep track of their judging assignments and scores.
Shifts
Afternoon: 1-5 pm, Friday, June 5
Afternoon: 1-5 pm, Friday, June 12
Sign up now!
Concierge
Concierges assist patrons in getting where they want to go. If you are familiar with downtown Pittsburgh and love talking to people, we can definitely use your skill here!
Shifts
Afternoon: Noon - 4pm daily
Evening: 4 - 8pm daily
Sign up now!
Children's Area Monitor
Monitors in the Children's Area help program partners get ready for the day and close up for the night. You'll also assist kids and families with hands-on activities.
Shifts
Afternoon: 11:30am - 3pm, Saturdays and Sundays
Late Afternoon: 2:30 - 5:30pm, Saturdays and Sundays
Sign up now!
Gallery Attendant
The perfect assignment for a relaxing time at Three Rivers Arts Festival! Gallery attendants oversee gallery spaces, ensuring that artwork is secure and keeping attendance records. Gallery attendants are encouraged to learn as much as they can about the artwork in the galleries they are attending. You're also encouraged to bring reading materials, as the galleries tend to be quiet.
Shifts
Evening: 4 - 8pm, Monday - Friday (including June 5)
Afternoon: 11:30 am - 3 pm, Saturdays and Sundays
Late Afternoon: 2:30 - 6:15pm, Saturdays and Sunday
Sign up now!
E) Partnerships
This year, Singapore Arts Festival 2009 features 7 new commissions, which consists of 2 world premiers and 1 Asian premier co-commissioned with international partners and 5 other international partners. Further elaborations on other sponsorships will be stated in the section of stakeholders.
As for the Three Arts Festival, they held partnerships from the corporate, foundation and the public. This includes the media coverage as well such as 91.3fm wyep.
Here is the list of partners that are involved in the Three Arts Festival.
Taken from:
(click on the website for further details.)
Corporate, Foundation and Public Support*
Colcom Foundation
Department of Community & Economic Development
and Governor Ed Rendell
Representative Dan Frankel
The Heinz Endowments
The Grable Foundation
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
Bessie F. Anathan Charitable Trust of the Pittsburgh Foundation
Buncher Family Foundation
Custom Patio Rooms, Inc.
W.I. Patterson Charitable Fund
Media Partners
Membership and Family Foundations
Anonymous
Randall Baumann
Carol and Michael Bleier
Joan and Bernard Bloch
Estelle F. Comay, Esq., and Dr. Bruce Rabin
Bernard Elinoff
Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Gailliot
Joann and Leo Goode
Aaronel DeRoy Gruber and Irving B. Gruber
Emily and Charles Jarrett, Jr.
Dawn M. Johnson
Marguerite Jarrett Marks
Jennifer R. Owen and Cory Cope
Mark Perrott
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel C. Poljak
Larry Rippel
Barbara L. Widdoes
Special Thanks
110 Gulf Associates, L.P.
925 Penn Associates, L.P.
929 Liberty Associates, L.P.
Al Bortz
Alco Parking
BREA Property Management
Catholic Charities and the Diocese of Pittsburgh
City of Pittsburgh
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Point State Park
EQT Plaza
Mark Bedel & First Impression Printing
Fred’s Signs
JA Interactive
Liberty Avenue Holdings, L.P.
Mark's Grille and Catering
Mr. John Pittsburgh
Kelly Proudfit and Visual Views
PWC Property Solutions
RIDC
Right by Nature
Riverlife
Rugby Realty
Trigate
F) Promotion
Promotion here refers to the array of "communication mix" such as advertising, PR and sales promotions.
In Singapore's context, they did a massive amount of work in terms of advertising. For instance, banners were put up mainly along Orchard Road and even taxis have themselves advertised forthis festival. In addition, they also advertise this festival on taxis.
One significant sales promotions by Singapore Arts Festival 2009 is the discount privilege particularly to ArtFest Club Members as well as ArtsFest Ticket Holders. These promotions include discounts in purchase of books, accomodation in Marina Mandarin and some food and beverage outlets. Some of these promotions are shown below and are taken from:
Another special promotion caters more to the ArtsFest Club members whereby they are privilege to win a 7-night trip to Edinburgh.
Marina Mandarin SingaporeArtsFest Club Members
Subject to room availability and hotel's closed-out dates ArtsFest Ticket Holders
Terms & conditions apply Not valid with any other promotions Subject to hotel's closed-out dates From Now till 31 August 2009.
|
Business Traveller Asia-Pacific (BTAP)off cover price BTAP All-In-One package includes: Subscription to BTAP print edition
Offer is valid until December 31, 2009. Click here for subscription. |
G) Packaging and Distribution
Singapore Arts Festival 2009 offers package distribution in terms of the purchasing of tickets. For instance, purchasing tickets for 4 or more shows are entitled to a 15% discount, whereas 2 to 3 shows to a 10% discount. Moreover, full-time students, NSFs and and senior citizens are entitled to 20% discount limited to one ticket per valid identification per pass per show. Other Package discounts includes Group Bookings and School Bookings.
Packaging and Distribution in the Three Rivers Arts Festival are limited.
H) Price
Singapore Arts Festival 2009 offers a range of price tickets from $16 to $120. However, as mentioned earlier, there was early bird discounts from 9 March 2009 to 12 April 2009. Another one will be the general sales from 13 April to 14 June 2009.
However, this totally differs from the Three River Arts Festival whereby most of the performances are of free admission and open to public.
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BEST PRACTICES OF ARTSFEST 09!
I feel that this year's 2009 differs from the previous years of the festival.
One of it's highlights it's definitely the grand opening of the festival itself in Marina Barrage. As mentioned earlier, I feel that they chose the perfect place to gather as many people as they can to witness the ceremony. With the giant metallic prying mantis together with the acrobatic displays, an opening performance by the Helios II, is one extravaganza show to kick-start the festival.
Besides this, I must comment on the attractive ways in promoting this festival to all people out there and not only art lovers. This was done through the various promotions, which can cater to all ages. I feel that all these promotions is one of the possible reason on why people keep coming back for more; purchasing more tickets and to go for more performances.
Another one would be the closing ceremony in the heartlands of Yishun, which I feel that it is one good alternative to reach out to the public and at the same point of time increasing awareness of this festival. Instead of doing it at the CBD area, I think that by doing this will actually bring the community closer.
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TWO THUMBS UP FOR S'PORE ARTS FEST 2009!
Apart from this, the creation of the ArtsFest this year is to offer unique education programmes and activities to all primary, secondary as well as tertiary institutions. I feel that this is one fruitful alternative where it can advantage and inspire the young audiences especially through creative and educational art experiences.
Bringing the beauty of the arts to the heartlands is what i feel a unique point of this year's Arts Festival. I personally feel that it is one creative way to reach out to the public and at the same point of time bringing the community closer.
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TOURISM BENEFITS RECEIVED BY S'PORE ARTS FEST 2009!
The response of Singapore Arts Festival has been overwhelming for the past 3 decades and 2009 is no exception. Hence, Singapore Arts Festival serves many benefits in the tourism sector. Benefits derived can be classified into 4 categories.
A) Political
I personally think that Singapore Arts Festival will assist Singapore in attaining an international prestige. Singapore, being one of the smallest country, is able to operate such a huge and prestige event for as long as a month. People might have doubt Singapore's ability in operating such a event. After all, the festival was a success!
B) Economic
Through this Festival, it will definitely attract tourists and visitors from different countries to witness the event. This will in turn generate tourism revenue in Singapore's economy. One of the possible causes is the extension of the length of stay of tourists since the festival is on going for a month. For a tourists to spend a bomb during the duration of the festival will also lead to an increase in tax revenue as more tax fees will be charged. Business opportunities can also be derived from this festival. It can provide their host communities with a sturdy platform for showcasing their expertise in organizing and handling this festival.
C) Social and Cultural
Nevertheless, this festival has it's benefits in terms of the social and cultural aspect. As mentioned earlier, Singapore Arts Festival, as a global connector, allows shared entertainment experience for both tourists and locals. With an extensive range of events and performances by the different perform groups from all over the world will eventually increase in the awareness and widens people's cultural knowledge and background.
D) Physical and Environmental
Singapore Arts Festival is a kick-start for Singapore to showcase it's environment. One point which I would like to highlight is the grand opening in Marina Barrage. Being the most urbanized catchment area and the latest icon in Singapore will definitely allow tourists to have an exposure to this place and they might want to come back in the future.
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MORE TO COME PERHAPS??
All in all, Singapore Arts Festival has been a remarkable experience for me as well as art lovers especially.
However, there's still room for improvements for the festival to work on. For example, more performances and events can take place in the heartlands in Singapore.
And I must applaud for the hard work and effort that the people who are involved had put in to make it a splendid one.
I'm looking forward to Singapore Arts Festival 2010!
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CREDITS
(click here)
http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/aboutus/
(click here)
http://www.artsfestival.net/
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