2018 → 2019!

New year, new look — welcome to the brand-new Producers SG website!

A look back at 2018
2018 was a whirlwind year for Producers SG. From our first gathering at Artistry in September 2017, we have organised 15 editions of our monthly Producers Socials, formats for which have included panels, producing clinics, Open Space workshop discussions, and open-mic storytelling sessions. We’ve talked about strategies for producing, about navigating relationships with funders, institutions and artists, about sharing resources and bridging the gaps. We’ve heard from veteran practitioners such as Jeremiah Choy, Annie Pek, Tay Tong, Farooq Chaudhry, and Charlene Lim; learnt from and supported each other’s projects during producing clinics; and shared some good laughs over stories about f*ck-ups our lives and producing adventures. In July 2018, we also launched the first iteration of our website and published the first issue of our e-digest.

We co-organised two MY⇋SG exchanges, discussing the possibilities and strategies of producing work in, between, and across the Causeway, as well as an exchange session with a group of South Korean producers from the Korea Association for Performing Arts Producers (KAPAP) during SIFA 2018.

We are grateful for the continued support of the independent sector, for those who start as well as engage in conversations, for those who support and welcome the idea of building a more affirmative community for independent producers, arts managers, and artists in Singapore, friends and fellow arts workers who not only turn up for our events, but who also help stack the chairs, take the trash out, and finish the wine. 

We are grateful too, to the partners who have come onboard to support our events; to our speakers and panelists who say yes to generously sharing their experiences, perspectives, and expertise; to the National Arts Council for supporting the programmes, e-digest, and website from July – December last year.

The year ahead

The organising team has been hard at work putting together a draft programme for 2019 – 2020, and we’re excited about making it happen, and full of hope that sufficient funding will come through to make this — largely voluntary — effort sustainable in some ways.

Besides bringing more Socials and producing clinics to you, we are also in the midst of planning for a bootcamp series on arts marketing and fundraising for independents / small groups, as well as presentation sessions for colleagues in the arts who have been attending overseas network events, festivals, and performing arts meetings to share their ‘reports’ and thoughts with those at home.

The brand new website you’re reading now will also be featuring more content (albeit intermittently, on this blog), and resources such as the grant calendar, a directory of useful links, and our e-digest archive.

All that being said, it takes a lot of work on a regular basis to keep up our activities, events, and content. Like everyone else, the members of the organising team are also constantly trying to juggle keeping things going whilst juggling our other projects, full-time jobs, and families. But with more hands onboard, things just might get easier — this year, we start to work with guest programmers on some of our events and Socials, fellow producers who have stepped forward to express their interest in making things happen together. If you think you’d like to help out with Producers SG in any way, please drop us a note!

For now, here’s to more fruitful conversations and a year of learning to making good art happen better, together 🙂