Hoo Kuan Cien
Photo: Sebastian Tan
HOO Kuan Cien 何光前
Kuan Cien 光前 (he/him) is a multi-faceted producer/arts manager who thrives in working across contexts, disciplines and geographies. He holds a Master of Arts and Cultural Management from the University of Melbourne – supported by the NAC Arts Scholarship – and a B.A. Honours in Theatre Studies from the National University of Singapore.
Since his first foray into the arts in 2001, he has assumed roles at Arts House Limited, Art Stage Singapore (defunct), CultureLink, Dance Nucleus, M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, Singapore Arts Festival (renamed SIFA), TheatreWorks (renamed T:>Works) and The Necessary Stage. Artists whom he has assisted/coordinated/produced for include Alvin Tan, Charlie Lim, Daniel Kok, deufert&plischke, Hiroaki Umeda, Jereh Leung, Margaret Leng Tan, Melvyn Tan, Nabilah Said, Ong Keng Sen, Sacha Copland, SAtheCollective, Vertical Submarine, etc.
His capabilities and strengths are in collaborating with artists/communities; touring/co-productions and cultural diplomacy; producing arts festivals; project management; and communicating the performing arts.
Notable projects to date include Back of the Bus by Java Dance Theatre; xhe by Daniel Kok and Miho Shimizu; Lost & Found: Serangoon for Arts in Your Neighbourhood by NAC; Just In Time by deufert&plischke; Cabinet of Curiosities by Margaret Leng Tan; Titian Budaya commissioned by MCCY; Serunding by Ahmad Musta’ain Bin Khamis; Night Festival: New World 2010 commissioned by the National Museum; Awaking by Ong Keng Sen; and Visible Cities by Chay Yew. Between 2014–18, he administered the Creative Producers Development Programme by CultureLink in partnership with the NAC.
Beyond delivering projects/outcomes, he advocates for the arts through his association with CITRUS practices, Producers SG and the Singapore Drama Educators Association.
Kuan Cien strives to work in feminist and queer ways, with an attention to care in all aspects of art making. His core interests are presently in interdisciplinary works, performance in public space, digitisation of the arts under covid-19, and the labour conditions of arts workers. He appreciates birds/birdsongs, coffee and kuih.