10:45 - 11:45 | Advancement Committee
12:00 - 1:00 | Nominating Meeting
1:15 - 2:15 | Program Committee
3:00 - 4:00 | Membership Committee

An invitation for art leaders to confront what true sustainability means and to position the arts as catalysts for urgent change.

Speakers and Moderator

Sustainability is not only about resources or systems; it begins with how we live, work, and relate to one another. The way we make art — how we hold space, share labour, and build relationships — shapes the health of our ecosystem. In this conversation, we reflect on our daily practices, how we care for ourselves and our collaborators, and what it means to create environments where people can thrive. Holistic transformation starts with people.

Speakers and Moderator*

Five regions. Five speakers. Five minutes each.

Building on the momentum of the Theatre Green Book (first initiated by Renew Culture in the UK), arts leaders across Australia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore have begun adapting and advancing this movement within their own contexts.

This session offers a snapshot of what is happening across the region — the challenges, breakthroughs, and local adaptations. By sharing experiences across different cultural and production systems, we aim to spark ideas, encouragement, and practical pathways for artmakers at any stage of their sustainability journey.

Speakers and Moderator

Bring Your Own Meeting (BYOM) is a participant-led format that creates space for shared inquiry, dialogue, and exchange. Rather than a traditional presentation, each session is shaped and hosted by participants who wish to convene conversations around ideas, questions, or practices connected to this year’s Academy theme of sustainability.

This format invites artists, producers, curators, and cultural practitioners to propose and facilitate their own conversations — creating space for collective thinking, peer learning, and the exploration of perspectives that may not always find room in formal panels.

Designed as a flexible, drop-in, drop-out space, participants are invited to join the artists in their open workshop, for a tactile activity with no formal structure.

Dive into the creative process at your own pace, and engage with new materials and the artists.

How can arts organisations, festivals, and collectives — spanning non-profit initiatives to commercially successful ventures — come together to drive sustainable practice?

Speakers and Moderator

Inspired by the long-running micro performance lecture Recess Time, Practice Tuckshop will host the evening, facilitating ongoing conversations sparked during the day's programme. Through food, storytelling and prompts, all are invited to connect over a memorable meal, thoughtfully curated and hosted by the Tuckshop Guniangs.

In conjunction with its Golden Jubilee, Apsaras Dance Company is proud to collaborate with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay to present an exclusive preview excerpt of Agápe, to be premiered in August 2026.

Inspired by the Greek word agápe that encapsulates the meaning of deep human connection, Agápe is a multidisciplinary work exploring the beauty of human relationships: with oneself, between others, with nature, and across cultures.

The performance brings together leading Indian classical and crossover musicians from both Singapore and India, musicians from the SSO, Singaporean dancers from Apsaras Dance Company and guest dancers from India. Led by Artistic Director Aravinth Kumarasamy in collaboration with SSO’s Joshua Tan, the creative team also features choreographer and guest dancer Rama Vaidhyanathan (India), principle dancer Mohanapriyan Thavarajah (Sri Lanka), music composer Dr Rajkumar Bharathi (India), with music arranger and director Sai Shravanam (India).

This optional performance has limited capacity, and requires delegates to RSVP in advance.

Performer

Audiences today are constantly shifting – in age, values, expectations and the ways they experience art.

As artists and art organisations navigate changing cultural and technological landscapes, how do we keep our finger on who our audiences are – and who they could become? How do we reach those who have never felt the arts were meant for them?

From intimate encounters to mass digital reach, from traditional spectators to co-creators: this long table conversation invites everyone to reflect on what it means to build connection and relevance today.

Together, we’ll explore how artmakers continue to find their people and how audiences, in turn, shape the art we make.

Speakers and Moderator*

Kriya – Artists in Action is a vibrant confluence of rhythm, melody, and movement, uniting Singapore’s national award-winning artists in a celebration of creative synergy. Featuring the lyrical beauty of the Chinese and Western flute, the emotive depth of Carnatic vocals, the dynamic pulse of the tabla, and the earthy vibrance of Malay percussion, the work presents a sonic tapestry interwoven with the expressive languages of Bharatanatyam and Kathak dance.

Rooted in the Sanskrit meaning of "action", Kriya stands as a bold showcase of tradition and innovation, where each artist brings their unique voice into dynamic interplay, embodying Singapore’s rich, multicultural spirit through collaborative performance.

Performers

Our hosts have curated Open City—three guided tour options that invite you to explore Singapore from the inside out. A curated lunch by local culinary figures will kick off every Open City tour.

Featuring:

Goodman Arts Centre: Andrew Marko, Era Dance Theatre, Paper Monkey Theatre, RAW Moves, The Artground, The Observatory + weish. Lunch by Ahimsa Sanctuary.

Stamford Arts Centre & Waterloo Arts Belt: Centre 42, Dingyi Music Company + Shantha Ratii Initiatives, Julius Foo, P7:1SMA × Cherry Chan × thesupersystem, Rizman Putra × Azizi, Traditional Arts Centre. Lunch by Eight Treasures.

Aliwal Arts Centre & Kampong Gelam: Syafiq Halid + Hothouse (supported by NAC’s Arts x Tech Lab), Nadi Singapura + Chowk Productions, Nine Years Theatre, RSCLS, Siti K., weirdaftertaste × Leo Yee × Jack Lim. Lunch by Geni Singapore (Muslim-owned). Please note that the Aliwal Arts Centre and Kampong Gelam route does not have wheelchair access.

To join, delegates must RSVP in advance

Open City will include transportation to the three arts districts at 12:30pm and transportation to Cocktail Klatch at 5:30pm.

Through a partnership with AHG, SIFA will be hosting Cocktail Klatch at Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall, and offering complimentary tickets for delegates to enjoy 2 SIFA programmes, with the option to select from 3 local experiences: Strangely Familiar (T.H.E Dance Company), Last Rites (Liu Xiaoyi) and/or Makan Culture (Jo Tan), over 20 and 21 May 2026.

Host

Presented by Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre:

Galloping Rhythms · Lion City in Motion 2026 鼓舞骏声 · 奔腾狮城 2026 is a multicultural percussive showcase presented by Drum Feng in collaboration with NADI Singapura and Singapore Dhol Squad. First presented at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre's Spring Reception 2026, the piece was created by Drum Feng’s founder Glen Ng to capture the spirit of renewal and energy as Singapore charges into the new year. Taking inspiration from the Year of the Horse, the performance symbolises vitality, speed, and forward momentum. The rhythmic dialogue between Chinese, Malay, and Indian percussion traditions mirrors the gallop of horses — strong, unrelenting, and full of life. The piece ends in a powerful flourish — an auspicious wish echoing the blessing of "马到成功" (success upon arrival).

Convergence is a distilled reimagining of Longing by Siong Leng, bringing together the evocative vocal traditions of Nanyin and Asli in an intimate and rare collaboration.

Centered on the theme of longing, the performance explores yearning, devotion, and emotional distance through voice as its primary storytelling medium. Stripped to its essence, it foregrounds the distinctive vocal aesthetics, phrasing, and expressive nuances of each tradition.

Structured as a seamless journey through selected moments from the original six-scene work, this abridged version offers a renewed perspective on traditional repertoire. It invites audiences into a contemplative soundscape where memory, emotion, and cultural dialogue converge—revealing both contrast and harmony between Nanyin and Asli within a contemporary performance context.

Performer

What becomes possible when artists create in dialogue with partners such as healthcare leaders and technologists? How can the arts shape — not simply respond to — the ways other sectors define value, innovation, and human experience?

This panel explores how cross-sector collaboration is expanding the frontiers of human-centred design. As healthcare delivery models are reimagined and artificial intelligence reshapes creativity and authorship, artists bring critical inquiry, empathy, and ethical imagination into these evolving systems.

Through real-world examples, speakers will examine how partnerships across disciplines generate new modes of practice, new forms of impact, and more resilient creative ecosystems.

Speakers and Moderator*

Speakers and Moderator*

As Singapore's annual pinnacle performing arts festival, the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) presents captivating and diverse works across theatre, music, dance, film and visual arts. First launched as the Singapore Festival of Arts in 1977, the festival has gone through several evolutions and inspired generations of arts lovers and practitioners. Today, the highly anticipated festival is a high point on Singapore's arts and cultural calendar. SIFA continues its festival mission to champion the creation and presentation of Singaporean and international works.

Enjoy 2 complimentary tickets to selected shows and previews as an ISPA delegate, plus 10% off all other SIFA programmes.

Get Your Tickets

Pull up a chair and join us for Kopi Klatch — an intimate, informal conversation with up to 10 fellow delegates, inspired by Singapore’s beloved kopi culture (kopi simply means coffee in Malay!).

Hosted by delegates from across Southeast Asia, each conversation offers a candid glimpse into their local arts landscapes, traditions, and evolving ecosystems. Expect thoughtful exchanges, fresh perspectives, and open conversations about shared experiences and emerging opportunities in the region.

Whether you are seeking new collaborators, deeper regional understanding, or simply meaningful dialogue over a cup of kopi, this is a welcoming space to connect, reflect, and spark new possibilities together.

Conceived as a cross-cultural collaboration, Bridges in Motion celebrates artistic diplomacy, shaped by the unique friendship and creative exchange between Singapore and Malaysia. It is an exploration of interconnectedness across people, places, and disciplines.

It features a 15-minute re-staging of selected excerpts from the original 70-minute cine-concert, centred on the theme “Same Same, But Different.” It distills moments of convergence and contrast, where shared cultural vocabularies unfold into distinct contemporary expressions, reflecting on identity, exchange, and coexistence. Blending live orchestration, dance, experimental soundscapes, and costumes, the production brings together over 50 emerging collaborators from traditional and electric-fusion backgrounds.

Bridges in Motion was first presented at the Triennial Cultural Showcase 2025—a flagship bilateral initiative marking 60 years of cultural and diplomatic ties between Singapore and Malaysia, organised by Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of Singapore (MCCY) in collaboration with Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC).

Performer

Spotlight 3: International Collaborations and the Asian Arts Ecosystem

Speaker

What does it take to keep the arts alive, relevant and future-ready?

This panel brings together leaders from different backgrounds and generations to explore how diverse experiences and evolving values can shape resilient art organisations.

We discuss the exchange of wisdom and innovation, how to make space for new voices, and where collaboration across generations can steer leadership.

Speakers and Moderator*

“Now” is never just a moment. “The Long Now” is the recognition that the precise moment you’re in grows out of the past and is a seed for the future. – Brian Eno

In this programme, Litmus Jazz Ensemble and Gin Lam explore the idea of "The Long Now" through original compositions and choreography shaped by the lineages of jazz and hip-hop. "The Long Now", a term coined by British musician Brian Eno in response to the age of acceleration, refers to an expanded view of the present that recognises it as part of a continuum, shaped by the past and extending into the future.

By bridging the past and present, the programme reflects on culture, continuity, transformation, and possibility – offering a window into the evolving future of the arts in Singapore and what it represents in an increasingly interconnected world.

Performer