'He believes in investing in future generations of art practitioners, who may create work that will impact more people in the future.
He says: "The impact goes beyond one person. I'm giving to a pool of talent and that may lead to positive change to society down the road. That's what's important."'
- The Straits Times
'"When the Government supports an arts company, it tells me that the company is financially prudent. It gives me confidence as a donor," says Mr Alvin Lin, 34, a supporter of theatre training school Intercultural Theatre Institute.'
- The Straits Times
'The evening ended with a Closing Coda, delivered by the respected theatre educator and Cultural Medallion winner, T Sasitharan. He began by calling out “the elephant in the room”, that being our colluding voices in the absence of different points of views. There may have been an ordained preacher in the room, but Sasitharan’s denouncement, delivered with rhetorical force, won hands down, earning cheers from the audience. There was not a single utterance by Sasitharan that I disagreed with.'
- Arts Equator
'Two participatory arts events last week deliberately put the audience in the spotlight and the results were eye-opening.
Instead of watching a scripted and staged performance, people witnessed the theatre of public opinion as more than 40 discussants debated hot-button issues in Art As Res Publicae.
... Despite the fiery topics, the discussion was tame, in part because the organisers' attempts to bring in known conservative voices were unsuccessful. As arts educator T. Sasitharan said, there was no elephant in the room. He called for the authorities to allow more spaces for differences to flourish and differing voices to have their say.'
- The Straits Times
'Singapore International Festival of Arts begins its pre-fest series The OPEN with two nights of discussions on caring for the elderly in Singapore, and dealing with different views among its people.
... What was initially hoped by many to be a lively discussion between parties with clashing perspectives turned out to be a storm in a teacup, with invited conservative individuals declining to participate.
During his closing remarks, theatre artist and Cultural Medallion recipient T Sasitharan pointed out the one-sided scenario that unfolded and described the evening as one where artists were “preaching to the converted”.'
- Channel NewsAsia
'All in all, ITI has succeeded once again in using this performance as a means to cross boundaries and share various cultures via theatre. There’s both a strong educational and entertainment component in this piece, and here’s to more interesting, cultural pieces on our local stage in future as well.'
- Bak Chor Mee Boy
'One of the organisations that benefited from the CMF scheme is Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI), an independent theatre school.
Formerly the Theatre Training & Research, it was founded in April 2000 by Cultural Medallion recipient T. Sasitharan and the renowned late playwright Kuo Pao Kun.
With support from CMF, ITI was able to increase its number of studios from two to four, and install more suitable flooring for its training rooms. The increase in training space also provided opportunities for more students to enrol at ITI, and even host visiting students from overseas on immersion programmes.
Goh Su Lin, general manager at the institute, said: “For us, with support from CMF, ITI was able to plan for more long-term goals and deliverables. Donations and their match have enabled us to create scholarships for Singapore students. The larger training spaces have provided opportunities for more students to enrol at ITI, and also host visiting students from overseas on immersion programmes. This (has helped) amplify ITI’s work.”
Donors to ITI have included lawyer and novelist Philip Jeyaretnam, co-founder of AL Wealth Partners Leonardo Drago, and private bank EFG Bank Singapore.
Regarding the top-up to the CMF, Goh said it can only be a positive sign.
“CMF has not just attracted, but deepened donors’ commitment, not just for ITI, but for other arts charities as well. To that end, we hope that CMF will not be a short-term initiative, but will become an integral part of the cultural philanthropy landscape in Singapore,” she said.'
- TODAY
'Intercultural Theatre Institute general manager Goh Su Lin said the fund "has not just attracted but deepened donors' commitment" to the school.
The school uses contributions by individuals like lawyer Philip Jeyaretnam and corporates such as EFG Bank Singapore, together with money from the fund, to create student scholarships, and increase and improve its studios and training rooms.
... Said the Intercultural Theatre Institute's Ms Goh: "We hope that the Cultural Matching Fund will not just be a short-term initiative, but will also become an integral part of the cultural philanthropy landscape in Singapore."'
- The Straits Times
'How an artist draws from the cultures of others is important, says Mr T. Sasitharan, director of the Intercultural Theatre Institute.
"This freedom of the artist to use an aspect of some culture other than his own carries with it a serious and profound responsibility to understand and be sensitive to its context, history and politics," he adds.
"In the final analysis, it comes down to artistic empathy, creativity and craft. The way in which diverse cultural elements hang together in a work and how they are received is precisely the line which separates the artists from the pretenders, the artists from the appropriators."'
- The Straits Times
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