Nam Hwa Multicultural Arts Festival
Curating Multicultural Narratives Through Traditional Opera
Client
Nam Hwa Opera
Role
Curator / Project Lead
Location
Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
Date
July 2026
Overview
In 2026, I was commissioned by Nam Hwa Opera to curate and lead the exhibition design and public engagement strategy for the Nam Hwa Multicultural Arts Festival.
Rather than presenting traditional opera as a historical artifact, the project sought to reposition it as a living cultural practice—one capable of engaging contemporary audiences, fostering intercultural dialogue, and contributing to Singapore’s multicultural identity.
Developed together with Escape Arts Club, the festival combined exhibition design, public art, educational programming, and community participation into a single curatorial framework that explored how heritage continues to evolve in today’s cities.
From L to R:
Ng Elaine
(Chief Executive Officer, National Arts Council)
Cai Boxuan
(Curator)
Baey Yam Keng
(Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Transport
Mayor, North East District)
Toh Lim Mok, JP, BBM(L)
（President & CEO, Nam Hwa Opera）
Curatorial Approach
The exhibition was built around three interconnected narratives:
Tradition
Introducing the history of Nam Hwa Opera, Teochew music, performance traditions, and archival research.
Innovation
Exploring how traditional opera can engage younger generations through exhibition design, public art, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Multiculturalism
Positioning Chinese opera within Singapore’s broader multicultural landscape by presenting Malay, Indian, and Chinese performance traditions as parallel yet interconnected cultural narratives.
Instead of separating cultures, the exhibition encouraged visitors to understand how different communities collectively shape Singapore’s cultural identity.
Exhibition Design
The exhibition adopted a modular system consisting of movable display structures.
This approach allowed the exhibition to function as both a permanent installation and a travelling exhibition, making future presentations in schools, community centres, and international cultural institutions possible.
The exhibition was organised into three spatial zones:
Zone 1
Public engagement, workshops, and visitor interaction.
Zone 2
Nam Hwa Opera’s history, Teochew music, opera traditions, innovation, and archival research.
Zone 3
Singapore’s multicultural performing arts, featuring Chinese opera, Bangsawan, Kathakali, and a commissioned public artwork.
Public Art
A key commission of the festival invited artist Song to create a twelve-metre live graffiti mural inspired by Teochew opera.
Rather than reproducing traditional imagery, the work translated opera costumes, facial makeup, movement, and rhythm into contemporary street art language.
The project challenged the conventional boundary between heritage and urban visual culture, demonstrating how traditional cultural symbols can be continuously reinterpreted through contemporary artistic practice.
Public Engagement
Beyond the exhibition itself, the festival incorporated:
- Opera mask painting workshops
- Guided tours
- Family-friendly educational programmes
- Community participation
- Contemporary reinterpretations by students from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA)
Together, these activities transformed the exhibition from a display into a platform for cultural participation.
Outcomes
The festival welcomed an estimated audience of over 10K visitors during its five-day presentation.
The opening was attended by representatives from Singapore’s cultural sector, including Nam Hwa Opera, the National Arts Council, and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
More importantly, the project demonstrated how traditional performing arts can be activated through contemporary curatorial practice, public art, and community engagement.
Reflection
For me, this project was never simply about presenting traditional opera.
It was about asking a broader question:
How can cultural heritage remain meaningful within contemporary public life?
As a curator, I believe exhibitions should not only preserve history but also create new cultural encounters.
The Nam Hwa Multicultural Arts Festival became an opportunity to connect heritage with younger generations, position traditional opera within Singapore’s multicultural context, and explore how public art, education, and exhibition design can contribute to cultural sustainability.
Project Credits
Commissioned by
Nam Hwa Opera
Curator
Cai Boxuan
Produced by
Escape Arts Club
Exhibition Designers
Su Xiangle
Huang Zhenping
Cultural Advisor
Zheng Ran