As with many Singaporeans, SG50 brought me my share of 15 minutes of fame. I was one of 25 ordinary Singaporeans featured in the Singapore Festival of Arts (SIFA) Open Homes series. Over one weekend on September, four groups of 15 guests dropped by to hear the story of how I became an arts manager, what my influences were, what I did as a salaried arts manager and what I’m doing now, as an arts volunteer.
The best part of the experience was being mentored by actor-director Sharda Harrison, who spent five sessions with me, drawing out what she thought to be the more significant details of my career and life, helping me to structure my story-telling session, to create this little production where I acted in my own home.
I had fun preparing my props – photo albums of my dad and mum to whom I attributed my love of classical music and sense of colours, files of 1980 art events collaterals, mounting labels on paintings with stories of my friendships with artists and the colourful circumstances in which I acquired their paintings and finally, surprising guests with an opera excerpt – Renee Fleming singing Song to the Moon in Rusalka – to give them an arty “goosebump” moment.
I made some new friends while dear friends who came learnt something about me they didn’t know before. Â It was heartening to see an interest in the story of an arts manager of the ’80s, curiosity about how we accomplished so much with very limited resources. I was amazed and amused by some guests’ re- interpretations of the paintings I had acquired.
Months later, I still feel goosebumps simply recalling my guests’ goosebump moments. In answer to the question that I asked at the end of my story, ” Yes! Life should be an unending Series of Goosebumps Moments!
Did you have a Goosebump Moment today?
one day at a time : living, learning, laughing & loving 