Mark Beau de Silva, Programme Director of Bachelor of Performing Arts, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences was selected to represent Malaysia in the reputable Singapore International Foundation’s Arts for Good Fellowship 2022. Mark joined Cultural Workers, Designers, Arts Educators and Art Administrators from 11 countries to discuss and shared with one another of their arts advocacy work. The fellowship began with a series of online workshops in October last year, which eventually segued organically into physical workshops held in Singapore in January 2023.
Mark Beau De Silva with Miss Low Yen Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture Community and Youth, Singapore
The workshops were done in the style of ‘un-conferencing’, where two or three members were grouped up to facilitate the rest, as a mode of sharing. The fellowship included learning visits to Club Rainbow (Singapore), SG Enable and APSN. These were the organizations that advocated the underprivileged and disabled, using arts as a medium. Mark and the other participants learned about these organizations history, philosophy and day to day operations, as well as challenges faced.
Through the series of workshops, the participants brainstormed to come up with solutions to the challenges faced by these participants. The highlight of the fellowship was when Mark and the participants met the Minister of State, Ministry of Culture Community and Youth, Singapore, Miss Low Yen Ling, at the Bukit Gombak Park. The discourse with Miss Low Yen Ling solidified future collaborations and sharing of practice between Malaysia and other arts communities around the world on the topic of Arts Advocacy.
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