Southeast Asian Artistic Freedom RADAR
This project researches and documents violations against freedom of expression in the arts in the region. The pilot covers incidents occurring from 2010 to 2024, in six Southeast Asian countries, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, with plans to expand the scope in future.
The ArtsEquator Fellowship is a professional development programme for mid-career arts critics and journalists who are creating critical content about the arts in Southeast Asia.
Working with various publications and platforms in Southeast Asia, more than 50 articles and podcast & video episodes have been produced by our Fellows in the first 2 Fellowship editions.
News Updates:
- ArtsEquator will be in Taipei from 16-20 April 2025 as part of the ArtsEquator Fellowship’s Critics Network. As an extension of the Fellowship programme, 11 arts writers and critics from Southeast Asia will attend performances at the upcoming Taiwan International Festival of the Arts. ArtsEquator will also participate in the 2025 Observer Forum on 19th April which brings together arts critics from diverse national backgrounds to exchange perspectives and share experiences. The Forum is co-hosted by the Taiwan Contemporary Culture Experiment Station and the Cultural Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia. Participating Taiwanese organizations include IACT TW, AICA Taiwan, National Culture and Arts Foundation, Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture, Funscreen, and CREATORS Reviewing Observer Collective. The ArtsEquator Fellowship’s Critics Network is made possible with the support of Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia.
- Thanks to Eksentrika, 2023 Fellow Do:Na’s Fellowship article “From Bloodshed to Hope: Understanding Myanmar’s Love for Propaganda Films” reaches new readers. Read here.
- 2023 Fellow Jay Rosas reviews the best of 2024 Mindanao short films. “Short filmmaking in the Philippines remains under the ambit of alternative cinema.”
- Read articles by Fellows Do:Na and Jay Rosas that have been published again on Hanoi Grapevine.
What's On in Southeast Asia
Across three nights, Starlight brings together some of Singapore’s most beloved voices and brightest new talents—meeting on stage, exchanging stories, and finding harmony in the spaces between generations. Curated and produced by NAC Young Artist Award recipient Ruth Ling—who also helmed Sing Love—Starlight invites you into an evening of songs shaped by memory, place, and […]
Expand your knowledge and practice of puppetry in this hands-on puppetry workshop tailored for theatre practitioners and students! The creators of Bill’s 44th, Andy Manjuck and Dorothy James, present a modernised version of puppetry based on the traditional Japanese form of bunraku, where half life-sized dolls are operated by several performers to act out a narrative. Learn […]
Started in 2016, ArtsEquator.com has worked with over 150 contributors from all over the world and produced over 1,700 articles, interviews, podcasts and videos. Covering the Southeast Asian arts, all the ArtsEquator original content can now be accessed here in SEA Dive.