WHAT'S IN MY PORTFOLIO

What's In My Portfolio: Gaurav Kripalani

Photography by Chino Sardea
16 May 2019

Mr. Gaurav Kripalani is the current Festival Director of the Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA)

The main thing in my portfolio this month is the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA), which runs from May 16 to June 2. I’m honored to be asked to helm our national arts festival from 2018 to 2020. We have an exciting line-up of luminaries from around the world and Singapore that will cater to both arts aficionados and first-time festivalgoers.

I approached artists who are game-changers in their respective disciplines and asked them which among their shows would have the most relevance and resonance to audiences here. They include musicians Bill Frisell and Ryuichi Sakamoto, choreographers Sasha Waltz and Gisele Vienne, and theater directors Simon McBurney and Tadashi Suzuki.

From Singapore, I’ll be working with Huzir Sulaiman, Claire Wong, Ho Tzu Nyen and Goh Boon Teck, who will be presenting original works commissioned by SIFA. There will also be multidisciplinary work and those that incorporate technology, such as ST/LL by Shiro Takatani (Dumb Type).

The Arts House will serve as Festival House for the three-week festival, and as the epicenter for talks, workshops and master-classes, offering audiences a holistic arts-going experience and a chance to engage with artists.

I’ve also been involved with the Singapore Repertory Theatre for 23 years and continue to program SRT’s season. The next productions include an immersive theater experience that will take place in a secret location, called “Caught,” where audiences will get to meet the dissident Chinese artist Lin Bo in person in September. In November, SRT will present Steven Sondheim’s musical “Sweeney Todd,” with Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, and in March, National Theatre UK’s production of “Warhorse.” In addition, SRT will present three shows for children.

Producing and presenting these shows was made possible by the support of the people I work with at SIFA and SRT who are driven by the same goal — to make Singapore a vibrant, culturally rich renaissance city.