Join us on for the 3rd edition of Singapore-France Malraux Seminar titled “Reviving, resetting and Sustaining the Arts and Culture Post-Pandemic” to hear and discuss strategies to effectively operate in this new reality and explore the power of the digital.
The seminar will take place on 30 September from 3PM – 4.15PM (GMT +8) on Zoom.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions to the world as we once knew it. How has the pandemic affected the arts and culture sectors in Singapore and France and how has the community responded?
The 3rd edition of the Singapore-France Malraux Seminar explores opportunities on how we can better engage our creative and cultural policy making as well as discuss new ways to ideate and innovate. With the pandemic changing the way arts and culture are produced, consumed and presented, we now look at reviving, resetting and sustaining the sector post-pandemic.
Speakers and Moderator
Ms Chang Hwee Nee
Chief Executive Officer, National Heritage Board
Ms Chang Hwee Nee is the Chief Executive of the National Heritage Board (NHB). Prior to joining the NHB, Ms Chang held senior positions in the Ministries of National Development, Education, Health and Finance. She oversaw the formulation and implementation of policies, plans and programs for the physical development of Singapore, covering the areas of land use planning, urban redevelopment, park development and management, and nature conservation.
Her other areas of purview include educational strategies and policies relating to the pre-school, school sector and higher education, healthcare financing, manpower, infrastructural development and taxation. Ms Chang graduated with a Masters in Economics from Cambridge University. She also holds a Masters of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Mr Alexander Neef
Director, Paris Opera
Alexander Neef was born in Germany in 1974. He studied Latin Philology and Modern History at the Eberhard Karl University in Tubingen. In 2000, he began his career as production manager at the Salzburg Festival for two seasons, before joining the artistic administration of the RuhrTriennale, a multidisciplinary festival in Germany, where he was responsible for opera, theatre and dance productions as well as concerns and events.
At the request of Gerard Mortier, then Director of the Paris Opera, he joined the latter institution from 2004 to 2008 as Casting Director. Alexander Neef then assisted Gerard Mortier in preparing his programming schedule for the New York City Opera.
Alongside his management of the Canadian Opera Company, in 2018 he was appointed the first Artistic Director of Santa Fe Opera in the United States.
In July 2019 Alexander Neef was appointed Director Designate of the Paris Opera by Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic. He took up his duties as Director General ahead of schedule on 1 September 2020.
Alexander Neef was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in September 2018.
Mr Low Sze Wee
Moderator
Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
Mr Low Sze Wee is the Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC). Prior to joining the SCCC, Mr Low, an award-winning curator with management experience, was Director (Curatorial, Collections and Education) at National Gallery Singapore.
He has also been involved in strategic arts planning and policy in Singapore’s former Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA). He is the first Singaporean to be selected as an International Fellow for the Clore Fellowship Programme in 2013-14. Initially trained as a lawyer, Mr Low later graduated with a Master’s degree in History of Art from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Agenda:
3.00PM: Emcee Introduction
3.05PM: Opening Adress
Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law
Madame Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, Minister for Culture (France)
3.15PM: Two Keynote Addresses by Singapore and France:
Ms Chang Hwee Nee, CEO, National Heritage Board (Singapore)
Mr Alexander Neef, Director, Paris Opera
3.45PM: Q&A with Moderator
4.15PM: End of Keynote
Register at go.gouv.sg/malrauxseminar2021
