History is in the making. From 22-25 March 2018, Singapore will play host to True Colours Festival – the Asia Pacific Celebration of Artistes with Disabilities. Some 20 exceptionally talented artistes/troupes will converge in Singapore for what will be the first and largest gathering of artistes with disabilities to perform in an event in the Asia Pacific region. True Colours is presented by The Nippon Foundation (TNF) and UNESCO, two international organisations which champion the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs). It is produced by Very Special Arts Singapore (VSA) and supported by many partners including Platinum Partner DBS, Venue Partner Singapore Sports Hub and the Asia-Pacific Development Centre on Disability (APCD). The festival comprises a ticketed multimedia indoor concert experience at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, a free admission outdoor festival village just a short walk away, and an international conference on arts and disability.

Multimedia indoor concert experience

This concert, which will be performed on three evenings, will present musicians, singers and dancers from the Asia Pacific, along with guest artistes from Canada, the UK, the US and Chile. They will perform to a total estimated audience of more than 12,000 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Specially commissioned for True Colours performances are new works by contemporary inclusive dance troupe, DAZZLE from Japan; wheelchair dancer Rodney Bell from New Zealand, a collaborative theatre production by Singapore’s Very Special Theatrics and Australia’s No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability. Japanese contemporary dancers Kazuyo Morita & Natsumi Sadayuki will also perform a special festival commission on the outdoor Festival Village stage while No Strings Attached will perform the World Premiere of its new work, I Forgot to Remember to Forget.

Among the other highlights are Canadian virtuoso violinist Adrian Anantawan; crooner Tony Dee from Australia, star of the 2016 Rio Paralympics trailer We’re the Superhumans; multinational crew ILL-Abilities, considered one of the world’s most talented street dance crews; Drake Music Scotland’s Digital Orchestra; and Alienette Coldfire from the Philippines, second runner-up in France’s Got Talent 2016 and Ma Li and Zhai Xiao Wei, the first pair of dancers with disabilities ever to enter China’s CCTV national dance competition. It was in 2007 and they won the silver medal and the audience popular vote.

True Colours Festival Village

This free admission outdoor festival runs from 23-25 March 2018 and comprises a wide range of activities to appeal to many tastes and ages. Besides interactive experiences that allow visitors to experience and learn about various kinds of disability, the village will also offer up screenings of short films about disability, theatre performances, Paralympic Sports tryouts, an exhibition and sale of art, merchandise, food and drink.

Arts and Disability International Conference 2018

The Arts and Disability International Conference 2018, jointly organised by the National Arts Council (NAC) and Very Special Arts (VSA) Singapore, takes place on 22 and 23 March at Marina Bay Sands & Enabling Village. The Conference aims to provide insights on innovative ways to increase arts accessibility and facilitate sharing of best practices.

Featuring a stellar line-up of international and local guest speakers and arts groups from Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Japan, Singapore and UK, they will address and interact with some 400 conference participants from overseas and Singapore, comprising social service professionals, disabled and able-bodied artists and policymakers. Says Mr Ichiro Kabasawa, Executive Director of TNF: “Our foundation has been supporting people with disabilities in Japan and around the world for more than 50 years. As the global population increases, including those ageing, we will all need to work harder to eliminate barriers and ensure accessibility, so that everyone is respected and able to play an active role.”

As part of a long-term strategic undertaking, TNF presented the first three festivals of artistes with disabilities in Laos and Vietnam in 2006 and Cambodia in 2008. This was followed by an ASEAN edition held in Myanmar in 2014, featuring artistes from 10 countries who performed to a crowd of nearly 7,000. The momentum generated at True Colours this March will pave the way for a global festival event timed to coincide with the Tokyo Paralympics 2020.

Download the press release here