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NAFA @ Ideas Festival 2026!

Where & When

Available 27 February - 10 March 2026

Admission

Free Admission

Please click here for more information.

Ministry of Education (as part of Ideas Festival 2026)

The Ideas Festival is a month-long showcase of the latest insights and contributions from social science and humanities researchers across universities in Singapore. The theme for 2026 is Reimagining Resilience: Flourishing in a Changing World, which explores how people, communities, and systems can adapt and thrive amid profound technological, cultural, and societal change.

As part of the festival, NAFA will be offering five programmes to showcase innovative research by NAFA faculty that demonstrate how arts and design serve as powerful mediums to explore and express resilience.

Resilience matters to everyone and every field. Discover and learn more through cultural insights by signing up for our programmes in the links below!

From Passion to Prosperity: Prototyping Satellite Creative Community Labs for Social Impact
Fri, 27 Feb 2026 \| 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm \| Serambi Kampong Gelam, 45 Sultan Gate, Singapore 198492 \| Registration link
As Singapore faces a rapidly ageing population, it is imperative to find sustainable ways to support active, connected and inclusive communities for all ages. Arts- and design-led community initiatives are serve as powerful platforms that promote active participation, self-expression and wellbeing. Additionally, the arts are an effective medium for intercultural, intergenerational and inclusive learning that facilitates meaningful interactions, promoting mutual understanding, respect and cultural exchange. Through an interactive case study sharing of NAFA's GLab initiative by industry stakeholders, participants will explore the transformative power of arts- and design-led community programmes that foster inclusive learning and engagement. Participants will also learn more about the fundamental considerations behind embarking on creative community programmes, as well as the research methodologies employed to map and evaluate impact. Speakers: Provost Chong Keng Hua (NAFA-UAS), Dr Hoe Su Fern (NAFA-UAS), Muhammad Raihan Syahmi Bin Abdul Hadi (NAFA-UAS), Syed Osman Alsagoff (Kampong Gelam Alliance), AR Trecia Lim (WeCreate Studio)

From Ecosystem Services to Cultural Wellbeing: Ground-Up Pathways for Resilience
Thurs, 5 Mar 2026 \| 5:00 - 6:30 pm \| Plant Therapy Studio (City Sprouts) 102 Henderson Rd, Singapore 159562 \| Registration link
How can we value and experience nature's way strengthen resilience in a changing world? This session introduces the concept of Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES), the non-material benefits we derive from nature, such as identity, sense of place, heritage, and wellbeing. CES offer a valuable lens for reimagining resilience, as they highlight how cultural connections with the environment contribute to social cohesion, mental health, and community identity. By making these intangible benefits visible through spatial, ecological, and experiential approaches, CES provide practical pathways for embedding wellbeing into urban and social contexts. These ideas come into focus through Terrapy SG, a practice that is ground-up in its approach and community-focused in its impact. Through horticultural therapy and nature-based engagement, Terrapy SG demonstrates how simple, everyday interactions with plants and landscapes can restore ecological vitality while also nurturing human connection, reflection, and resilience. Participants are invited to see resilience beyond infrastructural and policy-driven, but deeply cultural and ecological, something that flourishes when people, place, and practice are interwoven. It highlights how ground-up initiatives can serve as powerful catalysts, turning abstract concepts of wellbeing into lived, shared experience. Speakers: Park Hye Young (NAFA-UAS), Tham Xin Kai (NAFA-UAS)

From Exhibition to Economy: Exploring Cultural Economics in Action
Fri, 6 Mar 2026 \| 2:00 – 4:00 pm \| Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film \| Registration link
Today, the world stands at a poly-crisis crossroads, marked by accelerating technologies, environmental degradation and systemic inequalities. As we navigate these interconnected challenges that are threatening both human and planetary wellbeing, there have been calls for a more sustainable future by rethinking ideas of growth and value. In this interactive workshop, we draw on the multi-dimensional concept of value within cultural economics to reimagine existing approaches to valuation. Through an exhibition visit and dialogical workshop, participants will uncover varying perspectives and definitions of what cultural assets like exhibitions mean to them and others. By engaging in these conversations and reflections, participants will experience first-hand how the arts and cultural economics can expand our understanding of value that can be foundational to a more inclusive and resilient future. Join us to deepen your understanding of the multidimensional value of arts and culture, and discover innovative ways to unlock their full potential for sustainable development and social wellbeing. ^*This workshop includes an exhibition tour to "Kapuas Mahakam: A Chronicle of Two Rivers in the Anthropocene" (opening Feb 2026) at Objectifs, a non-profit visual arts space in Singapore dedicated to film and photography. This upcoming exhibition featuring documentary photographer Michael Eko and curated by Goh Chun Aik explores the Kapuas and Mahakam rivers, Borneo’s vital freshwater lifelines now threatened by deforestation and industrial exploitation. It also follows indigenous communities adapting to environmental and cultural change. Speakers: Goh Chun Aik, Michael Eko, Dr Hoe Su Fern (NAFA-UAS)

Pedagogical Signatures of Resilience: Fostering Multifaceted Dispositions in the Performing Arts for Future Creative Economies
Fri, 6 Mar 2026 \| 4:00 – 6:00 pm \| NAFA Studio Theatre \| Registration link
How can we reimagine resilience? This roundtable brings together veteran artist-educators from music, dance, and theatre to explore how resilience is cultivated as a multifaceted pedagogical disposition in the performing arts. Participants will share lived experiences, discuss contemporary teaching approaches, and examine learning challenges in navigating ambiguity, uncertainty, and vulnerability. Drawing on insights from performance practices, the session will highlight how resilience has been intentionally fostered in our higher education curricula, and how these practices can extend beyond the classroom to benefit learners, educators, and society at large. We invite dialogue, collaboration, and reflection on how the performing arts can help students in all majors recognise multiple employment possibilities, to inspire resilient, creative communities for the future. The roundtable will include performances and demonstrations by music, dance and theatre students from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore. A closing work, titled Here, There & Fly Where?, reimagines flight attendants through various Afro-dance styles with contemporary and street elements. Student Performers: Shavaun Toh (Cellist, School of Music); Joelle Wong Jing Yee and Muhammad Razin Nurulhaq Bin Sirhan (School of Theatre); Muhammad Shazlan bin Roslan (Choreographer, School of Dance); Siti Nur-Afiqah Binte Azli, Siti Nur-Atiqah Binte Azli, Chandrasekaran Richard Solomon, Kendra Alexa Kurniawan, Rabano Rhailly Espiritu, Wan Mohamed Qhairunnas Bin Wan Mohamed Ramdan (School of Dance), Elysia Zhang Mingjia (School of Dance) Speakers: Lena Ching (NAFA-UAS), Rebecca Kan (NAFA-UAS), Andrew James Mowatt (NAFA-UAS), Gillian Tan (NAFA-UAS)

Exploring Estrangement through Design Process
Tues, 10 Mar 2026 \| 3:00 – 5:00 PM \| NAFA Tower Block Level 12-01 BADP Studio \| Registration link
New Urbanism adopts a holistic approach to design, transforming spaces that prioritise people, fostering a sense of belonging and community. In Singapore, the challenges of an evolving society are ongoing, as the nation adapts through innovative design processes to sustain social cohesion and address its population’s changing needs. Estrangement, in this context, involves intentionally disrupting the familiar in order to re-examine objects, concepts, or experiences from a fresh perspective. By challenging pre-established expectations and assumptions, estrangement creates opportunities for critical reflection. It raises awareness of particular issues, questions ingrained assumptions, and stimulates creativity in addressing them. This workshop positions participants as designers, employing estrangement techniques to generate transformative insights into urban issues. Through a collaborative crucible, participants will be encouraged to channel new perspectives and develop potential strategic visions for tackling complex problems. Speakers: Christabel Teng (NAFA-UAS), Tay Siang Hwee (NAFA-UAS)

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NAFA @ Ideas Festival 2026!