ArtsWok Collaborative
We are an arts-based community development organisation that recognises the creativity and agency within individuals and communities to generate change.
As intermediaries, facilitators, and creative producers, we connect people, ideas, and resources across sectors. We believe in collaborating to imagine and develop thriving communities in a sustainable society. Our work brings art-making, community building, and civic participation together in meaningful ways.
Since 2013, we have done this through the creative producing of innovative projects that demonstrate the power of the arts for change, the building of practitioner capabilities in our field, and the development of strategic outreach projects and partnerships to support arts-based community development.
Vision
Inclusive communities that allow the full expression of human potential
Mission
To nurture thriving communities by harnessing the power of the arts to create dialogue, invite social participation, and build bridges across difference
2012
Co-founded by Ko Siew Huey and Ngiam Su-Lin
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Our first project was IPS Prism in collaboration with Drama Box
2013
Formalised and registered as a public company limited by guarantee
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First presentation of our flagship programme Both Sides, Now
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Launch of The Greenhouse Sessions, a series of gatherings for practitioners interested in developing community through the arts
2015
Awarded Seed Grant by National Arts Council (FY15 to FY17)
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Launch of M1 Peer Pleasure Youth Festival, a youth theatre festival with a social conscience
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Registered charity status, as well as hired first full-time employee
2018
Secured office space at Goodman Arts Centre
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Awarded Major Company Scheme grant by National Arts Council
2020
Accorded Institution of a Public Character (IPC) status
2023
ArtsWok celebrates 10 years of Developing Community Creatively
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Revamp of the Library on ArtsWok website for better organisation and access to our growing collection of writings
2024
Ran Both Sides, Now at Yishun, where an artist was embedded in the community as part of a year-long community development pilot project
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Inaugural edition of triennial ArtsWok Learning Forum
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Renaming of The Greenhouse Sessions to ArtsWok Greenhouse Sessions to better reflect growth of our network
Company Values
Collaboration
Harnessing strengths and sharing resources through processes that foster mutual respect, shared decision-making, honesty, and open communication.
Empathy
Connecting with others by maintaining openness, suspending judgement, and listening deeply.
Creativity
Permitting time and space to play, fail, imagine, and experiment.
Agency
Recognising everyone has strengths and abilities to be agents of change, and to be equipped to realise their potential.
Bridging
We connect and collaborate with people from different disciplines. This involves translating vocabularies from different fields, as well as facilitating meaningful communication and the emergence of new understandings.
Listening
We practise deep listening to understand and elicit different views, often on challenging issues. This creates safe space to ask critical and insightful questions, which can then lead to creative solutions.
Advocating
We generate awareness and understanding of arts and cultural approaches to working in and with communities. We are interested in growing the field of arts-based community development.
Developing
We create and experiment in our work as creative producers to develop innovative programmes and practices that contribute towards community development. These methodologies and learnings are shared with other practitioners through training and mentoring opportunities.
Researching
We seek to understand the communities we work with, especially their lived experiences, through the process of research. We regard our practice as research, and aim to critically reflect, document, and engage with others on our work.
Flagship & Signature Programmes
Both Sides, Now has been our flagship programme for the last decade. Our signature programmes include ArtsWok Learning Forum, ArtsWok Greenhouse Sessions, and The Greenhouse Lab.
Financial Statement & Annual Report
ArtsWok Collaborative Limited is a company limited by guarantee with IPC status (UEN: 201432448C), and has been supported by the National Arts Council’s Major Company Scheme since 2018 in recognition of our role in building Singapore’s arts and culture ecosystem.
