ArtsWok Greenhouse Sessions #26: Advocating Your Practice to Diverse Stakeholders
Date and Time
Saturday, 28 February 2026
10am–1pm (Limited slots available)
Venue
Aliwal Arts Centre
Multi Purpose Studios A & B, #01-05/06,
28 Aliwal Street, Singapore 199918
Event has passed
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As community-engaged arts practitioners, many of us struggle to translate the nuanced, relational nature of our practice into project proposals and evaluation reports to funders, partners, and community members. So, how do we articulate our work in ways that resonate with different stakeholders?
Join us at ArtsWok Greenhouse Sessions #26 to hone how you communicate the value of your practice. Engage in hands-on activities and group discussions guided by guest speaker Salty Xi Jie Ng as she draws from her own experiences advocating across stakeholders. Learn how to document your work, articulate its value, and advocate confidently for your practice. In addition, hear insights from the recent NAFA-UAS study by Salty and Dr Michael Tan on social practice art in Singapore.
- Salty Xi Jie Ng is the 2024 recipient of the Chamberlain Award for social practice artists from Headlands Center for the Arts. A transdisciplinary artist, she has developed collaborative projects and community partnerships in Singapore and the US with seniors, incarcerated individuals, neighbourhood residents, and more. Her engagements with different stakeholders range from healthcare, cultural, and educational institutions to commercial businesses, arts organisations, and funders, among others.
Her work includes The Grandma Reporter, The Inside Show, Singapore Minstrel, Buangkok Mall Life Club, and Not Grey: Intimacy, Ageing and Being. She was the lead artist for Both Sides, Now at Yishun, a year-long arts-based community development project by ArtsWok Collaborative (2023-24), and the 2025 Art Research Scholar-in-Residence at NAFA-UAS.
Session Recap
In this session, we explored how best to communicate the value of community-engaged work for diverse audiences. Drawing from her experience with Both Sides, Now at Yishun, invited speaker Salty Xi Jie Ng shared how she managed various stakeholder relationships. By capturing the project’s evolution through intimate journal entries and carefully considered photos, Salty demonstrated how she articulated her role as an artist – translating the work into different ‘languages’ so it could resonate with everyone involved.
Participants got to mapping their own stakeholder landscapes, identifying the specific challenges of aligning expectations across different roles. This transitioned into a documentation exercise where participants practised capturing a singular project moment for a specific audience. Experimenting with both writing and imagery, they tried to bridge the gap between the ‘unseen’ work on the ground and what funders expect in reporting.
Our final discussion tackled the nuances of learning how to code-switch and how to overcome the inertia of initiating in-person meetings. We also weighed the strategic choice of medium — how do we decide which approach best honours the depth of our practice while meeting the expectations of pre-existing report structures?
We had a vibrant room of students, community workers, funders, and more — bringing a diverse mix of voices to the table.
Using Both Sides, Now in Yishun as a case study, Salty shared how she navigated various stakeholder relationships.
Participants mapped their stakeholder relationships, identifying challenges they face when talking about their work.
These small group reflections revealed the many ways community-engaged work is perceived, opening space for deeper conversations about communicating its value with clarity and intention.
The session concluded with a big group discussion about the complexities of learning different 'languages' for various audiences.
Our wonderful network of practitioners who attended this session.
