https://softwallstuds.space soft/WALL/studs Fri, 19 Feb 2021 04:50:19 +0000 https://softwallstuds.space en https://softwallstuds.space/Home-Page Fri, 31 Jul 2020 18:46:55 +0000 soft/WALL/studs https://softwallstuds.space/Home-Page s̴o̵̥̖̎̽f̵̰̋̐̕͜t̵̛̹̙/̶̲͎͈͘W̵̅̈́A̷̛̼͛̚L̷̢̳͖̓̉Ļ̶̨͙̤̓̈́͂̾̕ͅ/̶̝̂s̴t̴̺̂u̸͇̽̋d̶̙̿͌̎s̵̊soft/WALL/studs was a collaborative project in Singapore involving several artists, writers, film makers, art workers, and researchers. Our projects included exhibitions, acts of amplification, hosting, fugitivity, counter-rhythm generation, support, resource gathering, research, writing, detournement, game-making, teaching, collaboration, and maintenance... Having moved out of our space in June 2021, we now bring soft/WALL/studs to a close, both as a collaborative project and space. Moving ahead in each of our individual capacities, our website currently remains as an archive of past projects. Beyond Repair O for Opening Shared Libraries Screenings Workshops and Reading Groups Talks Fugitive Actions FB&nbsp; &nbsp; IG&nbsp; &nbsp; YT &nbsp;&nbsp; EMAIL <img width="960" height="720" width_o="960" height_o="720" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/974a5cf6f5bb87798bfdb5f18785be7c2576a73972f508714f14a3c98c44513e/xenoctober.jpg" data-mid="78828292" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/960/i/974a5cf6f5bb87798bfdb5f18785be7c2576a73972f508714f14a3c98c44513e/xenoctober.jpg" />Xenoctober, 2017 #fade img { position:absolute; left:0; -webkit-transition: opacity 0.2s ease-in-out; -moz-transition: opacity 0.2s ease-in-out; -o-transition: opacity 0.2s ease-in-out; transition: opacity 0.2s ease-in-out; } #fade img:hover { opacity:0.5; } https://softwallstuds.space/O-for-Opening Fri, 31 Jul 2020 19:14:16 +0000 soft/WALL/studs https://softwallstuds.space/O-for-Opening O for Opening The exhibitions and happenings in, or about, soft/WALL/studs. Sometimes at a distance. 2020 &nbsp; &nbsp; Viscous Fairy Grottoes: Arcades Project, with Chong Lii and Niklas Büscher, Xafiér Yap, Gigi Koh and Aneesha Shetty, Johann Yamin, and Shawn Chua for Beyond Repair, as part of Proposals for Novel Ways of Being by National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum &nbsp; &nbsp; The Garden as Question: words will not save us, by s/W/s for Beyond Repair, as part of Proposals for Novel Ways of Being by National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum 2019 &nbsp; &nbsp; asses.masses (Playtest), by Milton Lim and Patrick Blenkarn, organised with Shawn Chua &nbsp; &nbsp; BOUNDS, s/W/s (Luca Lum, Kin Chui, and Weixin Quek Chong) at Skelf online project space, alongside Larry Achiampong, Bounds Green School, EILIS+JAKOB, Holly Graham, Erin Hughes, Jennifer Martin, Dan Mitchell, Milly Peck, Francesca Tamse, and Skeuomorph, curated by Cypher Billboard &nbsp; &nbsp; 65goddex65, s/W/s (Luca Lum, Kin Chui, and Weixin Quek Chong) at Cypher Billboard, London &nbsp; &nbsp; Against the Disquiet #2, with wares, PUPA, and cosmologists 2018&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I turning, visible as /moonlight/ botanical, not as supple voice, by Nina Djekic, organised with Luca Lum, Kin Chui, and Shawn Chua &nbsp; &nbsp; Against the Disquiet #1, with wares and cosmologists &nbsp; &nbsp; Footnotes of a failure: An invitation to Cluedo, by Moses Tan and David Celeste Portwood &nbsp; &nbsp; The Soul Lounge, by Divaagar, with Kin Chui &nbsp; &nbsp; Still SOFTreign: Disembodied Maldives, by lhtttt, with Luca Lum &nbsp; &nbsp; Of Men and Martians (May), with Shawn Chua and Void Deck Games &nbsp; &nbsp; Most Things Happen When I Am Asleep, s/W/s (Kin Chui, Kenneth Loe, Weixin Quek Chong, and Luca Lum) with Cemeti - Institute for Art and Society at&nbsp;Artspace Aotearoa, New Zealand, alongside La Agencia (Colombia), Beta-Local (Puerto Rico), Alice Yard (Trinidad and Tobago), and TEOR/ética (Costa Rica) &nbsp; &nbsp; Of Men and Martians (March), with Shawn Chua and Void Deck Games &nbsp; &nbsp; Opening Gleaning Scrying Dwelling &nbsp; &nbsp; BGDM Zine Launch and Session #3, with Bubble Gum &amp; Death Metal, Nurul Huda Rashid, Berny Tan, and Marylyn Tan &nbsp; &nbsp; Low Maintenance, with Shawn Chua &nbsp; &nbsp; In a Hard Place Apply Soft Pressure/s, s/W/s (with Kenneth Loe, Huiying Ng, Michelle Lai, Luca Lum, Kin Chui, Marcus Yee, and Weixin Quek Chong) at Cemeti - Institute for Art and Society, Yogyakarta 2017 &nbsp; &nbsp; Altars for Four Silly Planets, by Marcus Yee, with s/W/s &nbsp; &nbsp; Xenoctober, with Vivian Wang, Steph Dogfoot, ila &amp; Inaya, Kamiliah Maimon-Bahdar, Felix Kalmenson, Lai Yu Tong, Kin Chui, Luca Lum, and Marcus Yee&nbsp; &nbsp; Horizon99, with lhtttt, wares, Godwin Koay, Currency Design, s/W/s, Luca Lum (oneirocritica), bani haykal, Ujikaki Records, Tsalal, Huiying Ng, halfpet, wanglian-c11, A(;D, Jonathan Castro, Music for Your Plants, Vangoth666 &nbsp; &nbsp; It is “I am feeling this.”, by Aaron Tan, with Kenneth Loe and Luca Lum &nbsp; &nbsp; Déjàdéshabille, with Youths in Balaclavas, Weixin Quek Chong, Halfpet, Raksha Mahtani, Luca Lum and Kenneth Loe &nbsp; &nbsp; First Wax: First Terms, with Luca Lum and mourners 2016 &nbsp; &nbsp; BGDM Sessions #2, with Bubble Gum &amp; Death Metal, Ashley Yeo, Luca Lum, and Megan Miao&nbsp; &nbsp; ESOS: Adult Video Rental + Open S(t)uds, with Diane Rima Kiri Edwards, Gabriel Pericà, Debbie Ding, Weixin Quek Chong, Jennifer Mehigan, Luca Lum, Avril Corroon &amp; Kerry Guinan, Hester Grant and Kenneth Loe &nbsp; &nbsp; Kabinet FLASH // Laeken Placid, with Kenneth Loe at LE KABINET, Brussels&nbsp; &nbsp; BGDM Sessions #1, with Bubble Gum &amp; Death Metal (Samantha Yap and Stephanie J. Burt), Vanessa Ban, Luca Lum, Sabrina Dzulkifli, Weixin Quek Chong, Aki Hassan, and onguyot (Jonathan Chua and Aki Hassan) &nbsp; &nbsp; A frangipani for her grave thoughts, with Kenneth Loe, Luca Lum, Weixin Quek Chong and Stephanie J. Burt at Ikkan Art International, Singapore &nbsp; &nbsp; EX-LIBRIS LIB-ERRATA https://softwallstuds.space/Shared-Libraries Fri, 31 Jul 2020 20:30:24 +0000 soft/WALL/studs https://softwallstuds.space/Shared-Libraries Shared Libraries <img width="1799" height="2400" width_o="1799" height_o="2400" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d88dcb4e49e37068705991ac62a571bc33b609bce870f288f3385d3f806de993/IMG_0499e.jpg" data-mid="95387999" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d88dcb4e49e37068705991ac62a571bc33b609bce870f288f3385d3f806de993/IMG_0499e.jpg" /> Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the library remains closed. Our library room is likely the first thing one encounters when entering soft/WALL/studs. Here, shared libraries inhabit the space, its material reflecting the different interests of both our collective and friends on coterminous paths. As the most visible and cosy room of the space, we hope to make this a welcoming, comfortable, and quiet place to dwell in and read or rest with. Part of the collection is made up of books some of us in the group have shared. They range across poetry, fiction, theory, research, artist’s books, mongraphs, exhibition publications, and magazines, covering our different concerns in visual art, writing, anthropology, history, design, politics, farming, film, and so on. wares infoshop library was a project we hosted from late 2017 to February 2021. Sharing the library room, its volunteers prepared the space and material for visits several days every week (before the pandemic) and facilitated common use of the space for one-off activities like meetings and reading groups. <img width="1350" height="1800" width_o="1350" height_o="1800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/13b301dcbecac80cb5541718a79850355c8e32af6793f00fad29e0341a743590/IMG_7986e.jpg" data-mid="95388502" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/13b301dcbecac80cb5541718a79850355c8e32af6793f00fad29e0341a743590/IMG_7986e.jpg" /> For more information on wares and future plans, check out the various things they’ve put out on their blog,&nbsp;instagram, facebook, or twitter, all on their linktree. The infoshop’s current books (though excluding zines and other loose material) are&nbsp;catalogued online.Our library room also plays host to part of Stefano Harney’s library while he’s out of town—this collection features a large number of books on Black Studies and the Black Radical Tradition, a list may be found here.Our libraries’ books are currently not for lending, though a system is being designed. We also regretably note that the library room has an old-style narrow doorway that is not wheelchair accessible for the moment.&nbsp; <img width="1350" height="1800" width_o="1350" height_o="1800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b9f46f3abb97c8a2fea2413814d4fd082052c11b065bd249a9707069d1579dcd/IMG_0762e.jpg" data-mid="95389248" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b9f46f3abb97c8a2fea2413814d4fd082052c11b065bd249a9707069d1579dcd/IMG_0762e.jpg" /> https://softwallstuds.space/Screenings Sat, 01 Aug 2020 03:36:19 +0000 soft/WALL/studs https://softwallstuds.space/Screenings Screenings Watching Films with C’n’C formed the backbone of the screening programme at soft/WALL/studs. Selected films ranged from long-form documentaries, to the early works of emerging and underground Singaporean film makers.TheoryFILM is a series organised with Bras Basah Open: School of Theory and Philosophy, often hosted at s/W/s. Each session, a film is paired with a speculative theoretical reading for discussion, broadly questioning the ontology of the screen as a distinct mode of perceiving the world.2021&nbsp; &nbsp;soft/WALL/docs: Land/Landless, programmed by Chris Yeo Siew Hua and supported by s/W/s, with accompanying essay “The visible heat of lands on fire” by Huiying Ng 2020&nbsp; &nbsp; TheoryFILM #15: On Sickness &amp; Social Choreographies, with Corrie Tan and Shawn Chua 2019&nbsp; &nbsp; TheoryFILM #14: Abderrahmane Sissako x Zizek, with Farhan Idris&nbsp; &nbsp; TheoryFILM #12 - Necro-Romanticism: Suicide and Politics in Film, with Farhan Idris and Jeremy Fernando &nbsp; &nbsp; TheoryFILM #11: Stop-Motion (Re-)Animation, with Toh Hun Ping and Shawn Chua&nbsp; &nbsp; Toh Hun Ping Screening, with Toh Hun Ping, Mike Lim, Daniel Hui, Tricia Lim, and Kin Chui 2018&nbsp; &nbsp; TheoryFILM#8: Nadine Labaki's Where Do We Go Now x Judith Butler, with Nurul Huda&nbsp; &nbsp; TheoryFILM #7: Tiger of Malaya x Tanabe Hajime, with Shawn Chua&nbsp; &nbsp; TheoryFilm#6: Lizzie Borden x Multiple, on the occasion of “The Soul Lounge”, with Luca Lum, Shawn Chua, Kin Chui&nbsp; &nbsp; TheoryFILM #5: Jacques Ranciere x Pedro Costa's Colossal Youth, with Farhan Idris and Chris Yeo Siew Hua &nbsp; &nbsp; TheoryFILM#4, Futurisms &amp; Sonic Fictions: Kodwo Eshun x Akomfrah, with a performance by Bani Haykal and Cheryl Plays Computer&nbsp; &nbsp; TheoryFILM #3: Limor Samimian-Darash x It Will Never Happen Here, with Shawn Chua &nbsp; &nbsp; TheoryFILM #2: Sara Ahmed x Funeral Parade of Roses &nbsp; &nbsp; TheoryFILM #1 (Svetlana Boym x Elia Suleiman)&nbsp; &nbsp; Fun D mental Times!, with Chris Yeo Siew Hua, Kin Chui, and Luca Lum 2017 &nbsp; &nbsp; DocFest 2017! Closing, with Chris Yeo Siew Hua and Kin Chui &nbsp; &nbsp; This Week on DocFest 2017!…, with Chris Yeo Siew Hua and Kin Chui &nbsp; &nbsp; The Return of DocFest 2017!, with Chris Yeo Siew Hua and Kin Chui &nbsp; &nbsp; DocFest 2017! - Double Bill Weekend!! BOUNDARY &amp; NOT EVERY TIME, with Chris Yeo Siew Hua and Kin Chui &nbsp; &nbsp; DocFest 2017! - Apa Khabar Orang Kampung, with Kin Chui and Chris Yeo Siew Hua &nbsp; &nbsp; Watching Films with C'n'C - IO STO CON LA SPOSA, with a complementary screening of DAHDI by Kirsten Tan, with Chris Yeo Siew Hua and Kin Chui &nbsp; &nbsp; Wane wanes; Fall falls: A double feature on the eve of May Day!, with Kenneth Loe and Luca Lum 2016 &nbsp; &nbsp; Watching Films with C'n'C: The Wangs (2016, work-in-progress), with Bo Wang &nbsp; &nbsp; Watching Films with C'n'C: In / Parallel / Parties with 13 Little Pictures, with Daniel Hui, Lai Weijie and Elizabeth Wijaya, Liao Jie Kai, Lei Yuan Bin &nbsp; &nbsp; Watching Films with C'n'C: ‘In The House of Straw’, with Chris Yeo Siew Hua https://softwallstuds.space/Workshops-and-Reading-Groups Sat, 01 Aug 2020 03:45:30 +0000 soft/WALL/studs https://softwallstuds.space/Workshops-and-Reading-Groups Workshops and Reading Groups 2020&nbsp; &nbsp; Futures Writing Research Unit, by s/W/s (Huiying Ng, Shawn Chua, Johann Yamin, Luca Lum) in collaboration with Adeline Seah, alongside participants Chia Pei Zhi, Darin Lobo, Hallam Stevens, Melissa De Silva, Michelle Lai, Mixæl Laufer, Saad Chinoy, and Stylianos Makrogkikas for Beyond Repair, as part of Proposals for Novel Ways of Being by National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum &nbsp; &nbsp; Pulau Something, by s/W/s (Div, Johann Yamin,&nbsp;Kamiliah Bahdar, Marcus Yee) alongside Esther Lu, ila, Irwan Ahmett and Tita Salina, Lo Shih Tung, Luca Lum, Norah Lea, Nurul Huda Rashid, Okui Lala, Rikey Tenn Bun Ki, Shawn Chua, Sheryl Cheung, Siddharta Perez, Syaheedah Iskandar, Tan Zi Hao, and Ting Chaong Wen; produced as a Rapid Response for a Better Digital Future Fellow at Eyebeam, New York &nbsp; &nbsp;Intercalations for distensions, with Huiying Ng and Luca Lum, for NTU CCA Ideas Fest 2020, guest-curated by IdeasCity, New Museum, New York 2019 &nbsp; &nbsp; Re-earthing: Making Courageous Cultivars, with Huiying Ng, Michelle Lai, Shawn Chua, and Farhan Idris &nbsp; &nbsp; Sexual Assault First Responders Training, conducted by AWARE Singapore’s Sexual Assault Care Centre at Sing Lit Station, organised with Mok Cui Yin &nbsp; &nbsp; Sexual Assault Awareness Training, conducted by AWARE Singapore’s Sexual Assault Care Centre at Sing Lit Station, organised with Mok Cui Yin &nbsp; &nbsp; Future Address (Pilot), with Shawn Chua, Kin Chui, and Luca Lum, for the Sim Lim Square Art Residency 2018 &nbsp; &nbsp; Queerstmas: A Queer Zinemaking Party!, organised with Queer Zinefest SG &nbsp; &nbsp; Working Group: Developing Resources Against Sexual Harassment, facilitated by Weixin Chong and Huiying Ng, with Kin Chui and Moses Tan 2017 &nbsp; &nbsp; Experimental Music Workshop by Jameson Feakes &amp; Josten Myburgh &nbsp; &nbsp; Resistance Training: SLOGANEERING, with Huiying Ng, Eng Kai Er, Kin Chui, Kenneth Loe, Stephanie J. Burt, and Bani Haykal 2016 &nbsp; &nbsp; The Red Dot Specu-nation: Incubating Smart Nation Fictions &amp; Speculations, with Cindy Lin and Markéta Dolejšová&nbsp; &nbsp; Proletarian Nights, with Luca Lum https://softwallstuds.space/Talks Sat, 01 Aug 2020 03:54:57 +0000 soft/WALL/studs https://softwallstuds.space/Talks Talks 2020 &nbsp; &nbsp; Monzoom Zchool, organised by Kenneth Loe and Weixin Quek Chong for Beyond Repair, a part of Proposals for Novel Ways of Being by National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum &nbsp; &nbsp; Folding Horizons, organised by Marcus Yee, Luca Lum, Huiying Ng, and Kin Chui&nbsp; &nbsp; DNA Dreams in China's City of Hardware, by Hallam Stevens, organised with Shawn Chua 2019&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;2065: Artist Talk with Lawrence Lek, organised with Anca Verona Mihuleţ, Johann Yamin, Lawrence Lek, Shawn Chua, and s/W/s, a collateral event of the Singapore Biennale 2019&nbsp; &nbsp; Print, Action, Joy, and Collectivity with Denpasar Kolektif, with wares and Denpasar Kolektif &nbsp; &nbsp; NEXT Workshop: &lt;Non-profit Art Spaces in ASEAN&gt;, s/W/s (Kin Chui and Kamiliah Bahdar) presentation alongside Nhá Sán Collective (Hanoi), Lostgens’ Contemporary Art Space (Kuala Lumpur), Art Space Pool (Seoul), Space Heem (Busan), Sansumunhwa (Seoul), and d/p (Seoul). Organised by KOFICE, in Seoul and Busan, South Korea&nbsp; &nbsp; To Be So Entangled: Resistance / Complicity / Collaboration, s/W/s (Luca Lum, Kin Chui, and Weixin Chong) in discussion with Cypher Billboard and Skelf. Moderated by Vanessa Murrell, for the closing of Skelf online exhibition “BOUNDS”&nbsp; &nbsp; Singapore, City of the Future: Chronotopes of a Non-Place, by Josh Babcock&nbsp; &nbsp; Lost Tech, s/W/s (Luca Lum, Kin Chui, and Shawn Chua) panel presentation of “Future Address” alongside Andreas Schlegel, Debbie Ding, Dr Liew Kai Khiun, and W. Y. Huang. Moderated by Adeline Setiawan, for the Sim Lim Square Art Residency 2018 &nbsp; &nbsp; When the world is at war, we just keep dancing, by Evelyn Wan&nbsp; &nbsp; Embedding/Dwelling: writing intimately about performance, by Corrie Tan&nbsp; &nbsp; Skin / Leather / Hide: The Tactility of “Lecture, This Way”, by Loo Zihan&nbsp; &nbsp; Travelling Light: Singapore, by Kenneth Tay&nbsp; &nbsp; Independent Art Spaces in Singapore: A Conversation, s/W/s (Luca Lum and Kin Chui) in discussion with Alan Oei (The Substation), Jennifer Teo and Woon Tien Wei (Post-Museum), Jeremy Hiah (Your MOTHER Gallery), and Seelan Palay (Coda Culture). Moderated by Berny Tan, for the Supernormal exhibition “Present Future” &nbsp; &nbsp; Tradition, Translation, and Performance, by Yoon Soo Ryon&nbsp; &nbsp; Sound and Image, Researching the Earth from Indonesia, by Cindy Lin and Andy Moon 2017 &nbsp; &nbsp; A presentation on missing data sets, by Mimi Onuoha https://softwallstuds.space/Fugitive-Actions Sat, 01 Aug 2020 04:03:50 +0000 soft/WALL/studs https://softwallstuds.space/Fugitive-Actions Fugitive Actions 2020 &nbsp; &nbsp; Collective Aid&nbsp; &nbsp; Amplifications and Recirculations &nbsp; &nbsp; Homemade hand sanitiser apothecary 2019&nbsp; &nbsp; Bike Liberation Kitchen - ZoB Edition &nbsp; &nbsp; Our Swine Song: s/W/s Karaoke+Potluck 2018 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Fuck this consumptive capitalist colonially imported festivities, organised by Kin Chui &nbsp; &nbsp; Supporting Documents &nbsp; &nbsp; Wearable Archive&nbsp; &nbsp; Bike Liberation Kitchen Cancelled, on occasion of the Peace Summit https://softwallstuds.space/Collective-Aid Sat, 01 Aug 2020 09:50:46 +0000 soft/WALL/studs https://softwallstuds.space/Collective-Aid <img width="569" height="550" width_o="569" height_o="550" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2f9266821cafc6a5281936cb0220e1e791e2de7bdc33f515f2906cbcec81f221/resourcepot.png" data-mid="81192276" border="0" data-scale="7" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/569/i/2f9266821cafc6a5281936cb0220e1e791e2de7bdc33f515f2906cbcec81f221/resourcepot.png" />&nbsp; Collective Aid « home This initiative is conceived as a crisis response and shared resource for cultural workers based in Singapore, which includes freelance workers (artists, designers, writers, performers, technicians), art and design students, and any others for whom these shared commons might be helpful. It includes emergency monetary assistance, working space, tech and studio expertise, equipment, art materials, counselling hours, and other forms of care for cultural workers. The aid provided is not bound to requirements such as the need to produce an artwork/project or to render a service to receive assistance. In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to be sensitive to needs and capacities in flux, and of pre-existing inequalities magnified, which contribute to the difficulty of continuing creative processes or production. We offer what we can in hopes of building support outside of pre-existing networks and structures, many of which will diminish, or have already diminished. We hope to locate these efforts alongside what is already provided by institutions, to attend to more localised needs and persons who may not be able to access resources provided elsewhere. Together with Coda Culture, Grey Projects, INTER—MISSION, and soft/WALL/studs, we are collectively offering: &nbsp; &nbsp; ✤ Crisis relief microgrants in amounts of $100, $200, $300, and $500 &nbsp; &nbsp; ✤ Free counselling hours&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; ✤ Our spaces for one-off or recurring uses&nbsp; &nbsp; ✤ Borrowing of equipment from our spaces Booking and Application Form (Note: As of 26 Dec 2020, we have disbursed all funds for microgrants, and are no longer taking microgrant applications) Loading https://softwallstuds.space/Links Tue, 06 Oct 2020 02:34:22 +0000 soft/WALL/studs https://softwallstuds.space/Links soft/WALL/studs <img width="600" height="600" width_o="600" height_o="600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/875265e8cf64f6bcb7143ec08040ad00a34c8d4fef99e0c2c0257a525538fdec/sWs-Natal-Chart_transparent_profile-photo.png" data-mid="84724547" border="0" data-scale="55" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/600/i/875265e8cf64f6bcb7143ec08040ad00a34c8d4fef99e0c2c0257a525538fdec/sWs-Natal-Chart_transparent_profile-photo.png" /> Aspirations and Exasperations Beyond Repair s/W/s Website Home FB&nbsp; &nbsp; IG&nbsp; &nbsp; YT &nbsp;&nbsp; EMAIL .button { background-color: white; color: black; border: 2px solid #555555; padding: 16px 32px; text-align: center; display: inline-block; font-size: 16px; margin: 4px 2px; transition-duration: 0.2s; cursor: pointer; width: 100% } .button:hover { background-color: #555555; color: white; } https://softwallstuds.space/statement Fri, 19 Feb 2021 04:50:19 +0000 soft/WALL/studs https://softwallstuds.space/statement 19 February 2021 To Our Community, (Content warning: mentions of a police investigation of sexual assault) &nbsp; We* are writing to inform you about an ongoing police investigation of sexual assault involving one of the twelve** members who was co-organising soft/WALL/studs. He had been involved in soft/WALL/studs since 2016, organising and initiating events alongside us in these few years, in what was the capacity of a friend and collaborator. Having heard from the survivor in the past two to three weeks, it is our opinion that this individual has caused serious harm by repeatedly violating consent and abusing his power, trust, and influence within our community. We believe, support, and affirm the survivor’s experience. The individual in question is an older and more experienced artist, holding connections with other established artists and networks. While he was in a position that accorded respect, influence, and power, his actions, in our opinion, constitute a grievous breach of trust, care, and responsibility towards the artists working with members of soft/WALL/studs and the wider community. The discovery of his actions has resulted in immense disappointment, and a sense of betrayal, anger, sadness, and grief. In our view, the information we have received is disturbing and concerning enough that it warrants us taking immediate action by suspending this individual’s professional association with soft/WALL/studs. We are doing this in order to safeguard members of the community from what we view as further harm and trauma. As a project, soft/WALL/studs has been in close engagement with a community that includes many female, minority, and LGBTQ+ artists, and we recognise that addressing harm and community accountability is of immense importance. Moving forward, we are taking the following measures: As of 7 February 2021, we are disaffiliating the individual’s professional involvements with soft/WALL/studs.Out of sensitivity, we are withdrawing the individual’s involvement and name from current and upcoming projects in the near future by soft/WALL/studs.soft/WALL/studs as a space, platform, and project will not professionally and publicly endorse or affiliate with the individual, as this would be tantamount to disregarding, diminishing, and silencing.The individual will not be present at future soft/WALL/studs’ events or happenings as a guest. This is keeping in mind survivors or those who might get involved in soft/WALL/studs’ activities, but are unaware of this situation and could experience PTSD and renewed feelings of invalidation, anxiety, and betrayal upon learning of it. The individual has been informed of these terms and did not contest them, and these terms will be upheld pending the individual's accountability process and making of reparations. Importance of privacy and discretion We also want to emphasise that the protection of the identity of the survivor is paramount to us, and that we do not condone the sharing of the survivor’s identity. The survivor has asked that their privacy be respected by not sharing their name. Furthermore, as the police investigation is still ongoing, and to minimise further harm, discretion is advised in speaking publicly, speculating upon, or posting details about the situation. Reflections and accountability The individual had concealed his full actions from us, taking a long time for all of us to be informed of the severity and extent of the situation, as well as of the ongoing investigation, until as late January 2021. We are aggrieved that we did not know enough to take action sooner. While our inaction emerged from a lack of knowledge about the full situation, we recognise that silence reinforces the violent logics of power that are so often stacked against survivors. We know that the length of time taken to address this has left many of us and those in the broader community with questions, anxieties, confusion, and anger. People with various degrees of involvement with this situation have also been distressed and traumatised— please know we are trying our best to take appropriate action with the survivor’s welfare in mind. We are truly sorry for prolonging or exacerbating the turmoil the survivor, or anyone else who has learned about the situation, has already experienced. We have been having difficult conversations with one another and as a group to figure out the best way to carry forward in a way that facilitates both accountability and healing: accountability from us towards the survivor, towards the community, and internally, towards ourselves. Some of us are in the process of working out ways to provide and direct support towards the individual’s process of being accountable, making reparations, and taking responsibility for the impact of his actions towards the survivor, the wider community, and his peers. We underscore that this is not an easy process but we recognise that these efforts are important in the long run for the survivor, the individual who has committed harm, the community at large, and last but not least, ourselves. As many of us remain deeply hurt and appalled by his actions, these efforts are voluntary and only undertaken by those with the capacity to do so. We empathise with the survivor and wish them the space and time for healing, keeping in mind that the process is long and complex. We thank the survivor for their immense strength and their efforts to engage and communicate with us. Signed by: Huiying Ng Johann Yamin Kamiliah Bahdar Kenneth Loe Luca Lum Marcus Yee Moses Tan Shawn Chua Godwin Koay *This statement was written by the following members of soft/WALL/studs: Huiying Ng, Johann Yamin, Kamiliah Bahdar, Kenneth Loe, Luca Lum, and Marcus Yee. This group’s composition and this statement were formed in and through communication with the survivor. **There were twelve members co-organising soft/WALL/studs until January 2021.