What I Did.

In my second year of Arts Business Management, I was the Logistics Lead for “Prelude: Revivify” at the Verve Arts Festival 2023 with the theme “You’re Only Young Once! This multifaceted festival allowed me to apply what I had learned in my various modules related to arts education, outreach, community art, visual communications, partnership and volunteer development.

As the Logistics Lead, I managed all logistical aspects of the programme including coordinating materials at Verve Arts Festival 2023 and many others. I had regular meetings with my team to discuss our goals, assign tasks and check progress. The collaboration helped the team members develop ownership and accountability towards the different tasks.

Participants were given the opportunity to reinvent their life stories through an innovative approach to growing up in the course “Prelude: Revivify”. We engaged the participants in paper puppet-making and storytelling through collaboration with artists Genevieve Tan and Ramzie Tahar. The activities were designed such that one could narrate many forms of the story. Many participants took home their paper puppets!

The overall experience was very gratifying although there was a certain level of logistics coordination with the artists and sourcing of participants elicited challenges. I came up with this idea of getting talented artists to showcase their work through interactive sessions at the library. The festival’s website, radio, and social media, such as IG and TikTok, promoted the program, generating public interest and attendance.

What I Learned.

This experience helped me dramatically improve my skills in developing and managing programs. I discovered that managing time and communicating effectively is very essential. I also understood how to prioritize my tasks and keep communicating effectively. I have learned the significance of constant communication via updates and check-ins.

Working with artists, participants, and the community made me more adaptable and taught me how to overcome challenges by collaborating in a team. For instance, when there were issues with the artists’s logistics, I changed the logistics in no time and informed the team. Hence, we remained on track without compromising the programme’s quality.

Moreover, I learnt about the emotional and social challenges faced by participants, which enabled me to seek more empathetic and creative solutions for any difficulty. Realizing where all participants came from helped me adjust activities to make them more inclusive and relatable. Being able to see the fruits of our effort come to life in the words of our participants re-affirmed my dedication towards social causes.

Goals for Continued Learning.

Moving forward, I hope to improve my logistics management and communication skills through more arts management and community engagement opportunities in the future. I want to take part in events that focus on how to effectively plan, engage an audience and creatively facilitate.

I also want to take charge of leadership roles in projects in the future to sharpen my coordination skills and train newbies. I want to create an atmosphere focused on cooperation and creativity by taking these roles in events. I also hope to get more community involvement in the future so that my efforts are extra needed and helpful. This thought has made me more committed to creating experiences that impact culture and I look forward to applying things from this project into my future works.