Indian Heritage Centre’s first-ever digital edition of CultureFest came to a close on September 20 after a fortnight of eclectic events and performances revolving around the Indian epic Ramayana.
"Here’s a big THANK YOU to everyone who was a part of #ihcculturefest!", the CultureFest team posted in its post-festival round-up on FB.
"We hope you enjoyed our cultural content bites presented throughout the festival! Do stay connected and look out for more curated digital experiences coming your way!", the post read.
The Indian Heritage Centre's CultureFest 2020 – Digital Edition, was replete with multiracial performers and multiple art forms from across South East Asian countries, with a shared heritage of Ramayana.
With a virtual launch on September 5, this year’s IHC’s CultureFest kicked off with a featured digital dance production by Apsaras Arts, a recipient of NHB’s The Stewards of Singapore’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Award.
Over the next fortnight the CultureFest featured about 40 programmes and brought together over 100 artistes who showcased the diversity of Indian arts, culture and heritage in Singapore through the lens of the epic literary work Ramayana, says General Manager of Indian Heritage Centre, Maria Bhavani Dass.
The event was mostly digital where performances premiered and were hosted on the IHC Facebook page, along with a few on the ground activities and workshops as well as a few live performances.
“As of 20th September, the digital content on our Facebook page has reached over 1.4 million viewers,” said Mrs. Dass.
The viewers were mostly from Singapore as well as countries like India, Malaysia and Australia.
“We are even more heartened to receive the positive feedback and comments from the participants, viewers and community partners who shared that this year’s Digital Edition was engaging, inclusive and had given them the flexibility to enjoy the content at their own convenience”, Mrs. Dass added.
Despite being a hybrid festival with very few activities on the ground, the festival created a buzz and incredible positivity among both the performers and the audience watching mostly from home.
In the midst of the COVID pandemic and in spite of treading on a previously unexplored digital platform, the IHC CultureFest provided its audience with a diverse and immersive fortnight of Indian arts, culture and heritage.