On 16 April 2024, ASEF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Temenggong Artists-In-Residence with the aim of facilitating opportunities for collaboration between the two organisations in the arts and culture sectors for the year 2024.
For their first joint project, ASEF and Temenggong will host a music residency programme with Tempo Reale (Italy) and Siong Leng Musical Association (Singapore) in June 2024.
Siong Leng is a non-profit arts organisation that was established in 1941 and aims to preserve, promote and develop Nanyin, an ancient musical artform that dates back to the Han Dynasty. The ensemble not only works towards the preservation of Nanyin, but also its revitalisation through the infusion of new creative ideas. The residency collaboration with Tempo Reale, an electronic music research, production, and educational centre, based Florence (Italy), will allow an exchange of art forms between tradition and contemporary practices.
At the end of the residency period in Singapore, the two music groups will perform at Temenggong Artists-In-Residence on 21 June 2024 during an exclusive event in the framework of the Asia-Europe Cultural Festival 2024.
Following the residency period in Singapore, Siong Leng and Tempo Reale will continue the exchange with periodic online meetings and another onsite residency in Rovereto, Italy.
The project will culminate in a shared performance in September 2024 as part of the programme of the Asia-Europe Cultural Festival 2024 in Rovereto, Italy.