OUR PRESENTERS
Dr. Felicia Low
Dr. Felicia Low, a graduate of Goldsmith’s College, is a visual artist, art educator and applied arts researcher. A Lee Kong Chian scholar of the National University of Singapore, Felicia obtained a PhD in Cultural Studies in Asia in 2015. She has also written a pedagogical guide and trains artists-facilitators on Person-centred Arts Practices with Communities, with support from the National Arts Council. Since 2000, she has worked with various arts and social institutions and organisations, such as the National Gallery, The Necessary Stage, Singapore Cancer Society and Dementia Singapore, to conceptualise, conduct and coordinate arts programmes and research.
Felicia was the recipient of the Outstanding Youth In Education Award 2005 and was selected for the President’s Young Talent Show 2009 organized by the Singapore Art Museum. She received the Teaching Merit Award from the Singapore University of Social Sciences in 2019. Felicia is the founding director of Community Cultural Dimensions, which aims to provide a critical discursive platform for artistic practices that engage with communities in the region. She is also a part-time supervisor at Lasalle (MA Arts Pedagogies and Practice), associate lecturer at NTU (BA Public Policy & Global Affairs) and at the NUS (MA in Arts and Cultural Entrepreneurship). More info about Felicia’s work can be found at https://ccd.sg/
Peggy Ferroa
Peggy Ferroa is a community artist who uses theatre to help individuals build new relationships with themselves, their community and their audience. With her extensive experience from stage, screen and radio, Peggy has created performances with corporations, local residents, individuals with special needs, older adults, hospice residents, inmates, and cultural communities like the Peranakans. These performances take the form of personal narratives, plays, musicals, short films, or even radio plays. Her productions have been featured at the Singapore International Festival of Arts, Singapore’s Silver Arts Festival, Japan’s World Gold Theatre Festival and Malaysia’s George Town Festival.
Her conference presentations include The Shifting Roles of an Artist Working in a Singapore Prison (4th International Teaching Artist Conference, New York), This Is My Song: a music programme for hospice patients (5th International Teaching Artist Conference, Seoul, Korea), When a Story is More Than a Story (6th International Teaching Artist Conference, Oslo, Norway) A New Pulse for Seniors in Community Theatre, (LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore) and “Is it My Turn?” Co-creating with Seniors (Chinese University of Hong Kong). She has also written a chapter in Routledge’s Companion to Applied Performance entitled Glowing with Age. Apart from her independent practice, Peggy is Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore where she teaches for the module, Theatre and Community Engagement. More information on Peggy’s work can be found at https://peggyferroa.wixsite.com/peggyferroa
Denise Leong
Denise Leong is a community dance artist and arts entrepreneur whose heart goes out to communities in need. As a firm believer that dance is integral to healthcare, she is passionate about exploring the rich possibilities that exist where the arts and the sciences overlap. As a self-professed late bloomer in dance, she may fall short in a handful of technical skills. Although as a strong advocate of community dance, Denise believes that gives her an edge in connecting with the people she seeks to share dance with and also allows her to embody what she so often shares about dance — that dance truly is for every body. Denise is a recipient of National Arts Council Arts Scholar (2022). More info about Denise and the work she does can be found at howone.org
Catherine Sng
Catherine Sng has been a familiar face on Singapore stage and screen since 1998. In 2003, she started giving Mandarin drama classes for seniors under the now defunct, Dramaplus Arts and in 2008, she founded a community theatre group called The Glowers Drama Club (亮点戏剧团). Catherine holds drama sessions every Friday at Kampong Glam Community Club and engages a group of dedicated seniors aged 50 to 85 years old. Her aim is to provide a platform for seniors to stay mentally and physically alert, showcase their talent and expand their social network. Performances are often nostalgia themed and presented in simple English, Mandarin and various local dialects and languages. Their plays reach seniors living in the heartlands who often, have little or no access to the arts. The Glowers have also performed at Singapore’s Silver Arts Festival, Malaysia’s George Town Festival and Japan’s World Gold Theatre Festival. More information on The Glowers can be found at http://theglowers.com/
Wong Swee Yean
Swee Yean has been a full-time storyteller for 18 years and involved in the storytelling scene both in Singapore and overseas. She was President of the Storytelling Association (Singapore) for 4 years and currently Director of the 398.2 Storytelling Festival 23 held annually at the National Library of Singapore. She is passionate about promoting the art of storytelling, spreading stories that educate and make us wiser. The stories evoke feelings and memories, and connect people. Swee Yean has worked with people ages from 3 to 93 because stories appeal to young and old. With the support of National Arts Council, she developed successful online and face-to-face programmes for older people such as ‘Treasures of The Heart’, ‘Stories and Rhymes of My Youth’, ‘Grandpa and Grandma Tell You A Story’. The most recent Silver Arts project ‘Telling Your Stories, Sharing Your Memories’ is one where the participants went through a process of reminiscence using exhibits from Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s SINGAPO⼈ exhibition as well as folktales . She also runs a monthly programme in collaboration with the National Library Board called StoryingSeniors, guiding older adults through a process of reminiscence to recall memories and then crafting them for others to hear them. The participants do plan to showcase their stories to a public audience once or twice a year.
More information on her work can be found here https://linktr.ee/sweesilverprog
Dr. Darius Lim
Darius Lim (Dr.) is an internationally published composer (Edition Peters, Walton Music, Pana Musica, Muziksea) and award-winning conductor. He is one of the most sought-after Singaporean choral composer-conductors working today, and is most known for his unique infusion of lyrical, dramatic, instrumental, and theatrical elements. As the Founder and Artistic Director of Voices of Singapore, Darius also holds several positions in the local and global music scene, including CEO of The Voice Company, Council Member in the Asia Pacific Choral Council, Board Chairman of the World Alliance of Children's Choirs, and Board Member of the International Federation for Choral Music.
Voices of Singapore (VOS) is Singapore's largest singing organisation, transforming lives through the power of music and choral singing. With over 20 singing groups of different styles and genres, VOS is Singapore's largest singing organisation with 1,000 members across its choirs and programmes participating in various projects and festivals. As an arts charity, VOS combines artistic excellence with community impact. The VOS State Choirs pursue the highest levels of choral singing, while community outreach choirs extend their impact to special needs individuals, the elderly, and children at risk. Choral music fosters empowerment, connection, and a sense of belonging within a vibrant singing community.
Dr. Filomar Cortezano Tariao
Dr. Fil, as he is fondly called by his students, leads the Dance Sciences in NAFA-UAS. He is a Doctor of Medicine and holds a Masters of Science in Science of Learning. He received his Certificate in Adult Learning and a post-graduate Diploma on Higher Education in 2020. He became President of World Dance Alliance Singapore that same year and is currently collaborating with the Ministry of Education and National Arts Council to deliver Dance Safety courses to its continuing education constituents. He is a full-scholar alumnus of the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (Dance) and has been professionally performing, teaching, choreographing, and presenting internationally for over 25 years.
His current multidisciplinary works examine themes of inclusivity and diversity as he collaborates regularly with neurodiverse industry clients including the elderly and the differently-abled. He is a fully certified Pilates teacher and licensed physician as well.
Ho Seok Kee
Ho Seok Kee is an interdisciplinary artist and wellness coach. She graduated from NAFA in 2016 with a Diploma in Fine Art at NAFA in 2016. She was also the valedictorian of her class of 2016. As a recipient of the NAFA Entry Scholarship (Degree), she completed her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Fine Art, offered by NAFA and conferred Loughborough University in 2018. She received her master’s in Applied Gerontology from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 2022. Kee has received many accolades for her artwork, including the UOB Painting of The Year, Established Artist Category, Silver Award in 2018 and 2023. She is also an active alumni member of the NAFA-UAS community.
As a wellness coach, Ho focuses on fostering wellbeing, particularly among the elderly. By leveraging her skills and passion, she actively engages with the elderly, imparting the benefits of wellness practices to enhance their quality of life. Kee seeks to create meaningful bonds, extending the impact of her art beyond the canvas.
During her master's degree, she designed and developed a Preventive Mental Health Programme for Seniors. The programme structure underwent rigorous evaluations , calibration, and reviewed by a geriatric doctor, and a registered TCM physician. It was very well received, creating a positive impact on the clients as measured by the WHO-5 Wellbeing Index (WHO-5). The WHO-5 is a tool designed to estimate the level of subjective well-being of an individual over the last two weeks. This programme has been adapted successfully to cater to stroke patients with mobility restrictions.
