Cooking up the kampung spirit: Ngiam Su-Lin

Meet Ngiam Su-Lin, 44, Co-founder and Executive Director of ArtsWok Collaborative, an arts- based NPO that engages the general public via community-based arts projects, research and advocacy. The ArtsWok team partners with organisations and groups to put up participatory performances and public art installations examining various social issues, presents plays by young people on social issues in an annual theatre festival, and trains and mentors practitioners in arts and community work. Su-Lin herself is no stranger to the local arts scene—she’s worked in this space for almost two decades, producing community theatre and festivals—but she’s also a trained counsellor and served briefly as a pastor. ISHAN SINGH speaks to her about her artful quest to create dialogue, invite social participation and bridge differences.