Cultural Connections – Volume 5 (2020)
Living In The New Normal – The Arts and Culture Respond

The fifth volume of Cultural Connections focuses on the arts and culture’s response to the year 2020 - a year that will be remembered for the COVID-19 pandemic that tested the entire world economically, socially and politically. This edition is a testament to the arts and culture communities who rallied together to bring solace, entertainment and joy during an isolating time.
Volume V offers a range of perspectives from thought leaders across Australia, China, France, Germany, Indonesia and Singapore on how institutions, governments and communities responded to the pandemic, as well as the way forward to keep the arts and culture alive well into the future.
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Read Individual Chapters
Foreword and Editor-in-Chief's Note
Rosa Daniel, Dean, Culture Academy and Thangamma Karthigesu, Editor-in-Chief. [PDF, 51KB]
Ah Beng’s excursion into the past, present and future of culture
Peter Ho, Senior Advisor, Centre for Strategic Futures and Senior Fellow, Civil Service College [PDF, 238 KB]
Collecting the pandemic crisis: The challenge for museums in the age of COVID-19
Dr Mathew Trinca, Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and Director, National Museum of Australia [PDF, 989 KB]
The space(s) between us: Reflections amidst a pandemic on the role of an arts centre
Yvonne Tham, CEO, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay [PDF, 790 KB]
A strategic approach for museums to the post-COVID-19 world
Ye Yipei, Data Manager, The Palace Museum, China [PDF, 528 KB]
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden in the time of COVID-19
Professor Dr Marion Ackermann, Director General, Dresden State Art Collections (SKD), Germany [PDF, 222 KB]
Cultural opportunities for liveable neighbourhoods
Michael Koh, Executive Fellow, Centre for Liveable Cities, Ministry of National Development and Tan Xin Wei Andy, Manager, Centre for Liveable Cities, Ministry of National Development [PDF 6,372 KB]
The future of culture post COVID-19 in France
Jack Lang, Former Minister of Culture, France and President of the Institut du Monde Arabe [PDF, 171 KB]
Staying COVID-19 secure: Navigating the new normal for museums
Alvin Tan Tze Ee, Deputy Chief Executive (Policy & Community), National Heritage Board [PDF, 1,931 KB]
Staying the course, adopting new mindsets: The arts in the time of COVID
Paul Tan, Deputy Chief Executive, National Arts Council [PDF, 1,299 KB]
Never a dull moment in Jogja
Mella Jaarsma, Co-founder, Cemeti Institute for Art & Society, Yogyakarta, Indonesia [PDF, 1,431 KB]
