TeamBrack
Third Edition – August 21-October 26, 2025
Official Website: https://listeningbiennial.net/biennial-editions/third-edition
Audio Exhibition curated by Alecia Neo, Soledad García Saavedra, Suvani Suri with Brandon LaBelle.
Launched for the first time in Singapore, the Singapore edition is curated by artist Alecia Neo and co-programmed with publisher Ng Kah Gay of Ethos Books.
An Invite into Third Listening
For the Singapore edition, we practise Third Listening as deep empathy for all lifeforms. Thich Nhat Hanh’s concept of interbeing, as expressed in The Other Shore, suggests that all things are interconnected, and by recognising this, we can overcome the illusion of separateness that fuels misunderstanding and division.
Exploring various forms of attunement and communication between humans and with non-human kin, the artists and their works become vessels for sounding―to remember, to resist and to repair. Through the perspectives and positions of the artists, as witnesses, facilitators and guides, carers, diasporic individuals, we encounter histories, languages and lived experiences that refuse to be flattened or made invisible by dominant narratives or changing landscapes. Attending to the blindspots, noise and crevices in our urban lives and architecture, their works touch and stay with the spaces between and within bodies, embracing an ecological politics where movement and relation continuously reorient us beyond predetermined labels (Erin Manning, Always More Than One: Individuation’s Dance).
As a highlight of the Singapore Night Festival, the artists of The Listening Biennial invite you to enter the space of Third Listening, to listen out for a plurality of life-forms as well as pathways of interconnection between seemingly irreconcilable differences.
Participating Artists & Creatives (Singapore Edition):
Rachel S.Y Chen with Wheelsmith and Sky Shen (Singapore), Chong Li-Chuan (Singapore), Chu Chu Yuan (Malaysia), cat cortes (Singapore), Nicky Dumapit (The Philippines), Hear & Found (Singapore), Shwe Wutt Hmon (Myanmar), Lynn Nandar Htoo (Myanmar), Jade Johnson (UK), Jay Koh (Singapore/Germany), Theophilus Kwek (Singapore), Chef Kuah Kai Wen (Singapore), Adeline Kueh (Singapore/Malaysia), Okui Lala, Ana Estrada and Nasrikah (Malaysia/Australia/Indonesia), Terence Lau (Singapore), Isabelle Lim (Singapore), Grace Lee-Khoo (Singapore), Benedict Tay (Singapore), John McAuliffe (Ireland), Sanat Mehta (India), Mok Zining (Singapore), Aine Nakamura (US/Japan), Natalia Tan (Singapore), Esther Vincent (Singapore), Susie Wong (Singapore), Superlative Futures (Singapore), Woo Yen Yen (Singapore) and alumni artists from LASALLE College of the Arts, Ana Osprey (Russia), Chok Si Xuan (Singapore), Lokman Mohamad (Singapore), Billie Sng (Singapore), Zheng Jialei (Singapore) and Danial Shafiq (Singapore)
Ticketing: eventbrite
Artwork & Programmes Catalogue: Download
Singapore Night Festival
Dates: 22 Aug – 6 Sep 2025
Various Locations: Tue to Sun – 7:30 PM to 11 PM
Closed on Mon
Except for Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film: 22 Aug – 28 Sep 2025
Tue & Wed 12 PM – 7 PM
Thurs – Sun 12 PM – 10 PM
Exhibition Locations:
42 Waterloo Street (42WS): Listening Biennial Audio Exhibition (various artists), including Superlative Futures (Singapore), Rachel S.Y. Chen with Wheelsmith and Sky Shen (Singapore), Isabelle Lim (Singapore)
Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film (OC): Shwe Wutt Hmon (Myanmmar), Okui Lala, Ana Estrada and Nasrikah (Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia), Festival Bookshop
Stamford Arts Centre (SAC): Hear & Found (Thailand) Listening Pods by Centre 42
Waterloo Centre (WC): Chong Li-Chuan (Singapore)
Public Engagements & Live Performances by Artists:
Fri, 22 Aug
7:30 PM – 10:10 PM, Silent Studio, Isabelle Lim (Singapore), 42WS Black Box
Sat, 23 Aug
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM, Opening Reception, 42WS Courtyard
7:30 PM – 10:10 PM, Silent Studio, Isabelle Lim (Singapore), 42WS Black Box
8.30 PM – 9:15 PM Performing Reverence, Sanat Mehta (India), performance, SAC
8.30 PM – 9.30 PM, DJ stims at My tiny space, Rachel S.Y. Chen, Wheelsmith and Sky Shen (Singapore), artist interaction, 42WS Rehearsal Studio
Wed, 27 Aug
7:30 PM – 9 PM A Rustle in the Pages: Listening in the World of Words, John McAuliffe (Ireland), Mok Zining and Theophilus Kwek (Singapore), poetry talk, 42WS Black Box
Fri, 29 Aug
5 PM – 6 PM
Listening Tour: I hear you, you hear me (Listening while coexisting), guided by Saskia Alifya
Listening Tour: the distance to a lost sound, guided by Isabelle Tay
7 PM – 8.30 PM 凯 · 味 Dinner at Kai’s by Chef Kuah Kai Wen (Singapore), hosted by cat cortes at Practice Tuckshop
7.30 PM – 10.30 PM New Practices for Tidal Attunement: Guided Walk, Superlative Futures (Singapore), performance, 42WS Courtyard
Sat, 30 Aug
2 PM – 4 PM, On Any Given Day: A Soundwalk at Hong Lim Complex, Chong Li-Chuan (Singapore)
7 PM – 8 PM On Any Given Day: An Ode to Waterloo, Chong Li-Chuan (Singapore), performance, Waterloo Centre
7 PM – 8.30 PM 凯 · 味 Dinner at Kai’s by Chef Kuah Kai Wen (Singapore), hosted by cat cortes at Practice Tuckshop
8.30PM – 9.30 PM i. womb song, ii. love is the song, Esther Vincent (Singapore) & Aine Nakamura (US/Japan), poetry reading, voice and movement performance, 42WS Black Box
Sun, 31 Aug
2 PM – 4 PM Field Recording Workshop, Hear & Found (Thailand), Objectifs, Lower Gallery, Level 2
7.30 PM – 10 PM, Mapping Ancestry, Jade Johnson (UK), workshop, 42WS Inner Courtyard
Fri, 5 Sep
7:30 PM – 10:10 PM, Silent Studio, Isabelle Lim (Singapore), 42WS Black Box
Sat, 6 Sep
5 PM – 6 PM
Listening Tour: I hear you, you hear me (Listening while coexisting), guided by Saskia Alifya
Listening Tour: the distance to a lost sound, guided by Isabelle Tay
7:30 PM – 10:10 PM, Silent Studio, Isabelle Lim, 42WS Black Box
Sun, 7 Sep
7 AM – 7 PM, letters to the sea, Natalia Tan, East Coast Park Pier
The Listening Biennial LAB at LASALLE
Presented by McNally School of Fine Arts, in collaboration with Diploma in Theatre Production and Management
Curated by artist Alecia Neo and co-programmed with publisher Ng Kah Gay of Ethos Books
Special thanks to McNally School of Fine Arts, Lasalle College of the Arts – University of the Arts for this collaborative partnership with the Listening Biennial enabled by: Dr. Cissie Fu, McNally School of Fine Arts, Head of School and Hazel Lim, Programme Leader, BA(Hons) Fine Arts.
Our heartfelt appreciation to Adeline Chia, Jay Koh, Faye Lim, Charlene Rajendran, Lynn Sim, Jennifer Teo, Chu Lik Ren, Sharaad Kuttan and Grey Yeoh for the loan of Chu Chu Yuan’s artworks.
Dates: 10 – 15 Sep 2025
Opening Hours:
10 to 11 Sep: 12 PM to 7 PM
12 to 13 Sep: 12 PM to 10 PM
14 to 15 Sep: 12 PM to 7 PM
Venue: LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts
Galleries: Brother Joseph McNally, Praxis Space and Project Space
This third edition of the Listening Biennial takes shape through the concept of Third Listening, which, imagined as a form of interstitial listening intent on sensing and staying with the different urgencies spanning cultural and material worlds, emphasises intersubjectivity and interdependence. Done together and despite exclusionary systems, Third Listening enables acts of speaking-with and embodied living ethics that support diverse abilities, thus holding the tension inherent to hospitality, where coexistence requires the continuous struggle, imagination, courage and protection. From contending with current polarisations to honouring the shared vitality of planetary life, such interstitial listening follows the pulse of a thick relationality that defines contemporary experience.
Listening Biennial LAB at LASALLE is a co-learning laboratory, inviting collective imagining of pathways to practise, transmit and carry the third within us. The LAB offers a dedicated space for audience agency: we are invited to respond to the Listening Biennial audio exhibition, which includes works by six LASALLE Fine Arts alumni, via narration, translation and alternative creative forms. Traces and responses recorded during the course of the LAB will be compiled and published as a glossary of Third Listening, which unfolds around three key themes:
Social repair and restorative practices: considering communication and empathetic gaps within society
Aural diversity and diversely abled positions: considering practices to further and deepen inclusiveness in our society
Ecological and planetary attunement: considering channels to develop ecological sensitivity to planetary sustainability
Participating Artists
Rachel S.Y Chen with Wheelsmith and Sky Shen (Singapore), Chong Li-Chuan (Singapore), Chu Chu Yuan (Malaysia), Nicky Dumapit (The Philippines), Hear & Found (Singapore), Jade Johnson (UK), Adeline Kueh (Singapore/Malaysia), Okui Lala, Ana Estrada and Nasrikah (Malaysia/Australia/Indonesia), Terence Lau (Singapore), Isabelle Lim (Singapore), Grace Lee-Khoo (Singapore), Jill J. Tan (Singapore), Benedict Tay (Singapore), Natalia Tan (Singapore), Jay Koh (Singapore/Germany), Susie Wong (Singapore), Daniel Wong (Singapore), Superlative Futures (Singapore), Woo Yen Yen (Singapore), Ana Osprey (Russia), Chok Si Xuan (Singapore), Lokman Mohamad (Singapore), Billie Sng (Singapore), Zheng Jialei (Singapore) and Danial Shafiq (Singapore).
Public Programmes:
Fri, 12 Sep
6.30 PM – 8.30 PM, Opening of The Listening Biennial LAB
6.30 pm Opening reception begins @ Brother Joseph McNally Gallery
7.00 pm Opening speech by Alecia Neo (Curator, Listening Biennial 2025) with Ng Kah Gay (Co-programmer and Publisher, Ethos Books)
7.05 pm Welcome speech by Dr Cissie Fu (Head of School, McNally School of Fine Arts)
7.10 pm Introduction and launch of Eat by Ear Podcast by Dr Woo Yen Yen (Programme Leader, MA Arts Pedagogy and Practice), with culinary experts K.F. Seetoh (Makansutra) and Jason Koh (Serangoon Market Kway Chap)
7.15 pm Listening party of Eat by Ear Episode 2
7.45 pm Panel discussion and Q&A: Yen Yen × KF Seetoh × Jason Koh
8.10 pm Kway Chap Resonance, by second-year BA Music Composition students Lok Chew Ru, Keith Lew, and Adam Sim, mentored by Belinda Foo, followed by Ode to Pig, in Teochew by Yakuza Baby and sing-along
8.20 pm Closing announcement by Alecia Neo and Hazel Lim (Programme Leader, BA (Hons) Fine Arts)
Sat, 13 Sep
12 PM – 1.15 PM Meet-the-artist reception, hosted by Alecia Neo and Ng Kah Gay with exhibiting artists, Brother Joseph McNally Gallery
1.30 PM – 6.30 PM Listening Sessions (Artist Presentations), Brother Joseph McNally Gallery
Featuring artists Okui Lala, Nasrikah and Ana Estrada, Superlative Futures, Isabelle Lim with Grace Lee-Khoo and Benedict Tay, Rachel S.Y Chen, Chong Li-Chuan
Sat, 13 Sep, 7.30 PM – 9.30 PM, Sound Jam, hosted by Terence Lau, Brother Joseph McNally Gallery
Sun, 14 Sep
2 PM – 5 PM, Wayfaring/Wayfinding: The works and practice of Chu Chu Yuan, Brother Joseph McNally Gallery
Featuring speakers Susie Wong, Jay Koh with invited respondents, Daniel Wong and Jill J. Tan.
Listening Circle
Presented by McNally School of Fine Arts, in collaboration with Diploma in Theatre Production and Management
Dates: 17 – 18 Oct 2025
Venue: LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts
Designed for mutual learning and exchange between participants, the Listening Circle offers talks, participatory experiences and workshops by diverse practitioners who share methods, practices and knowledge on listening, care, and collaboration.
Download Full Programme
17 Oct 2025
2:00pm Becoming Intertidal by Teo Xiao Ting and Jill J. Tan
4:30pm Participant PechaKucha–Part 1
6:30pm The science of singing: collective vocalisation towards quantum listening by Dr. Cissie Fu
18 Oct 2025
9:30am STO(RE)TELLING: A Workshop on Performing with Care by Chng Yi Kai
12:30pm Participant PechaKucha–Part 2
2:30pm Across a Membrane (artist talk) by Aine Nakamura
3:30pm Across a Membrane (workshop) by Aine Nakamura
5:30pm Be Carefull! – Listening as a Choreography of Care by Claudine Liang
To apply as a participant, sign up here: https://forms.gle/shGrgcZWDUcpMAWm8
While participation is free of charge, spaces are limited, so registration is required and confirmation will follow.
Acknowledgments
Listening Biennial Singapore Team
Curator: Alecia Neo
Co-programmers: Alecia Neo and Ng Kah Gay
Project Assistants: Hoong Wei Long and Zheshi Afandi
Gallery Assistants: Alisha Jamshaid, Joey Leung, Zheng Qinlei Sarah
Listening Tours: Saskia Alifya and Isabelle Tay
Documentation: Madhumaya Anandan Kumaran and Isabelle Tay
Editorial Advisors: Ng Kah Gay and Jill J. Tan
Official Photographers: Poh Yu Khing and Hoong Wei Long
Marketing & Social Media: Hoong Wei Long and Zheshi Afandi
Intern: Nur Ashserina
Designer: June Lin
Our heartfelt gratitude to our funders, sponsors and partners:
