We attended unusually high number of cultural events in the last 3 months.
At the invitation of a friend we went to the "The Spirit of Tea in Clay" exhibit at Japanese Creative Center on July 29th, and watched a stage play "The audience" at Singtel Waterfront theater on August 29, and attended TEDx at NTU on September 20th.
The Spirit of Tea in Clay
At the invitation of Lily's Chinese-Japanese friend, we attended a pottery art show, in the evening of July 29, at Japan Creative Center, which is a short walking distance away from our apartment.
The art pieces at the exhibit are simple ceramic teapots, tea cups, tea bowls. The layout was elegant.
We chatted with one artist at the show, Mr. Yoshimura, and his wife briefly.
It was a pleasant evening.
The Audience...a stage play
A month later, we went to watch a recorded British stage play...The Audience, at Singtel Waterfront Theater, on August 29th. It is about UK Queen Elizabeth and her weekly meetings with British Prime Ministers.
We left home early for the play, and enjoyed the sculptures, and murals outside the theater.
When we were set for the play, we were surprised to see that the theater was almost full!
I was also surprised that the stage play was not live. The play we watched was projection of a recorded paly. The project was made for the full stage, not a screen, it felt like watching a live play.
I knew a little bit about British modern political history, so I could follow the play.
Be it is a Queen or a prime minister of a country, they are human beings as well. In addition to politics, they also talked about their daily life, their emotional high and low, their happiness and frustration ...
We enjoyed the play.
Background information:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Audience_(2013_play)
TEDx...
I started listening to TED talk in 2016. My interests in it lasted a year or two.
When Lily suggested to go to a live TEDx at NTU on September 20, I was intrigued, and agreed to go to our 1st ever live TEDx event.
The theme of this event was Inter[x]. Inter[x] celebrates the power to Interact, Intersect, and Interrupt—to connect across boundaries, uncover unexpected possibilities, and rethink the world through fresh perspectives. From science and technology to business, culture, and human experience, the speakers reveal how transformation happens when and where different worlds meet.
TEDX event was held at Nanyang auditorium on NTU campus. In addition to the 5 TEDx talks, it also had performances by students between the talks
The talk that I was impressed with, is by Julien Cayla, a business anthropologist. He uncovers the hidden forces behind collective energy, showing how insights from multiple disciplines can help us create richer, more meaningful human connections every day.
His main points are that co presence physically, people have mutual focus, and they synchronize with each other, generate emotional energy. He also showed that status and autonomy amplify emotional energy.
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| The talk |
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| performance |
Occasional cultural events enrich our outdoor centric, nature themed life.
