Case studies Arts

Describe Samantha Lo’s Sticker Lady

• She placed stickers with Singlish phrases such as “Press Once Can Already” on public infrastructure, transforming ordinary traffic lights into informal public art. 

• She was fined approximately S$5,000 under the Vandalism Act

• However, the punishment generated significant media attention and made Lo’s work more widely known, where an online petition supporting her attracted more than 15,000 signatures

• The attention later led to official commissions: in 2021, the Singapore Art Museum commissioned her hoarding artwork OUR FUTURE IS IN(CON)CLUSIVE

Describe marcus pang

• SMRT removed his “Heart of Mountbatten” artwork outside Mountbatten MRT following one complaint

• His Instagram post about the incident received more than 955,000 views

• He then received around 20 business enquiries, compared with his usual one or two per week

Describe Mama Looking for Her Cat — Kuo Pao Kun

• Kuo Pao Kun’s play follows an elderly Teochew-speaking mother whose children have adopted English and Mandarin. 

• Her search for a lost cat symbolises the loss of language, tradition and family connection in rapidly modernising Singapore.

Describe Portrait of Edmond de Belamy

• In 2018, the Paris-based collective Obvious used a machine-learning algorithm trained on historical portraits to create Portrait of Edmond de Belamy. 

• Christie’s sold it for US$432,500, around forty-five times its estimated high price of US$10,000. 

• The sale brought AI-generated art into a major international auction house and forced debate over whether the artist was the algorithm, its programmers or the collective

Describe Ai Weiwei’s Law of the Journey

• Ai Weiwei’s Law of the Journey is a seventy-metre inflatable refugee boat carrying 258 faceless figures. 

• It was displayed at the National Gallery Prague during the Syrian refugee crisis

• Greater public and institutional attention to refugee suffering

Describe hunger games

• Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games criticises authoritarianism, inequality and media manipulation through a story about children forced into televised death matches.

• Its three-finger salute became a real protest symbol in Thailand and Myanmar. 

• After Myanmar’s 2021 coup, tens of thousands protested using the gesture, while more than 4,700 anti-coup demonstrations were recorded by June.

• The salute gave students, teachers, civil servants and healthcare workers an instantly recognisable sign of solidarity

Describe handmaids tale

• Margaret Atwood’s novel depicts a theocratic state that controls women’s bodies and reproductive choices. 

• In 2017, approximately 30 women organised by Planned Parenthood wore Handmaid-inspired red robes and white bonnets at the US Capitol’s “People’s Filibuster” against the Republican healthcare bill. 

• Similar protests occurred in Texas, Ohio, Belfast, Argentina and London, including campaigns against abortion restrictions and Donald Trump’s policies.

State music for social change examples

“Baraye” — Shervin Hajipour

“Strange Fruit” — Billie Holiday

“La Belleza” — Lido Pimienta

Describe “Baraye” — Shervin Hajipour

• The song lists ordinary reasons for resistance, including dancing, freedom and the desire for a better life.

• It received 40 million views in less than 48 hours, became an anthem of Iran’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests and was performed by supporters internationally.

• Hajipour was arrested after releasing it, but the attention surrounding the song helped secure its global recognition, including the first Grammy Award for Best Song for Social Change in 2023.

Describe “Strange Fruit” — Billie Holiday

• “Strange Fruit” used to confront the lynching of African Americans in the United States.

• It brought an explicitly anti-racist message into popular music at a time when many radio stations refused to play it.

Describe “La Belleza” — Lido Pimienta

• Colombian singer and songwriter Lido Pimienta’s wanted to showcase "Caribbean sublime”, to dispel the stereotypical place to relax or to go wild, but a place to be respected 

• She collaborated with New York City Ballet to create music called “La Belleza” meaning the beauty in Spanish, the company’s first score from a woman of color -> making her mark in the global arts industry

Describe The Laramie Project

• The Laramie Project was created from interviews conducted after the 1998 murder of gay student Matthew Shepard.

• It included the voices of residents, police officers, clergy and community leaders, turning one hate crime into a wider discussion about homophobia. 

• The play has since been staged in schools, universities and community theatres as a tool for LGBTQ+ education.

Describe hamilton

• Retells the story of American founder Alexander Hamilton through hip-hop and a racially diverse cast

• It won eleven Tony Awards in 2016 and brought a younger audience into mainstream theatre.