Date and Time: 

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26 February, Saturday - 2:00pm to 3:30pm

Level 2, Design Orchard

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The Orchard Rd precinct is notable for many things, one of which that it is heavily planned and structured in service to all manners of shopping and the glorious celebration of consumer capitalism. But yet, some of the most vibrant parts of the precinct are the result of communities defying this planning to create space for themselves. This panel discusses and celebrates this living history.

 

Panelists:

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Jerome Lim, Heritage blogger and enthusiast

Ginette Chittick, artist, DJ, fashion educator and former Far East Plaza Kid

Roy Payamal, busker, performance artists, clown-at-heart

 

Moderator:

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Becca D’Bus, Drag Queen, Creative Director, The Non Season

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Panelists Bios

 

Jerome Lim

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Jerome Lim is a heritage enthusiast and a keen photographer, who captures Singapore’s fast evolving urban and cultural landscape through his award-winning ‘The Long and Winding Road’ blog.

 

He is also the author of ‘Uncommon Ground: The Places You Know, The Stories You Don’t’ and co-author of ‘Secret Singapore’ both of which contain stories hidden in Singapore’s lesser-known sites. Through collaborations with various agencies and organisations, Jerome has also developed content for and led site expert tours to heritage sites and for events such as the Fullerton Building’s 89th Anniversary, Singapore Heritage Festival, Discovering Singapore’s Best Kept Secrets and Battle for Singapore.    

 

 

Ginette Chittick

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Raised on a diet of Shoegaze, Indie rock, Punk and Riot Grrrl mixtapes, Ginette Chittick dipped her stubby little fingers in zine production, organising indie-rock shows, founding and playing in some of Singapore’s pioneering Indie and Punk bands. She made some detours in her musical journey and started a fashion label, got into lecturing in an art college and somewhere along the way she became the resident DJ at the legendary now-shuttered underground bar, Home Club for 7 years with her cult BEAT! nights. And was resident DJ at the Stay night at Avalon Singapore and held the 90s indie rock night Pops of the Top at Loof Singapore . She’s shared the stage with Klaxons, Kele Okereke of Bloc Party, Lovefoxxx of Cansei De Ser Sexy, Hot Chip and The Presets, Andy Rourke of The Smiths, Mani of the Stone Roses, The FutureHeads, Kaiser Chiefs, Peaches, The MisShapes, Foster the People, Digitalism, White Lies, Holyf*ck, Moonlight Matters, Simian Mobile Disco, Mani of Stone Roses, the post party for Muse and SingFest. She has also DJed at the X-Riders for Redbull event which saw a turn-out of 18,000. Ginette was also the guest lecturer for the MFO Girl DJ Bootcamp for years ’10 and ‘11. She was on deck duty at the inaugural Laneway Festival in ’11 that saw bands like Foals, LadyHawke, Holyf*ck, Beachhouse, Yeasayer, Deerhunter, Warpaint and !!!. She’s been on deck duties at fashion store openings, product launches and fashion festivals such as Kate Spade Saturday, H&M, Swatch, Audi Fashion Festival, BluePrint, Ferragamo, Fendi, Gucci, Men’s Fashion Week, i.t. Store Singapore launch, Doc Martens, Sephora, DFS, Bulgari, Audi, Jaguar, Juicy Couture, Fendi, Love Bonito, WeWork co-working space, Burberry (Beijing ‘10), Vitamin Water Singapore launch, launch of Navyboot MSone Limited Sneaker Edition Collection by Michael Schumacher (Shanghai ’11), TopShop private parties, the inaugural BluePrint Fashion Trade Show ’10, the inaugural Men’s Fashion Week ‘11, Audi, Singapore Film Festival ‘15/’17 and Puma.

Before the pandemic hit, she helmed an indie dance and alt-rock club night at Intermission Bar which she is hoping to return to ASAP.

 

Roy Payamal

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Roy Payamal is a stalwart of the Singapore busking scene, performance artist and clown-at-heart. With self-taught skills in juggling, fire-eating and acrobatics, he was one of the earliest buskers in Singapore, starting in his late teens. Eventually recognized as a street artist for his statue work and installations, his work deepens the dialogue between street art and local culture.

 

Roy founded Singapore’s original juggling club in The Substation Garden and was part of Mime Unlimited. Past artistic work include performances with Zai Kuning’s Metabollic Theatre Laboratory and Growing Madness, Plastique Kinetic Worms, ACT3, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (Japan) and international busking festivals in Italy, France and Singapore. As one half of performance duo Singapierrot, he was commissioned for Singapore Night Festival 2013.

 

In 2015, feature film Singapore Minstrel, about his life, premiered at the 26th Singapore International Film Festival and travelled festivals around the world. In 2021, STREET FOUND, his book of writing and images, was published with a launch and performance at the original Substation on its final night of operations as we knew it.

 

Roy has not busked since the pandemic hit.

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Becca D’Bus

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Becca D'Bus is Singapore's biggest drag queen. In this pandemic panic, she's created facemasks under the brand Cover Your Pie Hole, available at Design Orchard. She is the producer and host of Commotion, weekly drag revues at The Projector. As an activist she is particularly interested in issues of queer liberation, and is particularly interested in how communities can engage in communication, conflict and pleasure. As a performer, she has appeared with theatre companies like TheatreWorks Singapore, Teater Ekamatra, The Theater Offensive in Boston, festivals such as Singapore International Festival of Arts, The Night Festival, Neon Lights and Singapore Writers Festival. She’s big. She's colourful. She has a potty mouth. Some have called Becca D’Bus a "revolution", she thought she was doing pirouettes. 

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