Some Small Breakthroughs – you are what you eat.

Tey Tat Sing TETAWOWE ATELIER's session was moderated by Chia Shi Chee BASIC DESIGN WORKSHOP, and coordinated by PAMSC and GARIS PXL

Last Friday's lecture by Tey Tat Sing of Tetawowe Atelier marked the end of Season 2 of PAMSC's online lecture series for 2020. Throughout this series and the earlier 5at5 PDF (PAMSC Design Forum) series, we have selected a diverse range of speakers – from the established practitioners of our profession to the emerging, mostly young architects and designers whom we think have important things to say.

This is our effort to provide a balance for our audience, and to be inclusive in our choices. Truth be told, we are partial to the emerging, the unsung, the left-of-centre and the undocumented. There are several reasons for this; first of which is exposure for these architects who are in need for a different platform. (different because they are quite prolific in their own circle; this is how we hear of them). The second reason is for our own exposure and education, especially in these uncertain times, we need to equip ourselves with many more skills and insights.   

Kazuo Ishiguro explains it better than me (writing is his profession, not mine) – this is an excerpt from his Nobel Lecture on the 7^th of December 2017 ‘My Twentieth Century Evening – and Other Small Breakthroughs’.  (the emphasis is mine)

So here I am, a man in my sixties, rubbing my eyes and trying to discern the outlines, out there in the mist, to this world I didn't suspect even existed until yesterday. Can I, a tired author, from an intellectually tired generation, now find the energy to look at this unfamiliar place? Do I have something left that might help to provide perspective, to bring emotional layers to the arguments, fights and wars that will come as societies struggle to adjust to huge changes? I'll have to carry on and do the best I can.

Because I still believe that literature is important, and will be particularly so as we cross this difficult terrain. But I'll be looking to the writers from the younger generations to inspire and lead us. This is their era, and they will have the knowledge and instinct about it that I will lack. In the worlds of books, cinema, TV and theatre I see today adventurous, exciting talents: women and men in their forties, thirties and twenties. So I am optimistic. Why shouldn't I be?

Firstly, we must widen our common literary world to include many more voices from beyond our comfort zones of the elite first world cultures. We must search more energetically to discover the gems from what remain today unknown literary cultures, whether the writers live in far away countries or within our own communities. Second: we must take great care not to set too narrowly or conservatively our definitions of what constitutes good literature. The next generation will come with all sorts of new, sometimes bewildering ways to tell important and wonderful stories. We must keep our minds open to them, especially regarding genre and form, so that we can nurture and celebrate the best of them. In a time of dangerously increasing division, we must listen. Good writing and good reading will break down barriers. We may even find a new idea, a great humane vision, around which to rally.

To echo the great writer and thinker - these new voices may not dove-tail neatly into the current precepts, but I feel we must keep our minds open so that we can nurture and celebrate the best of them, and not be over-protective of ourselves. 

Unfortunately, some elders in our Institute do not feel the same generosity of spirit, they want to formulate some sort of SOP for invited speakers to be registered PAM members, and rank them in order to dictate the topics they can talk about. This is narrow minded and insecure - but this is what I expect from the people whom are interested in putting restrictions on the sharing of creative ideas and projects.