Shawn Hoo

Shawn is a journalist on the arts beat at The Straits Times. He reviews books and reports on theatre and the visual arts as well as other cultural issues, for the Life desk. Prior to joining ST in 2022, he spent two years teaching writing and literature at higher education institutions in Shanghai and Singapore. He believes the arts, arts education and arts writing are essential.

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Theatre on the Singapore River? Time-travel to 1967 in a new bumboat show opening Nov 20

Singapore River Cruise and Strawberries Inc’s River of Luck!, an immersive theatre production on the Singapore River aboard a bumboat, opens Nov 20 to Jan 31, 2027.

Acclaimed music critic Ma Shih-fang talks Taiwan campus folk, xinyao and translating Bob Dylan

Acclaimed Taiwanese broadcaster, author and television host Ma Shih-fang is coming to the Singapore Writers Festival to do three events on Nov 14 and 15.

Writer Thuan sees Vietnamese and French as a ‘happy couple’ in her house of literature

Hanoi-born, France-based writer Thuan will speak at the Singapore Writers Festival 2026.

National Gallery Singapore leadership shake-up: Two more high-profile departures in December

National Gallery Singapore’s chief curator Patrick Flores will leave the museum in December 2026.

How S’porean writer Divya Maniar turned television bingeing into debut novel After Care

London-based Singaporean writer Divya Maniar’s debut novel After Care follows a burnt out reality television star.

Turning 20, Singaporean violinist Chloe Chua wants to bid goodbye to her ‘childish self’

Singaporean violinist Chloe Chua, 19, is on her biggest soloist gig yet – a seven-city China tour with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra that she confesses has been intense.

Can Finnish maestro Hannu Lintu forge a uniquely Singaporean sound for the SSO?

Finnish maestro Hannu Lintu, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s new music director, is leading the SSO in a seven-city China tour that is close to sold out.

Warm reception in Shanghai for SSO, S’porean violinist Chloe Chua in first stop of 7-city China tour

Singaporean violinist Chloe Chua (left) joins the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) in its seven-city China tour starting in Shanghai, its first international tour under the baton of new music director Hannu Lintu.

Singapore arts guide (Oct 7 to 25): 25 years of Singapore photography across seven exhibitions

A rare selection of 63 photographs made by acclaimed film-maker and artist Tan Pin Pin in the early 1990s is on show at the 10th edition of the Singapore International Photography Festival.

Pull a rickshaw, listen to a poem at National Museum’s revamped Singapore History Gallery

The Singapore Stone wrapped in digital renderings of the past at the revamped Singapore History Gallery at the National Museum of Singapore, opening to the public on Oct 10.

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