Beverly Wan, 23, and Koh Jia Sheng, 23

Founders of circus company Circus of Altrades

Beverly Wan was looking for a circus partner and approached Koh Jia Sheng to train with her last year.

The duo, brought together by their love for peculiar stunts, went on to start the acrobatic troupe Circus of Altrades this year in the hope of taking Singapore's nascent circus scene further.

A dancer, Wan had had her sights set on becoming a circus performer since she was 15.

Koh, currently studying theatre studies at the National University of Singapore, is a trained gymnast and dancer.

The duo practise hand balancing, partner acrobatics, group acrobatics, chair stacking and tumbling, while Wan trains in contortion stunts as well.

They have flown to Australia several times to hone their stunts at a circus school, participating in circus conventions and a month-long intensive course.

Circus of Altrades now trains like-minded artists, and the duo are determined to prove that circus arts can be a viable professional career option.

Daniel Peters, 27, and Tan Hwee En, 29

Co-founders of Singapore Community Radio

Singapore Community Radio (SGCR) was launched as an online music platform in 2017 but is now morphing into a different beast.

Mr Daniel Peters and Ms Tan Hwee En, as well as third partner Darren Tan, 39, are looking to feed culture vultures with content from fields ranging from literature to the visual arts.

This year saw the team increasing their collaborations with others on podcasts, live streams, video shows and texts. While giving emerging artists a platform to reach a wider audience, SGCR is also increasingly becoming a gateway for those short on time to discover fledgling names in the local arts scene.

Mr Peters and Ms Tan said they hope SGCR'S multimedia work will facilitate contact between local artists, who tend to be siloed in their individual pursuits.

Deon Phua, 28

Co-founder of creative studio Tell Your Children

Mr Deon Phua has a finger in every pie.

Apart from being a design communications adjunct lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic until September, he is also co-founder of creative design studio Tell Your Children, which has worked with international fashion brands including Prada and Uniqlo, and has upcoming projects with New Balance and Nike.

The studio also paints large-scale murals and produces the podcast Cosmic Children, which features long conversations with different people for "an honest introspection into the human experience".

This year, Mr Phua is working on a documentary about Singapore's creative heritage over the last two decades, as he found that many young creatives are not aware of those who have gone before them in the creative industry. He is also a deejay and the founder of vintage clothing and memorabilia store Death Threads, a household name among vintage lovers.

Lou Peixin, 27

Songwriter

Musician Lou Peixin, also known as Miss Lou, had "got a good groove going" with big gigs booked when Covid-19 struck.

Her events company Loudanclear, which she founded with her husband, had just invested in a new sound system when all live shows were cancelled owing to the circuit breaker imposed in April.

Adapting quickly, her team used the equipment for live-streaming from her home studio instead, and her YouTube channel gained enough traction to be monetised. Firms such as Lazada also paid her company to host live-streaming events. She said the year has "stretched her creativity".

Following the release of her first EP, Glamour Vintage Songbird, to acclaim in 2017, she has gone on to write commercial tunes for companies while licensing her own music for use in films.

Marylyn Tan, 27

Writer

Marylyn Tan became the first female winner of the Singapore Literature Prize for English poetry this year with her collection Gaze Back, which looks at the hidden violence perpetuated by the state and society against women.

The 27-year-old said she usually takes accolades lightly, but her historic win, sweeter for the nature of her entry, gives her hope that things could change.

"It is important to have unpleasant conversations that we feel we are not yet ready for. Singapore may not be equipped as a whole to deal with some issues, but some among us will be," she said.

It helps her cause that her work is not profit-driven, and she says she is against the triumph of a "commercial mentality".

She has been exploring more mediums for her art, partnering the ArtScience Museum to interpret her poetry in videos that are available online.

Tan Si En, 27, and Kris Ong, 27

Founders of film company Momo Film

At 17, Tan Si En (in black) and Kris Ong already had an inkling that their shared love for film and storytelling would see them starting something together some day.

The Ngee Ann Polytechnic schoolmates went on to found Momo Film in 2018, one of the few independent film companies in Singapore run by women.

Tan is producer and counts Wet Season directed by Anthony Chen among her productions.

Ong is writer/director.

Together, they mentor and work with emerging film-makers in the region to promote the diverse stories which South-east Asia has to offer to an international audience.

The duo have been active this year in spite of Covid-19 constraints, collaborating with directors in Singapore and Vietnam to create four short films, with a longer feature film in the works.