OPEN CALL FOR ‘HUDDLE PUDDLE’ as part of CITRUS fest 2026

Reflections board by Chong Gua Khee and Fellow, CITRUS fest 2024: Who Cares?. Photo: Joseph Nair
Apply here

Submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) by Fri 13 Mar 2026.

Do you have ideas for how working in the arts in Singapore can be more joyful, fulfilling and sustainable? Are you interested in developing and testing care practices to grow an arts ecosystem where arts workers and organisations can thrive, be valued and nourished by one another?

The second edition of CITRUS fest returns in August 2026 as a biennial festival of care for and by arts workers, commissioned by the National Arts Council’s Arts Resource Hub, and to be held during the Singapore Night Festival.

In huddle puddle, a new festival programme co-facilitated by dance artist & educator Faye Lim and somatic therapist & artist Teo Xiao Ting, we are seeking Singapore-based arts workers who notice gaps in the way things are done, believe that there are opportunities for us to do better, and can benefit from some support and resources to get started on research and pilot projects. 

At CITRUS practices, we believe in practising care together to support one another and make sense of how we wish to work in the arts. Hence, we are seeking three pairs of arts workers to be part of this programme, rather than individual applicants.

In total, there will be four pairs, of which one will be formed by CITRUS associates Chew Li Hong and Rayann Condy. As a sense of what is possible, their project focuses on building capacity and shared understanding around practices of intimacy direction and coordination within Singapore’s performing arts and media sectors. They will be conducting community mapping, research and dialogue with local practitioners and stakeholders. 

In this open call, our understanding of “care practices” refers to and includes sustained actions that can effect systemic and structural change for improving wellbeing and longevity in the arts workplace.

Teo Xiao Ting
Faye Lim

POSSIBLE TOPICS

(in no way exhaustive or limiting):

  • Embodiment practices for the workplace

    • Being present in the body 

    • Exercising boundaries and consent

  • Fun and pleasure in the working process

  • Care and ethics in the process of creating art

  • Care in an ecosystem 

    • Sustainability of care individually/in community

    • Inter/intrapersonal conflict and repair

  • Considerations of AI usage in the arts

    • Care, boundaries and data security in relation to how AI is used 

    • Livelihood of arts workers

COMMITMENT:

In participating in huddle puddle, we ask that you commit to the following:

  • [3] in-person group sessions in the lead-up to CITRUS fest 2026. These would be held at 42 Waterloo Street (42WS) on: 

    • Wed 1 Apr, 6.30-9.00 PM 

    • Tue 12 May, 6.30-9.00 PM

    • Tue 30 June, 6.30-9.00 PM

  • [1] one-on-one 45-min Zoom session in July with the co-facilitators Faye Lim and Teo Xiao Ting, to be scheduled in discussion with each pair.

  • Informal check-ins between the sessions with the co-facilitators as needed, either in-person or on Zoom.

  • Create and conduct [1] public presentation, in your preferred format and duration, during CITRUS fest, which will be scheduled between 21-30 Aug 2026 and in discussion with the Festival Curator Chong Gua Khee.

  • [1] in-person group session after the festival to close and debrief the programme. This would similarly be held at 42WS, and is tentatively scheduled on Tue 8 Oct, 6.30-9.00 PM.

WHAT WE WILL PROVIDE:

  • A stipend of S$3,000 will be provided to each pair for their full participation in the programme, including attendance at all required sessions, development of the project, and presentation at CITRUS fest 2026

  • Venue support (e.g. to meet or to trial ideas with external participants) from Apr-Aug 2026, depending on space availability at 42WS

  • Scaffolded dramaturgy and a sounding board to nurture and test your ideas with a cosy group of like-minded peers and participants  

  • Production and technical support for a public presentation during CITRUS fest 2026

  • Support for access and caregiving, upon request

  • Facilitation of connections with other local arts workers and organisations as relevant

WHOM AND HOW TO APPLY:

If you identify as an arts practitioner/worker based in Singapore, and can commit to the requirements of huddle puddle, we love to hear from you! Please also note that you’d need to be an ARH subscriber to apply.


Submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) here by Fri 13 Mar 2026.


Your EOI will be reviewed by CITRUS associates comprising:

  • Faye Lim & Teo Xiao Ting (Co-Facilitators, huddle puddle)

  • Chong Gua Khee (Festival Curator)


We will announce the outcome by Mon 23 Mar 2026.

QUERIES?

If you have any questions regarding this open call, please email us at citrus.practices@gmail.com. 

You may also attend the upcoming CITRUS community gathering on Tue 3 Mar, 7.00-9.30 PM, 42WS, to speak with Faye, Xiao Ting or other CITRUS associates in person. Free with registration at https://huddlepuddle.peatix.com.