As lead curator of TEDxSingapore, Vivian Lim considers herself its chief storyteller. “I string different threads of perspectives together to present stories of beauty and laughter, boldness and strength, and innovation and ingenuity to our community,” she explains. She also oversees the volunteer-run team for the annual marquee event and spearheads multi-format programming experiments.
This year, apart from holding inaugural open-air concert Block Party in collaboration with Yuhua Community Club, the team launched salon series The Roving Library to explore lost and hidden community stories. This led to a collaboration between TEDxSingapore and food historian Khir Johari to take a deep dive into our food history. Khir’s The Food Of Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels Through The Archipelago was recognised as the Best of the Best Book in the World at last year’s Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
The goal, Lim says, was to entice the community to be curious about our culture and heritage, and cultivate wonder and discovery in our society. As it is, food allows us to rethink our perspectives on history. She cites an example of a fishing school that was owned by the father of Singapore’s first president Yusof Ishak.
“The significance of such findings is truly understated as it helps us see that Singapore’s fishing history did not just involve fishermen. Instead, there was a structure in place to boost our capabilities even in the olden days, which disrupts the common narrative that Singapore was just a sleepy fishing village.”
Vivian Lim on the merits of a historical deep dive
Lim is also the founder of The Idea Co., a not-for-profit organisation that acts as a custodian for TEDxsingapore and Gen. The latter curates ideas, facilitates conversations, and highlights diversity in generation and gender perspectives in Asian narratives. ‘Co’ in The Idea Co., she adds, stands for connections, community, and co-creation as The Idea Co. is committed to driving community building and activation.
TEDxsingapore’s annual flagship event will take place in December. This year’s theme is Telling Time, a continuation from last year’s The Spaces Between, which explored what it means to have a scientist, artist, and explorer inside of each of us.
“Are we running out of time to make change? Does everyone interpret time in the same way?” Lim teases. “These and other fascinating topics will be examined at our lineup of talks and community experiences.”
