From the Editor

In a strange, even macabre, way, two deaths in recent weeks, though not linked, have serendipitously highlighted how a new age is upon us.

On September 26, we saw the closing of Borders Bookstore, the last page torn out of a story that had, at one time, meant a lot to booklovers and lovers, writers and shoppers. We will miss the spaces where laughter lingers, the aisles where language strides, the corners where music cheers us up. We will miss how time slows to follow the rhythm of our eyes reading a book, line by line, how the smell of coffee soothes, like the friends we will soon meet at the Bistro.

This is, of course, nostalgia in the future tense. For Borders will not be exhumed; its bones are as much dust as books, And in this respect, Steve Jobs, who passed away in the same week as Borders, has had a lot to do with it. In ushering in the digital age, he unknowingly broke the spine of an old economy, bricks-and-mortar store like Borders.

So, what does this mean for the arts scene? Well, plenty. This is where this issue of i-AM unpacks some of the implications when the old crosses swords with the new.

Student contributor Suraendhiran s/o Ramadass, for instance, explores why apps are now in vogue at museums; Ezra Chen examines the meaning of nostalgia in art; Koh Yun Jing looks at how new art spaces seem to be mushrooming even as a couple of established ones fall by the wayside; and Jerome Chee uncovers the secret of how indie bookshop BooksActually still thrives despite market conditions being less than ideal.

In addition, two of our BA (Hons) students offer a summary of their theses: Teresa Fu, on music education in Singapore and Tanja von Stegmann, on audience development.

As the end of the year approaches, we will look longingly back at 2011, with wonder, hope and perhaps a sense of something passing.

Felix Cheong
Chief Editor