Afiqah Amir
About
Afiqah is a creative entrepreneur and graduate of the BA (Hons) Arts Management programme at LASALLE College of the Arts.
She is passionate about elevating Singapore’s emerging performing artists and believes in the power of storytelling, branding and strategic talent management to build stronger connections between artists and audiences.
Music has always been part of Afiqah's identity: her father was a saxophonist who performed professionally across Malaysia and Singapore, and her great-grandfather penned the beloved folk song Di Tanjong Katong. This heritage has inspired Afiqah's commitment to uplifting the local music ecosystem and championing its cultural significance.
As the co-founder and creative director of AKAR, Afiqah works with emerging musicians to shape their sound, sharpen their visuals and build the networks they need to grow. Her practice centres on nurturing talent and strengthening a more vibrant, inclusive arts community.
Beyond management, Afiqah tell stories through photography, film and writing—capturing the textures of culture, language and everyday life. She is interested in exploring heritage spaces or discovering new sounds at local gigs.
Afiqah is here to collaborate, connect and champion the next generation of creatives and hopes to build the future of the arts scene together.
Who Decides? Power, participation and negotiation in Singapore’s placemaking
In Singapore’s tightly planned urban environment, cultural spaces are increasingly produced through state-led creative placemaking initiatives that promise participation, vibrancy and community engagement. Yet behind these narratives lie uneven power relations that shape who gets to create, occupy and sustain cultural space.
Using the Somerset Belt and selected cultural precincts as case studies, this research examines how state-led cultural policies and urban masterplans influence creative placemaking practices and the sustainability of independent cultural spaces.
Drawing on qualitative, semi-structured interviews with policymakers, placemaking practitioners, independent cultural organisations and youth stakeholders, the study foregrounds lived experiences and on-the-ground negotiations.
The findings reveal an ambivalent dynamic: while state-led placemaking enables visibility, resources and institutional support, it simultaneously constrains autonomy, experimentation and community-led expression through regulatory and governance structures.
By highlighting the tensions between state agendas and grassroots cultural practices within Singapore’s highly managed cultural landscape, this research can inform future cultural policy approaches that better balance planning objectives with community-led participation and long-term cultural sustainability.
Professional practice
Afiqah's practice sits between research and cultural production, where she explores how the arts are experienced and positioned within everyday life. She is interested in how ideas move—from context into form—and how research can shape the way audiences encounter and connect with artistic work.
She often works across music and heritage contexts, using research as a starting point to inform programming, storytelling and strategic direction. Much of her thinking is grounded in questions around access and engagement, specifically who the arts are for, and how they can feel relevant within specific communities.
Afiqah's work is also shaped by a commitment to support emerging artists, particularly within Southeast Asia. Through festival concepts and artist development, she looks at how platforms can be built with intention—ones that not only present work, but create space for exchange and visibility.
Fundamentally, her practice is about bridging thinking and doing. She is interested in how research can move beyond analysis into something lived—whether through a programme, a narrative or a shared experience.
Trans:Mission Conference 2026
Trans/Mission is an annual undergraduate research seminar that brings Year 3 BA (Hons) students from the eight Schools within LASALLE College of the Arts to present and reflect on their final year dissertation research.
As a speaker, Afiqah presented her dissertation examining how creative placemaking in Singapore is shaped by questions of agency and access—specifically, who gets to define cultural spaces and how resources are distributed among artists and communities. The presentation translated this research into an open discussion, inviting cross-disciplinary reflection on power, participation and cultural ownership within the city.
Underground Uprising @ Battlebox Bunkers
Underground Uprising was a collaborative show organised by AKAR, with the support of Battlebox.
Designed to spotlight Singapore's thriving underground music scene, this event celebrated the diversity of local talent, featuring artists across a wide range of genres. Set in the evocative and historic Battlebox, the show aimed to foster a sense of community and amplify the artistry and spirit of Singapore’s music landscape.
Featured as 100 Youth Founders & Leaders | Sandbox 2025
National Day Sandbox Singapore 2025 was the first-ever National Day Parade Youth Conference, and a bold reimagination of what it means to celebrate nationhood through the lens of youth ambition.
The event brought together 100 trailblazing youth founders and leaders across lifestyle, social impact, creative arts and the civil sector.
Sanjana Sairaj
Koh Jia Ling
Sri Nor Wakhidatun Nazila
Saw Ying Sin Summer
Trevor Wee
Amirra Wardah Binte Shamsul-Bahari
