Kurt Ganapathy heads out to the streets of Singapore with a camera in hand to capture life as we know it during this COVID-19 season.
As coronavirus spreads around the world, images of abandoned spaces, panic buying and exhausted medical professionals have become the norm.
But together with these pictures have come stories of humanity, perseverance and, as Singaporeans like to call it, kampung spirit.
Singapore was hit early on, with its first case reported on January 23, and the number of cases in the country has risen steadily since then.
But, by and large, we’ve rolled with the punches, supported the fight against the virus and cheered good news whenever it’s come in.
And while people in Singapore are taking extra precautions and playing it smart wherever possible (wash your hands and don’t touch your face!), that doesn’t mean we’re living in a climate of fear.
As Kurt Ganapathy found heading out to the city centre and Changi Airport, it’s very much a case of business (almost) as usual as people walk on with quiet resolve.
Photography: Kurt Ganapathy
Curation: Arman Shah
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![“Growing up in Singapore, we’ve been taught from a very young age that we are a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. Yet, the portrayal of this diversity in our media wasn’t reflecting well. It often fell short, reducing minority races to mere caricatures.
Determined to change this narrative, I made it my mission as an actor to bring authentic representation to my work. And there are many ways to do that. For me, I chose to be mindful of the roles I play and portray.
I meticulously selected roles, even telling my agents to send me for castings which were not intended for my race. I strongly believe that race is a social construct that can be overridden by the actual acting work. True talent transcends racial boundaries.
My persistence paid off when my agency rolled the dice on me, submitting my name for auditions beyond traditional ethnic roles. I knew I was making strides because I was getting callbacks to the later rounds.
Soon enough, the ‘gamble’ paid off. The breakthrough came when I was called in to audition for the St Patrick's Day campaign by Guinness. I successfully booked it, and went on to be the only Indian in the regional commercial that aired across Southeast Asia.
That job gave me the confirmation that I should continue striving for equal representation. Shortly after, another opportunity came when Air New Zealand (@airnz) did a casting for a couple to star in their new commercial. It was to promote travel between Singapore and New Zealand.
Getting that job was monumental for me, because not only did we get to portray an interracial Singaporean couple, we did it for an international audience. It was the first commercial between the two countries when borders reopened post-COVID.
Bringing the same energy when I moved to New York City (NYC), I kept auditioning for roles that weren’t specifically for people of my ethnicity. However, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t auditioning for roles that were for South Asians too.
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