Tell anyone anywhere in the world that you’re from Singapore and there’s a pretty good chance that their response will be something to this effect: “You have an amazing airport!”
Changi Airport’s seven consecutive Skytrax awards for being the best airport in the world lend credence to that claim, but anyone who’s ever landed there will know that its greatness doesn’t come from passenger numbers or trophies.
It’s that feeling you get when you disembark from your aircraft; a warm welcome home, or an enthusiastic introduction. It’s always been a place that has simply exuded joy and a little bit of wonder, and with the opening of Jewel Changi Airport, that trickle has turned into a torrent.
Even the most cynical of souls has to feel a sense of awe when they step inside Jewel – the ridicule of the queues outside A&W and Shake Shack and the head-shaking at the ability of Singaporeans and the Singaporean media to lose their minds over what they dismissed as a glorified mall quickly forgotten.
Jewel is, after all, a place for everyone; you don’t have to spend a dollar to be there (though there are many ways to leave with a lighter wallet). Wherever you’ve come from and wherever you’re going to, there’s a place for you before the might of the Rain Vortex.
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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