Living in Paris, while connecting artists with global audiences

Charlene Lim wears many caps. Depending on the day, she could be producing a tour, representing world-renowned ballet stars and musicians or handling media relations as a publicist. Based in Paris, France, she calls herself a cultural broker, and the crux of her mission is to connect artists from various disciplines with audiences around the world.

When Charlene graduated from NUS Theatre Studies in the late '90s, she set her sights on joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be a cultural attaché, not realising that the job didn’t even exist at the time. While that didn’t pan out, her career has taken her on a globetrotting journey that even the most seasoned foreign service officer would envy.

Although she applied for a corporate communications role at the National Arts Council (NAC), fate had other plans as she was offered a position in their new international relations department to promote Singaporean arts abroad.

After four years at NAC, she switched lanes and became cultural relations manager at the Australian High Commission where she championed Australian arts in Singapore.

Her deep understanding of cultural diplomacy allowed her to build an extensive international network of artists and presenters—connections that would prove invaluable in the years to come.

Looking to expand her horizons, she moved to the United Kingdom on a two-year Working Holiday Visa, where she joined Akram Khan Company, respected as one of the most innovative dance companies in the world.

Her myriad experiences now finds her in Paris, where she has established Global Arts Link, her one-woman agency which provides consultation, producing, artist representation, and tour production services.

Charlene tells us how she juggles many roles and why arts workers should bet on themselves.

Tell us more about what you do.

I call myself a cultural broker because I do different things. I am a talent agent, consultant and tour producer. I wear different caps depending on what is required of me. One of my main clients is ballet star Friedemann Vogel from Stuttgart Ballet. I handle his commercial collaborations, PR and charity work. I also represent lighting and set designers Fabiana Piccioli and Sander Loonen, who are amongst the most sought-after creative designers for dance, opera, music, and theatre.

I also worked part time for several years at the International Theatre Institute at UNESCO, and even had a one-year stint as the cultural consultant to the Singapore Embassy in France, so I guess I got the first job I wanted, just much later!

I love the variety of tasks, ranging from press interviews and fashion shoots, to opening nights and networking conferences, to challenging fee negotiations and the inevitable tedious 60-page contracts. It’s a nice balance, with a different sense of satisfaction from different aspects of the work.

I am gradually resuming tour production after putting this aspect of my work on pause, no thanks to the pandemic. Last year, I toured Die Seele am Faden/Soul Threads, the first full-length dance performance co-created by Friedemann Vogel, to the Spoleto Festival, which won two Danza & Danza Prizes.

This year, I toured Soumik Datta’s Mone Rekho (“Remember” in Bengali) to Kalaa Utsavam – Indian Festival of Arts at Esplanade in November. I was so excited to share this very poignant and pertinent work weaving music and memory with the Singaporean audience!

Can you tell us about your experience working with Akram Khan Company?

The day before I picked up my visa, I received a call from producer Farooq Chaudhry, who offered me the job of general manager. It was incredible timing! I started working two days after I arrived in London. It was a quantum leap for me in so many ways because I never managed a company, let alone one of the world’s most exciting dance companies. But it was a very steep learning curve. I was managing everything from the website, comms, contracts, to looking after the artists and the board. They were also touring to 25 to 30 cities, so I learned a lot about touring, visas and further widened my network. Additionally, I learned so much from the brilliant collaborators that Akram was working with—the likes of Sylvie Guillem and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. It was an amazing experience.

What was the most memorable production you’ve worked on?

After I left Akram Khan Company and decided to start freelancing, English National Ballet offered me a consultancy role for the Shanghai World Expo 2010. It was a big project and involved 130 students from across the UK and China. I was one of five people in the team who spoke both languages and dealt with everything, from managing multiple stakeholders and bureaucracy to security and logistics. Coordinating the needs and goals of choreographers, school teachers, ballet companies, and the young dancers while bridging cultural differences and navigating communication challenges was a complicated juggling act! I also developed new respect for simultaneous interpreters.

When we pulled off the big joint performances for the UK Pavillion National Day at the Shanghai World Expo and at the Royal Albert Hall in London, we were all in tears because there had been so many obstacles. It was fascinating, eye-opening and inspiring—an invaluable experience which I will never forget.

Did you experience any culture shock?

Not really. Actually, there have been many pleasant surprises in France. I have been very impressed by just how much they value artists and the arts. When I tell people in Paris that I work in the arts, there’s this instant recognition and respect, as opposed to Singapore back in the day when I first started working. The number of times I had people asking me—only half-jokingly—“When are you going to get a real job?” I think people didn’t take artists or cultural workers seriously; I’m sure it’s different now. In France, arts and culture is so much a part of everyone’s daily life, something I really appreciate.

What do you think Singapore’s arts scene could learn from abroad?

I think we can definitely up our game with arts marketing. I remember when I was still living in Singapore and thinking, “How come I’m not hearing about this when I’m your target audience?” I’ve also been shocked by the marketing assets produced when I toured artists to Singapore years ago. I don’t know whether it’s a financial or resource issue. But I believe Singaporean arts marketeers could benefit from more exposure or perhaps even a secondment to overseas arts organisations or festivals that are really strong with their marketing.

Any advice for those wanting to explore an arts career abroad?

I have no doubt that the experience would be a gamechanger. The advice I would give is to be open, be patient and be brave. Don’t be scared to fail or think you’re not good enough and don’t even try. You just never know. For example, you might think you want to be an actor, but maybe you are better as a director or a designer. You don’t know until you really give it a shot.