THE SINGAPORE ,Women's Weekly 15 YEARS GREAT WOMEN OF Our Time

Every year, we shine a light on 18 distinguished and powerful women in the Great Women Of Our Time Awards. They are women who are changing their field of work, and doing their best to improve life in Singapore – and the world. This year marks the 15th anniversary of this annual celebration. We are honouring inspiring women from industries, such as Arts & Media; Sports, Health & Wellness; Finance & Commerce; Science & Technology; Education & Public Service; and Design & Style. We are also recognising three alumni who have forged their legacy by continuing to make significant strides and accomplishments in their field. Join us to celebrate all these trailblazers and game-changers.

ARTS & MEDIA

Alecia Neo

34, Founder of Brack and Unseen Art Initiative

Art is a window into issues like poverty, disability, marginalisation and social inequality, as well as a platform to continue the conversation – and it is through this pair of lens that Alecia approaches her craft. Alecia is the founder and artist lead of Brack, a trans-border arts platform for socially engaged artists. She is also the founder and director of Unseen Art, a non-profit arts company that aims to evoke and harness the creative potential of people through the arts. Working primarily with photography, video, installation and participatory workshops, Alecia’s artistic practice focuses on longterm projects involving a variety of individuals and collaborators, overlooked communities and their spaces. “Our focus lies in the concept of radical hospitality, to understand the fundamental elements of mutual respect and equal status that underlie practices of hospitality and how communities draw boundaries and connect with outsiders.”

Emily Hoe

46, Executive Director at Singapore International Film Festival

Having always been interested in the creative side of things, Emily’s accomplishments in the arts industry began in 2007 when she started at The Substation, then the Esplanade, and now as the Executive Director of Singapore International Film Festival. “Film can be something transformative. It can just unlock emotions and that array of emotions can obviously be really, really wide. It can cause you to question your beliefs. If those questions then inspire conversation, then I think that is an even more positive impact that the film can make. It can educate, it can inspire.” With this in mind, Emily hopes to expand on the work to reach an even wider community and continue instilling a love for film within the community. Speaking to the shared experience in a cinema, Emily shares, “Even when you’re watching a film on your own, there is still that sense of community as you have people around you [who] are laughing at the same or different things. I think that feeling of community is really strong, and we can see that is shifting into the digital space with watch parties and conversations that happen around watching a film, even though