Oct 29 to Nov 4 Last Thursday marked the first day on the job for Acting Minister of Culture, Community And Youth Lawrence Wong, who immediately dug in and watched The Necessary Stage’s play October that same night. This year’s Archifest wrapped up, while the Singapore Writers Festival and Asean Puppet Festival kicked off. The Singapore Arts Festival review committee also held a series of public discussions. Meanwhile, auction houses were busy over the weekend with 33 Auction and Masterpiece Auction House selling their wares and Hong Kong’s Christie’s and Bonhams set up their previews. Elsewhere, Nanyang Academy Of Fine Arts hosted a discussion about whether painting is dead—which apparently ended with someone jumping on a table and shouting that it’s dead because everyone was falling asleep.