STATE OF THE ARTS (Sept 12 to 18) Last week marked the launch of three books. Two of them were about some pretty important institutions in Singapore arts — Several Islands, the semi-fiction book about The Substation’s history; and Kumar: From Rags To Drag, the biography of the beloved comedian. The third, A Is For Achar, L Is For Love, saw dancer/choreographer Tammy L Wong turning author. The Singapore International Film Festival kicked off its efforts to get “more bums on seats”, while Cultural Medallion recipient Chng Seok Tin finally gets a much-deserved Singaporean retrospective over at NAFA. In the spirit of The Substation celebrations, founder Kuo Pao Kun’s works echoed in two performances: The multi-disciplinary Dance, Tree. Dance (that took on The Silly Little Girl And The Funny Old Tree) and On This Emerald Hill, Jonathan Lim’s tribute/mash-up of Stella Kon’s Emily Of Emerald Hill and Kuo’s The Coffin Is Too Big For The Hole. Over at Marina Bay Sands, it was announced that The Lion King’s run will end on Oct 30 and Louis Vuitton opened its store-cum-art gallery Louis Vuitton Island.