Biography

Choy Ka Fai is a Berlin-based Singaporean artist whose visionary practice reimagines the limits of the human body. Operating at the dynamics of dance, media art, and performance, his multidisciplinary work transcends traditional realms to question realities beyond our own.

In 2019, Ka Fai launched the groundbreaking CosmicWander series, an extensive investigation into shamanic dance cultures across Asia. Combining rigorous research, performance, and exhibition, the series premiered with a solo exhibition at the Singapore Art Museum (2021) and the VR experience Blue Sky Academy at tanzhaus nrw, Düsseldorf. Significant performances include Postcolonial Spirits (Tanz im August, 2021), which speculate on telepresence to connect Javanese trance rituals with international audiences, and Yishun Is Burning (Tanzplattform Deutschland, 2022), a queer voguing-shamanism fusion that challenges norms of gender, religion, and cultural identity. In 2025, Ka Fai premiered SoftMachine: The Return, culminating a decade-long documentary project that traces the lives of four dance-makers. Reuniting with long-term collaborators, the work interrogates themes of friendship, resilience, and technological reinvention.

Ka Fai's performance works have been commissioned and presented by major institutions globally, including Sadler's Wells (London), ImPulsTanz (Vienna), and Kyoto Experiment (Japan). His recent expansion into visual arts has been featured at the Biennale of Sydney, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), and Bundeskunsthalle (Bonn). A former resident artist at tanzhaus nrw and Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Ka Fai holds an M.A. in Design Interaction from the Royal College of Art, London.

Curriculum Vitae

Education

2009–2011

Master of Art in Design Interactions, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom

2002–2004

Diploma in Multimedia Art, Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore

Selected Solo Exhibitions and Performances

2026

SoftMachine: the Return, Spring Festival, Utrecht, The Netherlands

SoftMachine: the Return, Real Dance Festival Hannover, Germany

2025

SoftMachine: the Return, Humbolt Forum Berlin, Germany

SoftMachine: the Return, Esplanade Dans Focus, Singapore

The Third Prince Game, Hau 4 Berlin, Germany

Sometimes I See The Future, Jumping Frame, Hong Kong

2024

Sometimes I See The Future, Tanzhaus Nrw Dusseldorf, Germany

In Search of The Tragic Spirits, Solo Exhibition, Asakusa

Unbearable Darkness, Spring Festival, Utrecht, The Netherlands

2023

Unbearable Darkness, Romaeuropa Festival, Roma, Italy

Yishun Is Burning, Queer East Festival, The Place, London, UK

Yishun Is Burning, Trafo Art Center Budapest, Hungary

Yishun Is Burning, Sidestep Festival, Zodiak Helsinski. Finland

2022

Yishun Is Burning, Tanzplatform Deutschland, HAU , Berlin, Germany

Yishun Is Burning, Julidans Festival, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Blue Sky Academy, International Tanzamesse nrw Dusseldorf, Germany

Tragic Spirits, Hybrid Biennale Hellerau, Dresden, Germany

PostColonial Spirits, Indonesia Bertutur Festival, Borobudur, Indonesia

PostColonial Spirits, Spring Festival, Utrecht, The Netherlands

PostColonial Spirits, Tanzhaus Nrw, Dussendolf, Germany

2021

PostColonial Spirits, TanzImAugust/ HAU, Berlin, Germany

CosmicWander, Solo Exhibition, TanzImAugust, Berlin, Germany

CosmicWander, Solo Exhibtion, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore

2020

Constellation of the Flesh, STARTS Residency Paris, France

2019

UnBearable Darkness, Taipei Arts Festival, Taiwan

UnBearable Darkness, Liveworks Festival, Sydney, Austrialia

UnBearable Darkness, Kyoto Experiment Festival, Kyoto, Japan

SoftMachine, Solo Exhibition, McaM Museum, Shanghai, China

SoftMachine, Theatre Del Canal, Madrid, Spain

2018

SoftMachine, Grec Festival, Barcelona, Spain

SoftMachine, Santiago A Mill Festival, Santiago, Chile

UnBearable Darkness, Tanzhaus nrw, Dussendolf Germany

UnBearable Darkness, ImPulstanz Festival, Vienna, Austria

Dance Clinic, ImPulstanz Festival, Vienna, Austria

2017

Dance Clinic, Tanzhaus nrw, Dusseldorf, Germany

The Wind That Cuts The Body, Solo Exhibition, CCA Singapore

SoftMachine, Explore Festival , Seven City Tour, The Netherlands

2016

SoftMachine, Out Of Asia 2, Sadler's Wells, London, UK

SoftMachine, Belgrade International Theatre Festival, Serbia

SoftMachine, Kyoto Experiment, Kyoto, Japan

2015

The Choreography of Things, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany

SoftMachine, Tanz Im August Festival, Berlin, Germany

SoftMachine, ImPulsTanz Festival, Vienna, Austria

SoftMachine, Esplanade Dans Festival, Singapore

Selected Group Exhibitions

2025

An Offering A burning A Prayer, 4A Gallery, Sydney, Austrialia

Musafiri, House of World Culture, Berlin, Germany

2024

What is It Like, Arebyte Gallery, London, UK

Ten Thousand Suns, Biennale of Sydney, Australia

TanzenWelt, Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, Germany

2023

Fabricated Realities, Art SG Film, Art Science Museum, Singapore

2022

Can Everybody See My Screen, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore

2021

Digital Corporeality, Contemporary Culture Lab(C-Lab), Taipei, Taiwan

2020

Escape Routes, Bangkok Arts Biennale, Bangkok, Thailand

Residency

2025

PACT Zollverein Artist Residency, Essen, Germany

2022

Transcultural Academy Residency, State Museum Dresden, Germany

2019

STARTS (Science,Tech + Art) Residency Program, Euopean Union

2017

NTU CCA-Center for Contemporary Art, Singapore

Saison Foundation, Artist Residency Program, Tokyo, Japan

Affiliations

2023–2024

Guest Professor, Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design, Germany

2021–2021

Cooperation Partner, Pina Bausch Fellowship, Wuppertal, Germany

2017–2019

Resident Artist, Tanzhaus nrw, Dusseldolf, Germany

2014–2015

Resident Artist, Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany

2007–2009

Associate Artistic Director, TheatreWorks Singapore

Permanent Collection

2025

Kadist Collection, France and the United Sates

2022

Singapore Art Museum, Singapore

2015

Public Art Project, Land Transport Authority, Singapore