Celebrating women, art and progress

To mark International Women’s Day 2022, we hung out with the talented Ginette Chittick who shares her views on art and life.

Creativity and innovation have always been a driving force for Audi, spurring the company to embrace its current Living Progress belief—which focuses on design, performance, digitilisation and sustainability—way ahead of its time as a guiding principle. These values have helped lead the company to success as a leading premium luxury brand.

Ginette Chittick shares a similar trait with the brand—she’s not afraid to let her creativity take the lead. For her, creating art has become second nature. The majority of her professional and personal pursuits gravitate towards creativity and art—she’s an artist, educator, musician, and DJ. The 45-year-old admits being drawn to art-making as it makes her feel alive. “It’s a high that I keep chasing. I love the process of creating with my hands and that’s where you’ll find me most,” she says.

She is someone who really sees the world with her eyes wide open, drawing inspiration from anything that catches her eye. Her most recent artwork, Organica (2022), is an expression of a hillscapes study she did during her two-week residency at the former atelier of French artist Jean Dubuffet in Vence, France in June 2019. In it, she used the punch needling and tufting technique to create an organic abstract of the hills as seen from an aerial point of view.

Organica (2022). Wool, acrylic, kapok cotton, merino wool. Earl Lu Gallery, Singapore.


Organica is also a reflection of her medium of choice. “I love working with fibre,” she explains. “This includes yarn, thread and fibre material one can spin into yarn such as the Kapok cotton I harvest myself locally, Tencel, various types of wool, and even some tinsel.”

Looking around, even the Audi Q8 we were in ignited a spark. “I really love that every gesture and detail of its design is really well-considered. That’s the kind of work I want to strive towards. Also, Audi’s pioneering spirit resonates with me and the paths I embark on.”

We catch up with the bubbly mother-of-one where she shares what it’s like to be a multi-hyphenate.

You wear many hats on a regular basis. How would you like to be remembered by?

I would like to be remembered as someone who wrapped her arms around the world.

You have led an equally remarkable life before you became an educator. Looking back, which of your achievements are you really proud of?

Upon reflection, being a founding member of—dare I say—Singapore’s first all-girl band is one of my greatest contributions. We were punk rockers and there were very few women in the burgeoning underground scene who were key players. The punk scene was still pretty fresh then, so busting out and just blaring our chords was quite shocking for people. I’m proud that my bandmates and I got to champion female representation. We had the chance to put out narratives by women through our music and zines.

Background: Falling Into — A Study of Hillscapes (2019). Jute, kapok cotton, merino wool, aluminum foil, cotton yarn. Earl Lu Gallery, Singapore.

As a full-time lecturer, you are in the position to shape future generations, how do you encourage the next generation of women leaders to take up the mantle? How do you motivate them to reach their potential?

I motivate them to be the best versions of themselves, and that it’s okay to fail. In design, if you haven’t failed, you haven’t succeeded. And in our risk-averse society, it’s tough to submit to that.

What do you find most rewarding about everything you do?

I feel privileged just in the fact that I can carve out the time and space to do what I have been able to.

What personal values would like to pass on to your daughter?

I want her to not be afraid to get stuff wrong, and that failure is not for the lack of trying.

What legacy do you want to leave behind?

That my daughter finds joy in the work that she does, having seen that I have found that joy.

What does ‘Living Progress’ mean to you?

That I learn, expand upon my knowledge and evolve as I grow older. If I haven’t evolved at all, then I feel my life has been wasted.

What do you hope to see in the future when it comes to celebrating women?

I want gender equity and more space for women. This is as crucial as commemorating International Women’s Day is, and should be the norm. More of their stories must be told.