Public Spaces for Visual Artists

Mr Yee Jenn Jong asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts whether the Ministry will consider setting aside selected public spaces for visual artists to create street art and what are some of the considerations in terms of regulations and possible locations if such spaces are to be created.

Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: The Government embraces street art as one of many art forms in the variety of genres it supports – from traditional to contemporary, high art to popular entertainment and craft, and in performing, visual, literary and multi-disciplinary forms.

MICA recognises the role of street art as a form of creative expression by the community, particularly our youths. Street art, which is art developed in public spaces, can inject new and diverse elements into urban life. With its high visibility and grounds-up approach, street art also allows the community accessibility and easy entry into the arts and culture. When properly executed with the approval of the property owner, street art can thus play a role in our next phase of cultural development by enlivening our physical landscape and helping to expand the space for creative expression by Singaporeans.

Street artists currently enjoy a wide range of venues in which they can showcase their talent, through events and activities held at art venues, youth parks and community spaces, including libraries. Besides showcase platforms, street art also receives support from the Government through funding support and in the form of youth-targeted programmes.

In terms of venues and platforms where street artists can showcase their talent, both the National Arts Council (NAC) and National Heritage Board (NHB) work closely with venue partners who are keen to display and incorporate expressions of street art into their buildings. For example, the Substation, one of NAC's arts housing tenants, has on occasion invited various street art makers to display their works on the wall of its building.

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NHB has also partnered street artists as well as residents for some of its community outreach activities, such as the community co-creation project at the upcoming Taman Jurong Community Museum. 9 In addition, NHB will also organise street art mural workshops, where artists are invited to share techniques of street art and to work jointly with the community on street art murals. Mass outreach programmes will also be carried out to provide residents with more opportunities to be exposed to and be engaged in arts and heritage-related activities.

With the growing interest in street art, particularly among our youths, the NAC has also incorporated the art form into its youth arts programmes. For example, as part of NAC's NOISE programme for youths 10 , NAC and the National Library Board (NLB) jointly organised a series of street art workshops in December 2011, which culminated in a showcase of participants' works at Jurong Regional Library and Yishun Public Library earlier this year. Besides programmes by NAC and NLB, the Youth Park and *Scape at Orchard Road also provide spaces and platforms for graffiti art and other such forms of urban art to be displayed.

The NAC views visual expressions in street art as a form of visual arts, and is open to providing grant support, as it does for all forms of the visual arts – be it street art, painting, photography, sculpture, installation or performance art.

As there already exists a healthy range of venues and platforms to showcase street art in Singapore, MICA views that there is currently no necessity to set aside new designated areas for street art. Instead, given the merit of street art and its potential to further engage the community, MICA and our agencies will continue to provide support to encourage street art to be practised and showcased responsibly in a wide range of public venues. Looking forward, MICA will continue to review its efforts to create a vibrant and sustainable cultural eco-system which allows for the cultivation of diversity and accessibility in our arts and cultural landscape.