Review of Singapore Arts Festival

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (a) what are the terms of reference and timeline of the review of the Singapore Arts Festival; (b) whether he can elaborate on the decision to postpone the Singapore Arts Festival for a year pending the outcome of the review; and (c) whether the Ministry will reconsider the decision to put on hold the Singapore Arts Festival in light of its importance as Singapore's pinnacle arts event and Singapore's ambition to become a global arts city.

Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: I would like to thank the hon Member Ms Irene Ng, for her question. Like her, MICA recognises the important role played by the Singapore Arts Festival in our arts and culture landscape. Since its inception in 1977, the Festival has been instrumental in building Singapore's arts calendar, and continues to offer a key platform for the development of our artists and arts audiences.

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However, we should also recognise that the arts landscape in Singapore has changed significantly over the past 35 years. Back in the 1970s, our events calendar was much less developed and the Festival plugged a key gap by serving as the main presenter of international and local arts events. In the initial years, the Festival was held only once every two years. Today, the Festival is held annually, despite the fact that there are more than 33,000 arts and culture activities each year – or 90 a day on average. The pace of increase has been just as astounding – the number of arts activities has increased three-fold over the last 10 years alone. Quality international acts are available all year round, presented by commercial event organisers, independent arts festivals, as well as venues such as the Esplanade. Local arts groups are not short of platforms and festivals to present their works. Many are also active in staging their own works throughout the year. With this growing diversity of quality arts offerings and an increasingly sophisticated audience, the Singapore Arts Festival has to evolve to stay relevant in the changed landscape. We must also ensure that the substantial public funding allocated to the Festival creates maximum value and impact.

The recently-concluded Arts and Culture Strategic Review (ACSR) has called for arts and culture to be an integral part of the lives of all Singaporeans and emphasised the need for building artistic excellence for our nation. As a key national event, the Singapore Arts Festival can be a powerful and effective platform to facilitate both these outcomes.

Against this backdrop of change, it is not only timely, but also essential for us to fundamentally review the approach we have been adopting for the Arts Festival, for it to remain a key platform for our artistic development.

In order to undertake a comprehensive review, the National Arts Council (NAC) has recommended a one-year hiatus for the Festival. This would give the review team the time and space to take a step back and undertake an objective and holistic review of the Festival, in close partnership with the local arts community and key stakeholders. In particular, given the growing diversity and capacity of our arts scene, NAC recognises that there is opportunity to involve our arts companies more closely in the Festival's overall programming, and to build up their capabilities to take on larger roles in the organisation of the Arts Festival. I would like to assure Members that this decision to put the Arts Festival on hold was a difficult one for MICA to make. However, in view of the long-term benefits, we decided that a temporary break was justified and worthwhile.

Before reaching this decision, NAC also sounded out various arts industry representatives through a series of dialogue sessions in May this year. Participants in the dialogue concurred that more time was needed in order to do a proper review of the Festival, in consultation with the rest of the arts community, people and private partners, and other stakeholders. The participants also proposed suggestions on possible activities to be held in 2013 to maintain momentum for the Festival during its hiatus. NAC will look into these suggestions carefully.

With regards to Ms Ng's query on the terms of reference and timeline for this review, I am pleased to share that as of last week, NAC has set up a Review Committee comprising 17 prominent members from across the arts, media and public sectors. This committee will sit from July till December, when the review is targeted to be completed.

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The terms of reference for this Committee are as follows:

a) To examine the role and objectives of the Singapore Arts Festival for the development of our arts and culture landscape, and to make recommendations on the future programming direction, structure and operating model for the Festival;

b) To propose possible activities in 2013 while the Festival takes a hiatus, to prepare and build up momentum towards the new Festival in 2014; and

c) To carry out consultations with members of the arts community and the general public, and solicit their feedback on the future development of the Festival and proposed 2013 activities.

The Review Committee will then submit its recommendations to NAC, for Government's decision by the end of this year.

To conclude, I would like to assure Members that MICA recognises that the Festival has become an important part of the lives of the Singaporean arts audience, and we are confident that this Review Committee will help us build a stronger Festival for the future. We welcome feedback from the arts community and general public as we undertake this landmark review.