IMPACT OF RECESSION ON ARTS SECTOR

IMPACT OF RECESSION ON ARTS SECTOR

27.

Ms Audrey Wong Wai Yen asked the Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (a) whether the Ministry is studying the impact of the recession on the arts sector as a whole including the impact on independent arts companies and commercially-organised events; (b) how the Ministry plans to encourage more philanthropic giving and sponsorship of the arts; and (c) whether the proposed online donation portal for the arts duplicates the current online donation portal set up by NCSS, and if there are plans to co-ordinate the two portals.

RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew: I would like to thank Ms Audrey Wong for her interest in the sustainability and growth of the arts sector.

MICA had expected the recession to adversely impact the arts industry and was committed to sustaining the arts during this difficult period by increasing our level of funding support. New initiatives were launched in 2008 and 2009 to support the arts industry under the ambit of the Renaissance City Plan III. The National Arts Council (NAC) launched the International Arts Residency programme, the Arts Creation Fund to seed new works and the Arts For All programme to engage the community through the arts and culture. However, MICA recognises that the growth of the arts and cultural sector is a shared responsibility between the Government, private and people sectors. I will elaborate on this later in response to your other questions.

While no study was specifically commissioned to look into the impact of the recession on the arts industry, NAC's annual collection of statistics allowed us to draw some broad conclusions about the arts industry. On the whole, our local arts scene has not been significantly impacted by the recession, as growth – although small in some areas – was seen in overall ticketed attendances, ticketed performances, visual arts activities and arts-related companies and societies. However, there was a decline in total ticket sales value recorded by SISTIC and Gatecrash as arts companies adjust ticket pricing downwards.

The main findings reported in the 2008 Cultural Statistics Round-up are that:

• Visual arts activity was unexpectedly buoyant. There were more than 900 exhibitions in 2008, which was a significant 14% year-on-year increase. (4)

• The number of registered arts-related companies and societies rose 16% from 794 in 2007 to 922 in 2008. (5)

• Ticketed attendance had a positive, albeit marginal growth rate of 3%, compared to 9% per annum from 2003 – 2008. (6)

• The growth rate in ticketed performances was 1% in 2008, though slower compared to the average annual growth rate between 2003 and 2008 of 7%.

• Total performances declined by 8% in 2008 from its peak in 2007 (7) as commercial organisations, eg, shopping centres and impresarios, significantly reduced their non-ticketed performances.

With regard to the question on philanthropic giving and sponsorship, this is an area which MICA is taking a more comprehensive approach to build greater community ownership for the arts. While there are already some incentives in place, such as the double tax deduction scheme, we will continue to identify new schemes and opportunities to make it easier for people to come forward to contribute.

The newly established Arts and Culture Development Office (ACDO) in MICA will strategise, coordinate and facilitate the building of greater public, private and people partnerships to broaden and deepen the support base for arts and culture. In the longer term, the office will also provide an advisory role to arts and culture organisations on building up their capabilities in fund-raising and alliance building.

The ACDO will launch a Cultural Philanthropy portal. It is being designed to complement the donation portal set up by the National Council of Social Services and will be linked to it. There is a huge untapped potential in individual donation to the arts and culture sector (8). This dedicated portal will make it easier for the public to lend support to arts and culture through donations, big and small. Beyond facilitating donations, the portal will also be a platform for more Singaporeans to volunteer their time, skills and resources in a broad range of arts and cultural programmes.

Cultural philanthropy is an important component of enabling an engaged and gracious community. Over time, we hope that our efforts, such as the donation and volunteer management portal, will lead to building a stronger spirit of giving amongst Singaporeans, more private individuals and organisations engaging with arts and culture, and recognising the value that it brings to the community.

(4) In general, the visual arts scene enjoyed robust growth over the last three years, with the number of exhibitions rising by an average of 18% every year.

(5) Over two earlier periods, 1997-1999 and 2000-2002, the number of arts societies and companies generally hovered at the 400 and 500 mark respectively.

(6) Despite the growth in ticketed attendance, the number of tickets for performing arts events sold by SISTIC and Gatecrash fell by 13% from 2007. With average ticket prices also dropping from S$62 to S$56, total ticket sale value recorded by SISTIC and Gatecrash decreased by 22% from S$48m in 2007 to S$38m in 2008.

(7) Nevertheless, the total number of performances in 2008 (6,864) was still higher than the number in 2006 (6,556), 2005 (6,410) and 2004 (5,105).

(8) The current giving to arts and culture come largely from corporations and grant makers. Only 5% come from individuals. This is in stark contrast to the national figures for all sectors which show that 46 % of the $958 million donations in 2008 came from individual giving.