The National Arts Council of Singapore contributed the following article on the occasion of Singapore‘s National Day. ― ED.
Not too long ago, it might‘ve been ‘‘Where‘s Singapore?‘‘
These days, the more pertinent question for the local arts industry is: ‘‘Where is Singapore going now?‘‘
The answer is: practically everywhere. From America to Korea, Sao Paolo to Moscow, home-grown works have in recent years found fresh audiences abroad.
Just at the prestigious Venice Biennale in June this year, the Singapore Pavilion drew positive reviews from the international art community and visitors on its thoughtful and diverse showcase of four generations of contemporary artists in Singapore _ Da Wu Tang, Vincent Leow, Jason Lim and Zulkifle Mahmod.
It led Yokohama Triennale Artistic Director Tsutomu Mizusawa to comment that Singapore artists ‘are very sophisticated‘ to be able to combine indigenous art practices with the new or contemporary.
In March 2005, the Singapore Season in London featured a cross-section of our young nation‘s rapidly maturing arts scene, with the Singapore Dance Theater, the T‘ang Quartet and the Singapore Chinese Orchestra helping to put Singapore‘s best (artistic) foot forward.
This year, the season is set to make waves in the world‘s most populous country, China, in October.
Our signature Singapore Arts Festival has also co-commission works by luminaries such as UK dance wunderkind Akram Khan, while Esplanade _ Theaters on the Bay (along with five international arts bodies) tasked American theatre master Robert Wilson to create his Bugis-inspired epic I La Galigo and premiere the work in its Concert Hall.
International high-profile artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Sylvie Guillem, Tan Dun, Philip Glass and Michael Nyman have also been recent guests here.
On the critical front, as the anchor cultural event for the 2006 annual meetings of the boards of governors of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group, the inaugural Singapore Biennale was hailed as a success by the international art world of curators, art critics and media.
Not only did it attract strong participation of international artists, artistic directors, curators, critics, academics and biennale organisers, it generated more than 1,000 international and domestic media reviews, stories and coverage.
Seven out of the 11 participating Singaporean artists were invited to present works around the world.
The biennale created opportunities for exchange and dialogue between Singapore and the global art community, raised the profile of Singapore art and positioned Singapore strongly on the world map as a vibrant global city for the arts.
Clearly, Singapore is starting to achieve its vision of becoming a distinctive global city for the arts, a high-traffic hub that regularly attracts international artists and sends home-grown artists onto the world stage.
This desired evolution was predicated on broader principles. Globalization has led to greater understanding between people and the evolution of cosmopolitan cultures, and Singapore needs to balance its unique multi-cultural Asian identity with a cosmopolitan and international outlook.
In recent years, many countries have faced social and political unrest, terrorism, and natural disasters. Developing mutual understanding and respect is therefore crucial in sustaining peace for all.
Meanwhile, aside from conventional factors such as infrastructure, connectivity, transparency and efficiency, it is important to realize that arts and culture are also key considerations for highly mobile investors and talents.
Just how has Singapore come this far in the arts?
For one thing, NAC has helped local arts groups find opportunities on the global stage by, for instance, signing cultural agreements with foreign cities and cultural institutions.
Memoranda of understanding (MOU) with Arts Council England, the Cervantino International Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival Society and Arts Victoria, are already in place.
In June this year, two agreements were signed between NAC and the Scottish Arts Council, and the Singapore Arts Festival with the Edinburgh International Festival, paving the way for greater exchange and flow of artists between the two markets.
The council also supports cultural agreements that Singapore signs on a government-to-government level.
Aside from renowned festivals in Edinburgh and Venice, and the Singapore Season in London, NAC has found platforms for local artists at markets and trade fairs such as the Australian Performing Arts Market; CINARS, the Performing Arts Market in Montreal; and MIDEM, the International Music Market in Cannes.
With NAC‘s support, Singaporean artists such as dramatist Ong Keng Sen, playwright Eleanor Wong, theater director T Sasitharan, and literature doyen Kirpal Singh have enjoyed residencies and received invitations to present at significant international arts events.
Others such as the Necessary Stage in Tokyo and pianist Abigail Sin in Hong Kong, Chinese Theater Circle to Guangzhou and violinist Min Lee to China and Taiwan, have toured abroad.
NAC is also a participant in global networks, such as the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) and the International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies (IFACCA).
The council established an Asian chapter of the latter organization and also inaugurated the Association of Asian Performing Arts Festivals. These networking initiatives keep it abreast of developments on the international arts scene.
Back home, NAC‘s funding helps local arts groups create innovative programming. The council also administers major platforms like the Singapore Arts Festival, which has prompted collaborations such as Optical Identity by T‘ang Quartet and Theater Cryptic (U.K.) and Causeway by home-grown Teater Ekamatra and the Actors Studio (Malaysia).
Play On Earth by Station House Opera (U.K.) in collaboration with TheatreWorks (Singapore), Philarmonia Brasileira (Brazil) and NewcastleGateshead Initiative (U.K.) in 2006, was a memorable production that took place live across three continents.
Furthermore, NAC encourages the staging of major arts conferences and conventions in Singapore.
To date, the council‘s Convene-in-Singapore grant has attracted the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles International Conference, the Performance Studies International Conference, the International Computer Music Conference, the 4th Conference of the Alliance of Orchestras in the Asia Pacific Region and the 17th Congress of ISPA.
Upcoming events include the International Symposium on Electronic Arts 2008 and International Trombone Festival 2010. This highlights Singapore‘s potential as an arts hub and keeps it relevant in the global context.
As Singapore continues to position itself as the cultural gateway in Asia and a vibrant international arts hub, NAC will continue to cultivate cultural relations and build more bridges for artistic exchanges to take place across borders.
The successes and burgeoning reputation that the Singapore arts scene has established thus far is the fruit borne of hard work across the board.
It serves to encourage future generations to continue carrying the torch and help realise our nation‘s ultimate ambition to become a distinctive global city for the arts.
Courtesy of National Arts Council, Singapore, June 2007.
Source: www.koreatimes.co.kr (9 Agustus 2007)
