Taking art seriously in Singapore

SINGAPORE – Art and commerce. Strange bedfellows? Not in Singapore. The island republic has struck on a formula where the two thrive in a symbiotic existence.

The development is brought about by Singapore’s desire to be acknowledged as the new millennium’s Global City for the Arts.

Like older cities that have come to be known as cradles of the arts, Singapore’s makings as a cultural capital is the offshoot of its financial prosperity.

It is even taking things a step further by harnessing art in the service of economic gain, thus fueling a continuing cycle whereby art brings in investments, resulting in more capital to spend on artistic ventures. And as shown by figures from Singapore’s Department of Statistics, the island state has so far been successful at generating business out of art. In 1997, total receipts from the arts industry amounted to S$248.5 million, a big leap from the S$151 million generated a year earlier.

The success of Singapore’s Global City for the Arts vision rests on investor-friendly programs that have been in place for a number of years now. Under these, Singapore is being promoted as an investment haven for companies that deal with art. They also provide assistance regarding general facilitation, tax incentives and assistance in marketing efforts and collaterals.

To date, two of the world’s popular auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, have set up regional operations and conduct regular art auctions in Singapore. The Canadian circus company Cirque de Soleil has also chosen Singapore as the site of its regional headquarters in the Asia-Pacific.

Plum Blossom Galleries International Hong Kong and Cony Art Gallery of Indonesia serve their international clientele from Singapore.

Arts companies, like Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Company, Cameron Mackintosh’s Cameron Mackintosh Ltd. and International Management Group, have recognized the potential of Singapore as a regional center for the performing arts and have brought in mega-musicals, like Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and Miss Saigon, and opera greats, like Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and Kiri Te Kanawa.

Just recently, the prestigious Tyler Print Institute set up shop in Singapore.

Corollary to these efforts, Singapore is also in the thick of sprucing up, renovating and constructing cultural venues. An example is the conversion of Empress Place at Boat Quay into the Asian Civilizations Museum, thus completing an art complex housed in neo-classic architecture, that includes the Victoria Theater and a nearby concert hall that is home to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Other projects along this line are the Singapore Repertory’s very own 300-plus seat home at the DBS Art Center connected near Mohamed Sultan Rd. and the renovation of an old Peranakan Christian Church on Middle Rd. into Sculpture Square, an exhibition space devoted to sculpture.

Also subject of an ongoing development is a cultural and arts hub that links hotels, arts venues, malls, restaurants, car parks and convention centers in one seamless whole.

Centerpiece of the art hub is the Esplanade – Theaters on the Bay, a stunning piece of world class architecture that houses two theaters – one for the performing arts, the other for musical concerts – exhibition spaces, recital studios, outdoor stage and a shopping and food complex built on reclaimed land at Marina Bay.

Aside from traditional modes of transportation, like buses, taxis and the MRT, access to this art center is made even easier through a network of sheltered mall walkways accessible from points within the city, like Raffles Place, Marina Square and Suntec City.

Of course, an arts hub is only as good as the events it presents. That’s why Singapore makes sure that there are cultural happenings throughout the year. To date, three major arts festivals are mounted every year. These are the popular Singapore International Arts Festival, which is held sometime in June, a visual arts festival that happens later in the year, and Take Art , an artfest geared towards the youth market.

Take Art is ongoing until April, and features a mix of local and foreign artists in a festival of dance, theater, music, visual art and young art.

More than a hundred events are happening for the duration of Take Art. Most anticipated among these are Frank Stella in 2002, an exhibit of prints by the renowned American, which is set to open on April 13 at the Tyler Print Institute International Gallery; Sotheby’s art auction, which is scheduled sometime in April at The Regent Hotel; Sixties Now!, an art exhibit at the Singapore Art Museum on the impact of the decade on Singaporean way of life; a comedy festival at the Raffles Jubilee Hall; and musical performances at Chijmes food garden.

Highlight of the festival is the first international festival for children that features, among others, performers from as far as Argentina and Norway, and workshops on batik painting and exploring designs in Asian textiles.

Hand in hand with Singapore’s heritage conservation, building of art infrastructure and art happenings is a constant effort to further develop art audiences, as well as encouraging the future generation to consider careers in the field of art. Institutions, like Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and The National University of Singapore, are aggressively marketing their art course offerings.

With all of these art-related undertakings, Singapore’s dream of a financial and art center is truly within reach

* * *

Next week: Esplanade – Theaters on the Bay, the centerpiece of Singapore’s art tourism thrust