A vibrant and growing arts and culture sector for everyone

The Arts And Culture Sector Continues To Grow, As Efforts Are Being Made To Bring Quality Arts And Cultural Activities To More Singaporeans

1. Singapore’s arts and cultural landscape has grown significantly over the years, with more reported arts activities, as well as more people attending and participating in arts and culture events compared to a decade ago. There has also been more emphasis on quality over quantity over the years. The Government’s efforts to make the city-state into a regional art hub have been assertive, with more being invested to facilitate the development of the sector. More young people are also pursuing an arts education in Singapore.
   

A growing arts and culture scene for all Singaporeans

2. According to the Singapore Cultural Statistics 2013 Report¹, there are more reported arts activities in 2012, with an average of 23 arts performances and 49 exhibitions happening each day, compared to about 10 arts performances and 30 exhibitions a decade ago.

3. At the same time, statistics show that there is a growing appreciation for the performing arts in Singapore. More people are attending arts events, with ticketed attendance at arts events increasing from slightly under a million in 2003 to almost two million in 2012.

4. Ticket sales for performing arts events have nearly doubled over the decade, with total tickets sold for performing arts events increasing from 0.7 million in 2004 to 1.2 million in 2012. Total gross takings have also more than doubled over the years, from $32.8 million in 2004 to $80.6 million in 2012. This reflects a growing appreciation for the performing arts in Singapore.

5. Meanwhile, year-over-year comparison showed that ticketed attendance and gross takings for performing arts events fell in 2012, after an all-time high the previous year. This was due to the market adjusting itself after the initial spike of popular musicals, such as “The Lion King” and “Wicked”, brought in by the Integrated Resorts when they first entered the scene.

6. Non-ticketed attendance for heritage events declined in 2012. This was a result of the National Heritage Board (NHB)’s shift from large-scale events to more targeted ones with better quality of engagement.

7. The report also details an encouraging trend in the area of arts education and involvement. The number of students who are enrolled in full-time tertiary arts courses has increased over the years, from 1,860 in 2004 to 4,492 in 2012. This shows the growing interest of youths in pursuing an arts education in Singapore.

8. At the same time, more arts companies² and arts societies are entering the scene. There were 1,260 companies and 386 societies in 2012, compared to 302 arts companies and 247 societies in 2003.

9. Government funding for arts and culture has also continued to grow, increasing by about ten percent from 2011, to $478.9 million in 2012.
   

The government will continue to encourage community participation and engagement in the arts and heritage

10. Besides the increase in funding, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), together with the National Arts Council (NAC), NHB, the National Library Board (NLB) and People’s Association (PA) have been partnering the Private and People sectors to increase the richness and quality of engagement efforts, to bring Singaporeans together and build a shared culture through arts and heritage.

11. Mr Lawrence Wong, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) said: “MCCY will continue to step up our efforts in engaging our partners, to improve the quality of arts and heritage experience for Singaporeans, and to bring Singaporeans together to build a shared culture. We are heartened to see a strong response and a good turnout for various events such as the Singapore Night Festival, Singapore HeritageFest, Noise Singapore and the PAssionArts Movement. I would like to encourage more Singaporeans to not only take part in these events, but also get involved in the arts and heritage at a more personal level, such as learning to play a musical instrument, or joining an arts class at the community club.”

12. Many meaningful initiatives and programmes have been introduced to engage different pockets of the community such as students, volunteers and interest groups, as well as encourage whole-of-society ground-up and self-initiated arts and heritage initiatives. Some notable examples include NHB’s Singapore HeritageFest, NAC’s “Let’s Connect” networking sessions, PA’s PAssionArts Movement and NLB’s Young READ!.

13. NAC, NHB, PA and NLB will continue to grow this partnership between the Government, corporations and individuals, and excite more Singaporeans to be involved meaningfully in arts and culture development.

¹ Published annually since 2008, the Singapore Cultural Statistics 2013 Report provides an update on the state of the arts and cultural landscape in Singapore. The arts and cultural statistics encompass arts and cultural performances of genres like dance, music, theatre and literary arts, and heritage events such as museums exhibitions. The Report compares arts participation patterns and related variables from 2003 to 2012, covering a decade of arts engagement.

² From 2012, the number of arts companies comprises companies that (i) play a role in content creation/distribution such as sound recording production companies, publishing companies, (ii) deal with retailed musical instruments and photographic equipments, (iii) conduct classes/courses in the arts (e.g. dance, music schools) as well as new categories of arts companies involved in crafts and literary arts. Also included are companies such as artist management companies and educational companies that do not fit in neatly into a certain art form.