Growing Jazz and the arts in Singapore

Speech by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister For Culture, Community And Youth, & Second Minister For Law, At The Jazz Association (Singapore) Benefit Gala on 2 Sep 2023

1. Good evening. It is a real pleasure to be invited back to the JASS Benefit Gala again. More importantly, I am glad that I am now here in person. Last year, the event was held online.
2. Really nice to see so many familiar faces in the audience, and I look forward to catching up with you later this evening.
3. Joining us on this special evening are also two-time Grammy nominee Roberta Gambarini. Roberta, thank you very much for gracing this occasion. Looks like we will be in for a treat!

An Instrumental Player

4. This evening marks a momentous occasion, as we celebrate JASS’ 7 th Anniversary. As a musical genre, jazz has of course been with us for a very long time. But as a jazz association, JASS is a young one, started only 7 years ago. But in that short time, it has grown quickly, and from strength to strength.
5. It is today an Institute of Public Character and one of the Major Companies supported by the National Arts Council, recognising its good work.
6. JASS has made extensive efforts to promote jazz in Singapore in these past 7 years. From staging performances and programmes which cater to a diverse range of ages and different ethnic groups like “Pesta Jazz: A Jazzy Celebration of Malay Songs”. JASS has also been organising public education talks and outreach activities to promote the accessibility and appreciation of jazz, including programmes for young children such as “Jazz for Kids”.
7. JASS has also demonstrated great adaptability to external challenges and changes over the years. JASS was one of the organisations given the COVID-19 Resilience Certificate. [Jazz] is not something that you typically or even intuitively associate with a COVID-19 Resilience Award. But this shows the importance of music and arts and culture in our lives. And it shows us all that it is indeed a critical part of all our lives, including being a critical part of our COVID-19 defence.
8. I am sure that JASS’ role and influence in the sector will continue to grow, as it moves on to the next phase. As an established arts association, the other arts groups will be looking up to JASS for guidance and leadership.

The Continued Importance of the Arts

9. Indeed, the role of bringing musicians together, mentoring and guiding them, and expanding the talent pool in Singapore is an immensely important one.
10. The arts bring people together, especially in an increasingly fractured and diverse world. It is also able to improve people’s social well-being, and the way we associate with one another, interact with one another and appreciate our differences. It is also indeed part of who we are and part of our identity.
11. I remember that my own musical experience was shaped by my father’s musical taste – what we had on the turntable at home or the cassette deck in the car. He had a whole range of musical genres which he appreciated but his favourites were the artistes from when he was a young man. I was made to listen to them. Thus, I grew to like Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Nat King Cole and Perry Como. Ray Charles, Chuck Mangione and John Coltrane - not quite my time – but I grew up with them, and I appreciated them as well. [Music] gave my father and I a common language we could speak in, and relate to each other. This is why Nat King Cole said that he was helping to bring harmony between people through his music.
12. With this, and other objectives in mind, the National Arts Council will be shortly launching the next iteration of Our SG Arts Plan to chart out the roadmap for growing the arts sector in the next few years.
13. Let me give a little preview to some of the points of focus in the Arts Plan. First, the Arts Plan cannot be just the Government’s Arts Plan, or even the NAC’s alone. It has to be our Arts Plan. This new arts masterplan has been designed with the input of many people who have a stake in and are vested in the arts.
14. Second, we hope to make arts appreciation an intrinsic part of our lives, from young ages. The National Arts Council will therefore work closely with MOE and the arts education providers to start arts appreciation for the young as early possible. This includes bringing students out of the classrooms and into arts venues such as the concert halls for music performances where they can experience, learn and appreciate the arts firsthand. This goes beyond the textbooks.
15. Third, the new arts masterplan will also shape Singapore to become a stage for the arts where our spaces come alive, and are invigorated by the arts. This will make the nation both an endearing home for us, brightened by the arts, culture and music, and also an attractive travel destination for overseas guests, to come and appreciate our arts offerings.
16. I also hope to see more public places playing homegrown music, which will enliven the environment as well as promote our local artistes to the public.
17. Finally, the new arts masterplan will aim to grow the entire spectrum of the Creative Economy so that our arts sector will be able to scale greater heights through collaboration with the larger creative industry. We will soon see the University of the Arts (UAS) come onstream. That is good, but we know that growing the arts is much more than just having a university alone. We will need to enhance the creative economy, so that the value chain across the arts is enhanced. We will then be able to support work of such creatives, for there to be jobs and a strong career path, relevant to what they study at the UAS.
18. I will say more about the new Arts masterplan next week. But tonight, I would like to take the opportunity to say that this plan which is constructed with people from the arts ecosystem cannot be carried out without the support of everyone, including all of you. So, let me use this opportunity to ask for your assistance and your partnership as we embark on making Singapore a home for the arts.

The Other Key Players of a Thriving Arts Sector

19. Besides JASS, donors and sponsors also play an important part.
20. The Government topped up the Cultural Matching Fund recently by a further $150 million. For every dollar donated, we will match dollar for dollar, in an effort for us to do this together, a partnership between the private and entire ecosystem.

Conclusion

21. To conclude, like the theme of this evening’s Benefit Gala, “Over The Rainbow”, let us celebrate to a bright future where all hopes and dreams come true.
22. I look forward to catching up with many of you this evening as we celebrate the coming together of music, culture and the arts. Thank you.