arts policy Archives

Our Cultural Medallion Story: 3 ways to explore this showcase of Singapore artists

A new interactive showcase is shining the spotlight on the 130 artists who have been conferred the Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s highest accolade for the arts. Titled Our Cultural Medallion Story, the exhibition consists of a physical exhibition–with artefacts, write-ups, books and multimedia components—and a companion website, which introduces the public to these renowned artists from […]

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Mah Jun Yi and Low Pey Sien

ANCER Lab 03 Manila: How arts managers are surviving COVID-19

By Wennie Yang (1,200 words, 4-minute read) Pandemic restrictions have put arts and cultural workers and institutions in a bind: choosing between sustaining their missions at times of a global pandemic or ceasing operations altogether. How have Southeast Asian arts managers survived? That was the question at the heart of the third ANCER Lab, formed

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Raphael Hugh

Yale-NUS closure: Artistic legacies and loss in (de)liberation

In August, the National University of Singapore (NUS) announced unilaterally that Yale-NUS College would be shut down by 2025, marking what many see as a premature end to the partnership between Yale University and NUS that started in 2011. The months since have seen an outpouring of grief, anger, and resistance against the decision to

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Ho Shu En

Dear Waterloo Street, From An Emerging Arts Manager

Waterloo Street is for me, a place of beginnings. It has accompanied me through my journey as an arts management student from Singapore Management University (SMU) to my current job as an arts manager with Theatre Practice. While many things may have changed, Waterloo Street has remained a persistent presence in my life. Waterloo Street

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Podcast 91: Curated Conferences with Chung Shefong, Janet Pillai and Anmol Vellani at Meeting Point 2021

Nabilah Said and Wennie Yang speak to Chung Shefong, Janet Pillai and Anmol Vellani the three curators who led the Curated Conference programme as part of Meeting Point 2021. The Curated Conferences comprised of three groups of participants from different Asian countries, who met over 6 months since November 2020, guided by their curator. This

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Mekong Cultural Hub

Meeting Point 2021: The cultural worker in a time of social change

By Wennie Yang (2,000 words, 8-minute read) Laptop fully charged, professional Zoom background selected – Meeting Point 2021 organised by Mekong Cultural Hub and its partners took place virtually between 20 to 22 May 2021. Artists, cultural intermediaries, academics, and other interested parties from around the region gathered to discuss their experiences melding arts with

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AIRISU / The Substation

The Substation’s SeptFest 2021: The last chapter

By Nabilah Said Against the backdrop of a battle of words, an impossibility is happening. SeptFest, one of The Substation’s most enduring annual programmes, is taking place this month, in March, six months too late. This, of course, is because of COVID restrictions last year, but it also feels strangely early, unseasonal – like when

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The Substation Facebook Page

The future of The Substation: A timeline of events (Updated)

By Ke Weiliang, with assistance from Nabilah Said Last updated: 12 Nov 2021 ArtsEquator has compiled a timeline of events that details recent developments surrounding the future of The Substation. The timeline – displayed in chronological order – begins from late 2017 when the National Arts Council (NAC) first informed The Substation of its decision

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The Substation's Facebook page, taken by Mish'aal

The Substation: An unstoppable force and an immovable object

By Nabilah Said, with additional reporting by Ke Weiliang On Saturday, 6 March 2021, almost 300 members of the arts community came together in a Zoom Townhall to discuss the fate of independent arts centre The Substation. The Townhall had been called by the board of directors of The Substation after a month-long back-and-forth involving

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How they got their stART: ArtsWok, Paper Monkey Theatre and Bhumi Collective

In unprecedented times like a pandemic, artists, like everyone else, are focused on survival. Horizons for planning are more short-term. Even as we enter 2021 with cautious optimism, it is hard to think about longer term goals and aspirations. Yet, the continued survival of our arts organisations is crucial to building and sustaining a thriving

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The Substation: How many more canaries in the coal mine?

By Hoe Su Fern Since 1990, The Substation has been the sole occupant of the conserved building at 45 Armenian Street. Over the years, it has transformed the once-abandoned power station into Singapore’s first artist-led multi-disciplinary arts centre. However, in July 2020, the news that the conserved building would undergo renovations and that The Substation

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Statistically Speaking: What the data says about arts audiences in Singapore and Australia

On Thursday, 28 January 11am-12.30pm (GMT +8), representatives from Singapore’s National Arts Council (NAC) and the Australia Council for the Arts will discuss audience attitudes towards the arts in their respective countries in the webinar titled “Statistically Speaking: Analysing Arts Audience Engagement in Singapore and Australia”. (Pre-event registration here) This discussion draws on research survey

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Statistically Speaking: Analysing Arts Audience Engagement in Singapore and Australia

Representatives from Singapore’s National Arts Council (NAC) and the Australia Council for the Arts will discuss audience attitudes towards the arts in their respective countries, based on research survey data collected in 2019 and 2020. What does the data tell us about ourselves and how does this affect new policies and programmes? And what does

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Book Review: “The State and The Arts in Singapore: Policies and Institutions”

Commissioned by the Institute of Policy Studies of Singapore (IPS) to trace the course of cultural policy in Singapore from the 1950s to the present, The State and the Arts in Singapore: Policies and Institutions is a comprehensive tome that should serve as an essential text in time to come for any student’s introduction to Singapore’s

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What the Arts in Malaysia Needs: More Transparency, Less Intermediaries

By Kathy Rowland (2145 words, 8 minute read) 2 July 2018 – The receding brown moon on millions of Malaysians’ fingernails are a biological marker of the eight weeks since the end of the Najib administration. These past 55 days have seen stunning institutional changes, monitored by an activist public that almost, almost, makes the

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