The National Arts Council (NAC) recently launched the SG Arts Plan which is a 5 year plan that charts new directions for arts in Singapore and supports the needs and aspirations of the arts community and all Singaporeans. One of the tasks for this plan is to implement digital initiatives by using technology to design arts experiences and to increase accessibility to the arts.
A good way to make arts performances such as concerts, musicals and operas more accessible to more people is to provide live streaming online through a portal. In fact, some of the most prestigious opera houses across Europe began streaming performances live online since May 2015. With the high percentage of our local population, both young and old own mobile devices such smart phones and tablets, this idea is viable. Moreover, our local network infrastructure is capable of supporting high bandwidth and usage and ensures seamless viewing of contents online via mobile devices anytime, anywhere. With this live streaming feature, people may still enjoy watching any performances they are interested in but unable to attend. In a way, this feature also allows unlimited number of people to watch the performances without the physical space constraint of the performance venue. For paid performances, people should be expected to pay a cheaper fee to watch online. The artistes and production company would be agreeable to this idea since it helps to promote their performances to as many people as possible. However, the drawback of this live streaming feature which most people will highlight is whether they are able to capture the real immersive experience of watching the performance live in a gallery, theatre or opera house. Nevertheless, this live streaming feature provides an alternative avenue of watching performances and would certainly reach a wider audience.
The invention of the Internet made it possible for art to be created in various forms and distributed across the digital world without the need to go through art galleries. With apps like Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest, anyone out there can showcase their art work easily. However, to ensure cohesion among our local artists and the communities, there should be a portal created for sharing and bonding purpose. This portal not only facilitates sharing and commenting of art works but also acts as a place for artists to maintain their portfolio. The relevant authorities and institutions should have access to this portal to view and grade the art works for cases such as the artists applying for admission into an art institution or studies.
Technology affects art across various mediums and is able to change the way artists are operating. Modern day image and video editing software provide more than a million shades of colours which are far more than traditional watercolours. The huge array of tweaking and fine-tuning options open up limitless horizons for artists to express themselves more creatively and accurately. While artists of the past rely solely on pencil or brush to make beautiful works of art, modern day artists can make use of sound, video or computer generated images to provide a more immersive experience. Rather than merely displaying static art works, the portal can support additional materials such as voice or video from the artists to accompany the art works for more detailed descriptions.
Another advantage of technology is that it allows experimentation. Given the fast turnaround time to compose something and see the results, Children or anyone who is a beginner in arts can simply reset and retry multiple times. This ability promotes incredible imagination and aids comprehension of structure. The portal can possibly provide such basic tools for children and beginners in arts to have some hands-on as a way of arousing interest and promoting the creation of arts.
Data analytics is the process of examining data sets in order to draw conclusions about the information they contain. It is used by many corporations across all industries to enhance productivity and business gain. Similarly, we can make use of data analytics to interpret important data, such as audience segmentation and consumption patterns for the arts industry. When data analytics feature is included into the portal, it will enable art practitioners to cater to changes in audiences’ needs and preferences for future art works.
Sunday 25 November 2018
Saturday 17 November 2018
Problems with Singapore's Art Scene
In less than a generation, Singapore transformed itself from third to first world and its economy developed at such a rapid pace which many people considered to be a miracle. However, its arts scene does not develop at similar pace and is in fact, developing at a very slow pace and is not as thriving compared to other developed nations. It is a universally acknowledged truth that a country in possession of a First World reputation must also have a thriving arts scene. Here are some of the challenges and problems faced by Singapore’s art scene which explains why it is not as thriving as expected.
First of all, Singaporeans have had the mentality that pursuing studies or careers in arts would not be as lucrative as science. When Singapore was in the process of rapid economic development as driven by the government after its independence, many jobs were created in sectors such as Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction. Obviously, being a developing nation back then, Singapore required many expertise in these sectors related to Science to develop its infrastructure and support the economy. Unfortunately, now that Singapore is already a developed nation, its conservative mentality of the people are still geared towards pursuing Science related studies and careers for a more secure and better future. Due to this reason, science related stream or courses in our secondary schools, junior colleges and tertiary institutions remain to be a more popular choice than arts related stream or courses. As a result, people formed the impression that only academically weaker students should pursue arts as an alternative option. To debunk this perception, the National Arts Council (NAC) has been developing ways to describe the importance of the arts to our society, economy, education, and well-being and actively engaging the public through organising a series of arts events island-wide occasionally. The NAC and National Heritage Board (NHB) have also jointly award the arts and heritage scholarships to nurture outstanding individuals who are able to contribute to Singapore’s arts scene.
There is also a myth that local artists are not as successful as international ones. Some people believe that due to the fact that academically weaker people pursue arts as an alternative option resulted in lower standard of artists in Singapore which attributed to less impressive achievements from our local artists in the international art scene. There are in fact artists such as Linying, our very own singer-songwriter who clinched a spot on Spotify’s US Viral 50 playlist which people who are not really interested in this area are not aware of. Perhaps there should be more publicity for the major achievements of our artists through various means such as television and Social Media where majority of our people spend lots of time in.
On the contrary, there are children who has interest and intend to pursue arts for leisure at a young age. Most of them love music and would like to take up classes in playing musical instruments such as piano, dancing or singing. These private lessons are often costly and usually only rich families can afford. To ensure that these children are not discouraged from pursuing arts for leisure due to cost, the government can award some subsidies to make lesson fees more affordable. This scheme would be something similar to the SkillsFuture credit which is given to Singaporeans aged 25 years and above with the exception that it is intended to expose local individuals to arts at a young age.
In recent years, Singapore hits the top of the table for being one of the most expensive city in the world to live in. Housing and office rental forms one of the main component contributing to this notorious international ranking. Art housing which is becoming more expensive than before hinders the development of arts scene through higher cost in rental and ticketing. Although rental charges are heavily subsidised by NAC, utilities and maintenance costs which are substantial are borne by the tenants. With donations from corporates and individuals fluctuating according to economic performance, NAC faces the difficulty to maintain the amount of funding provided to art practitioners. Only when people realised the importance of arts and the values it brings to us then funding would be more constant and substantial. NAC needs to continue with the uphill tasks of arts advocacy.
First of all, Singaporeans have had the mentality that pursuing studies or careers in arts would not be as lucrative as science. When Singapore was in the process of rapid economic development as driven by the government after its independence, many jobs were created in sectors such as Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction. Obviously, being a developing nation back then, Singapore required many expertise in these sectors related to Science to develop its infrastructure and support the economy. Unfortunately, now that Singapore is already a developed nation, its conservative mentality of the people are still geared towards pursuing Science related studies and careers for a more secure and better future. Due to this reason, science related stream or courses in our secondary schools, junior colleges and tertiary institutions remain to be a more popular choice than arts related stream or courses. As a result, people formed the impression that only academically weaker students should pursue arts as an alternative option. To debunk this perception, the National Arts Council (NAC) has been developing ways to describe the importance of the arts to our society, economy, education, and well-being and actively engaging the public through organising a series of arts events island-wide occasionally. The NAC and National Heritage Board (NHB) have also jointly award the arts and heritage scholarships to nurture outstanding individuals who are able to contribute to Singapore’s arts scene.
There is also a myth that local artists are not as successful as international ones. Some people believe that due to the fact that academically weaker people pursue arts as an alternative option resulted in lower standard of artists in Singapore which attributed to less impressive achievements from our local artists in the international art scene. There are in fact artists such as Linying, our very own singer-songwriter who clinched a spot on Spotify’s US Viral 50 playlist which people who are not really interested in this area are not aware of. Perhaps there should be more publicity for the major achievements of our artists through various means such as television and Social Media where majority of our people spend lots of time in.
On the contrary, there are children who has interest and intend to pursue arts for leisure at a young age. Most of them love music and would like to take up classes in playing musical instruments such as piano, dancing or singing. These private lessons are often costly and usually only rich families can afford. To ensure that these children are not discouraged from pursuing arts for leisure due to cost, the government can award some subsidies to make lesson fees more affordable. This scheme would be something similar to the SkillsFuture credit which is given to Singaporeans aged 25 years and above with the exception that it is intended to expose local individuals to arts at a young age.
In recent years, Singapore hits the top of the table for being one of the most expensive city in the world to live in. Housing and office rental forms one of the main component contributing to this notorious international ranking. Art housing which is becoming more expensive than before hinders the development of arts scene through higher cost in rental and ticketing. Although rental charges are heavily subsidised by NAC, utilities and maintenance costs which are substantial are borne by the tenants. With donations from corporates and individuals fluctuating according to economic performance, NAC faces the difficulty to maintain the amount of funding provided to art practitioners. Only when people realised the importance of arts and the values it brings to us then funding would be more constant and substantial. NAC needs to continue with the uphill tasks of arts advocacy.
Thursday 15 November 2018
My Interest & Involvement in Arts
Art consists of a range of human activities that create visual, auditory or artefacts to express imagination or conceptual ideas. It is intended to be appreciated for its beauty or emotional power. When art is mentioned in Singapore context, most people especially children or teenagers would associate it with Drawings, Paintings or Artefacts (such as lanterns or kites) due to the involvements in making these items during art lessons from nursery to secondary two in school. However, art comes in many different forms and is definitely more than the visual category of items which most Singaporeans have encountered during school days. Other common forms of art includes Architecture, Sculpture, Music, Poetry, Dance and Performing. All of these are important in our daily lives as they were used to communicate ideas or provide pleasures for us. A good example of art being used to communicate ideas is the broadcast of the Pioneer Generation Package advertisement on television to the elderly for the purpose of creating awareness for this package in the form of a song. The usage of art to communicate idea in this case increases the effectiveness by capturing the attention and making the content easier to remember through melodious tune. Music is another popular form of art that provides entertainment for us to relieve stress. Given the importance of art in our daily lives, there is a need to actively promote the creation and appreciation of art, an area which I feel Singapore is far lacking behind many nations.
Art and science are often perceived as polar opposites. Traditionally, tertiary institutes categorise their courses into one of these two areas and require their students to stick to one side of the fence. Although I am considered to be a technical person because of my profession and background in Information Technology, my interest and involvement in art is no lesser than the people in the arts and entertainment industry. I enjoy watching West End and Broadway musicals as they provide immersive entertainments and also greater understanding of humanity through insights into specific cultures, behaviours and thinking of people of certain eras. When I told my friends about my interest in musicals and even wrote blog posts about some of those musicals I like, they were indeed surprised to know that such a technical person like me would display such great level of interest in a form of art which locally, few people would be interested in. To debunk this perception, I replied them saying that Leonardo Da Vinci, the great Italian polymath was a scientist as well as an artist. Some of his most well-known inventions include parachute and helicopter whereas famous paintings include Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. He was a perfect example to illustrate that art and science are closely related and both areas contributed to his exemplary success.
As an Information Technology professional, I have the opportunity to apply art in my work through designing user interfaces (UI) for web or mobile applications. The standards and guides provided by documentations such the Web Interface Standards (WIS) defines the objectives while art helps me overcome the subjective interpretations of the users interacting with the user interfaces. For example, the standard would mandate the size, wording and position of the various UI objects while art is being applied to design icons to prevent cluttering too much text on the screen especially on a mobile device. Icons are subjective and may be interpreted differently by different users. This is how art is applied in a field of work that is highly perceived to be purely scientific.
Art and science are often perceived as polar opposites. Traditionally, tertiary institutes categorise their courses into one of these two areas and require their students to stick to one side of the fence. Although I am considered to be a technical person because of my profession and background in Information Technology, my interest and involvement in art is no lesser than the people in the arts and entertainment industry. I enjoy watching West End and Broadway musicals as they provide immersive entertainments and also greater understanding of humanity through insights into specific cultures, behaviours and thinking of people of certain eras. When I told my friends about my interest in musicals and even wrote blog posts about some of those musicals I like, they were indeed surprised to know that such a technical person like me would display such great level of interest in a form of art which locally, few people would be interested in. To debunk this perception, I replied them saying that Leonardo Da Vinci, the great Italian polymath was a scientist as well as an artist. Some of his most well-known inventions include parachute and helicopter whereas famous paintings include Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. He was a perfect example to illustrate that art and science are closely related and both areas contributed to his exemplary success.
As an Information Technology professional, I have the opportunity to apply art in my work through designing user interfaces (UI) for web or mobile applications. The standards and guides provided by documentations such the Web Interface Standards (WIS) defines the objectives while art helps me overcome the subjective interpretations of the users interacting with the user interfaces. For example, the standard would mandate the size, wording and position of the various UI objects while art is being applied to design icons to prevent cluttering too much text on the screen especially on a mobile device. Icons are subjective and may be interpreted differently by different users. This is how art is applied in a field of work that is highly perceived to be purely scientific.
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