With the departure of the former organizer of the Singapore International Festival of Arts, and his critiques of heavy-handed regulation of the events surrounding Sifa, many in Singapore’s art world are taking a closer look at some of the past programming for the art event and examining how it benefits the public. This comes at a time when the future leader of Sifa seems confident that subsequent celebrations will not have to be regulated by government entities. Many say that the new director embraces more commercial forms of art, while the former director pushed for newer and more challenging art forms.
The former director of Sifa said that he struggled to develop organic art experiences because of heavy regulations by government officials. One such example of this is the Open Homes event, in which thirty homeowners from around Singapore threw open their doors and welcomed art fairs into the places they lived. For each of the thirty unique experiences, home owners presented art that they had collected and shared art-related stories about their personal lives. Each of the home owners who participated in this event worked with a theater expert to develop their presentations. However, government regulators required scripts for the presentations to be submitted for approval before the event. The organizer says that the fact that scripts were necessary eliminated any kind of organic development of conversation between the participating home owners and the visitors to their houses. It also could have made the home owners believe they needed to self-censor, limiting the depth of their messages. What could’ve been an illuminating and interactive experience was hobbled by regulations, the former director said.
Another example of this was an event in which visitors were actually invited to act as censors themselves. In the Sifa programming, participants read a variety of plays with different themes and talked about the content, including proposing different ways they could be staged — or if they should be staged at all. This could’ve been a wonderfully educational forum for people to share their ideas and encounter others with differing and unique viewpoints, but regulators instead had questions for organizers of the programming that included just who, exactly would be invited to join in the discussion for the plays.
Especially with its ever-growing arts scene, Singapore has a wonderful opportunity to enter into a discourse about what is expected in the art world’s relationship with the government. As the government funds many different art ventures, one might explore other avenues, including private support and funding. Overall, the people of Singapore must decide the kinds of arts they want in their community and learn from different experiences.
Learn about your own place in the art world by signing up to take an art class via SGArtClass.com. Find a new hobby or hone your creative skills with the aid of a professional teacher.
To read more about the analysis of the Open Homes Sifa event, go to http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/opening-the-door-to-diverse-views-in-the-arts.