Vibrant Arts and Culture Scene: Today, Singapore's arts and cultural scene is diverse and vibrant. Over the past decade (1996 – 2006), Singapore’s base of arts companies and societies grew by 75% from 400 to 700 and the total number of arts and cultural events increased by 350% from about 6000 events a year to 21,000 (this figure includes the number of performances as well as number of visual arts exhibition days). This is matched by growing participation and appreciation of culture and learning by Singaporeans. 1 in 3 participates in at least 1 arts and cultural event a year, as compared to 1 in 7 in 1999. Total attendances at arts events have almost doubled from 700,000 ten years ago to about 1.2 million now. Visitorship to our national museums more than doubled since 1999 to 1.3 milliion in 2006.

Participation of our local artists in International Arts Events: Singaporean artists have presented their works and participated in international collaborative projects in countries as varied as Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Romania, Scotland, Switzerland, the United States of America and Yugoslavia. Prestigious events where Singapore artists were featured include the Venice Biennale, Ars Electronica, Documenta XI, the Zuercher Spektakel Festival and the International Festival of the Rotterdamse Schwouburg.

In 2005, the inaugural Singapore Season was launched in London. Singapore Season was a whole-of-government cultural diplomacy platform to showcase the best of our creative talents in order to market Singapore holistically as a place to live, work, play and learn. Programme highlights included performances by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, the Tang Quartet, Theatreworks and Singapore Dance Theatre, as well as showcases of Singapore food, film and design.

2007 saw the second Singapore Season in Beijing and Shanghai, which consisted of 27 arts programmes and 17 lifestyle, creative and business programmes, and attracted over 165,000 people in the 2 cities. Some of arts groups and artists featured were the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Singapore Dance Theatre, Drama Box, Chinese Theatre Circle, Mark Chan and S-pop megastar JJ Lin. For the first time, the Season also showcased prominent visual and literary artists like Andrew Leow, You Jin and Isa Kamari. SAM also showcased the works of three Singaporean artists – Chen Wen Hsi, Wong Keen, and Goh Beng Kwan – at the National Art Museum of China.

Participation of our local artists in International Arts Events: Singapore is becoming a regional centre for international arts events. The Singapore Arts Festival celebrated its 40 th anniversary in 2007 and continues to enliven the local arts and culture scene with cutting edge international and commissioned new works by local arts organizations. The inaugural Singapore Biennale was held in 2006 alongside the World Bank Conference in Singapore, and attracted more than 800,000 visitors. Since 2003, Singapore has also been hosting the biennial Asian Arts Mart, the leading performing arts market in the region.

Growing private and corporate philanthropy : Private and corporate philanthropy has also been forthcoming at a steady level of an average $30-35m per annum over the last 5 years. Some of these corporate collaborations with the arts have also deepened to include not only sponsorship for events, but also co-branding efforts e.g. Prudential Children’s Festival (in collaboration with Act 3), the M1 Fringe Festival (in collaboration with The Necessary Stage), and the DBS Arts Centre (in collaboration with The Singapore Repertory Theatre). There have also been significant private donations in support of the arts and culture. For example, in 2007, Ngee Ann Kongsi contributed an unprecedented $12M over 6 years towards the School of the Arts, Singapore for its Ngee Ann Kongsi Scholarships and Bursaries. L oans and donations to NHB totaled $180 million in the period 2004-06. This includes significant d onations like that of Liu Kang’s paintings to the Singapore Art Museum and the donation of $25m from the Yong Siew Toh Foundation to the then-NUS Conservatory of Music.

School of the Arts, Singapore : Singapore’s first pre-tertiary specialized arts school, School of the Arts, Singapore (SOTA) opened its doors at its interim campus at Goodman Road on 2 Jan 2008, representing a milestone in arts education. The school will provide both an academic and arts curriculum in a unique multi-disciplinary, open and cross-cultural learning environment. Students from the school would graduate after 6 years with an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, which qualifies students for entry into both local and overseas universities to pursue both arts and non-arts degrees. The school will identify youths with interest and talent in the arts, to develop and nurture their full creative potential. It is slated to move to its permanent campus at Kirk Terrace in late 2009.

National Art Gallery Project: MICA will be transforming the Old Supreme Court and City Hall buildings into a state-of-the art National Art Gallery. The Gallery will focus on the display, promotion, research and study of Southeast Asian art, including Singapore art, as well as host international art exhibitions