Professor Howard Hunter, President, Singapore Management University;
Faculty, Staff and Students of SMU;
Participating Artists;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening.
It gives me great pleasure to join you this evening for the opening of the SMU Arts Festival. This Festival is a highly commendable effort to showcase the creative side of SMU students together with the works of established artists.
Participation from the People and Private Sectors
2 Singapore’s arts scene has seen unprecedented activity in recent years. In 2006, there was over 21,000 performances and exhibitions. This translates to almost 60 arts activities a day for Singaporeans and visitors to enjoy, compared to less than 20 a decade ago. Of course art cannot be measured by numbers alone. What matters is perhaps the quality of artworks and the creativity of the artists. The fact that more Singaporeans are attending arts events would suggest that in both quality and creativity, the arts community has also made good progress and successfully connected with the audience.
3 The foundations for arts development have been laid through considerable public spending in arts and cultural infrastructure and capability development. This has to be supplemented by the people and private sectors’ effort and contribution to support and promote the arts. Looking ahead, I see greater need for private and people sector partnership and support for the arts. Hence the Singapore Management University (SMU) and all other educational institutions have important roles in sustaining our drive to become a dynamic and vibrant arts hub.
4 I am glad to note that SMU is already doing its part to promote the arts and provide its business and management students with a multi-faceted learning experience. You are located in the heart of the Arts and Heritage district. You have museums, art galleries, performing arts space, arts institutes and soon, a dedicated School of the Arts, as your close neighbours. SMU is in fact surrounded by the arts and students should have endless opportunities to experience and enjoy the diversity of our arts scene.
5 SMU’s active engagement with arts institutions, artists and arts groups in the vicinity and support for national arts events such as the Singapore Biennale and the Singapore Arts Show will go a long way to providing students with a well rounded experience. The SMU Arts Festival will certainly contribute to the buzz in our arts scene. Last year, SMU became the first autonomous university in Singapore to receive the Friend of the Arts award. This recognition of your support for the arts is well deserved.
Arts as an Inspiration for Cultural Entrepreneurship
6 Beyond showcasing students’ talents, the SMU Arts Festival shows the importance which SMU places in offering a well-rounded educational experience. The encouragement you give to student stars of the SMU Arts Festival will encourage them to develop this aspect of their creativity and innovativeness. Hence, even as you nurture the next generation of business and management leaders, SMU could also be developing future arts and cultural entrepreneurs.
7 Singapore needs more of such creative and innovative talents as we continue to compete in a globalised market. A recent SMU graduate, Mr Joel Fu, is one good example of how you have succeeded to inculcate the spirit of exploration and innovation among your students. Mr Joel Fu has received support from Creative Community Singapore (CCS), under its Creative Talent Fund, to develop his project. Joel’s idea is be the “Youtube of ringtones” for mobile phones. Named IkiMobile, it empowers the individual, indie artists, musicians, designers and other creative artists to easily create their own mobile phone ringtones through its proprietary “Click & Drag” web-based platform. The portal also allows users to search for songs using songs instead of text, thus solving a critical problem which has previously limited the growth of such sites. Joel Fu has received support under the Creative Talent Fund to develop his project into a business. We wish him well in his enterprise and hopes that he succeeds in growing IkiMobile.
8 I am sure that SMU has many more students like Joel Fu. With the continued emphasis on SMU Arts Festivals and strong encouragement for experimentation and creative work, we can look forward to many more graduates establishing creative and innovative enterprises in future. If you have a good idea, do not hesitate to turn to initiatives such as the Creative Talent Fund for help to develop your creative business idea.
Conclusion
9 Finally, I congratulate the Singapore Management University, students and participating artists for a no nonsense approach to organising this Festival. It gives me great pleasure to now declare the SMU Arts Festival 2008 open.
Thank you.
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