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Reviving And Reviving And Revitalising Revitalising Cities And Cities And Spaces Spaces Through Through Arts And Arts And Culture Culture 7 December 2017 7 December 2017 About the Culture Academy Singapore CONTENT The Culture Academy Singapore was established in 2015 by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth to groom the next generation of cultural leaders in the public sector. Guided by its vision to be a centre of excellence for the development of culture professionals and administrators, Message from Director, Culture Academy 2 the Culture Academy Singapore’s work spans three areas: Education and Capability Development, Research and Scholarship and Thought Leadership. Preface 3 The Culture Academy Singapore also provides professional development workshops, public lectures and publishes research articles through its journal, Cultural Connections, to nurture thought leaders Opening Address by Minister for Culture, 6 in Singapore’s cultural scene. Community and Youth One of the Academy’s popular offerings is its annual thought leadership conference which provides a common space for cultural leaders to gather and exchange ideas and best practices, and to incubate new ideas. It also offers networking opportunities and platforms for collaborative ideas-sharing. Responsibilities and Opportunities for Arts and 9 Cultural Institutions in a Multicultural, Creative City Notes This publication is a compilation of the papers presented at the second international conference Douglas Gautier organised by the Culture Academy Singapore, which was held in Singapore on 7 December 2017 at the National Museum of Singapore. Is There Such a Thing as Arts and Culturally led 16 The views expressed in the publication are solely those of the authors and contributors, and do not Economic Renewal? in any way represent the views of the National Heritage Board or the Singapore Government. Dr Rebecca Coates Editor-in-Chief: Thangamma Karthigesu Editor: Trimiy LLP Reviving and Revitalising a UNESCO World Heritage City 24 Editorial Assistant: Geraldine Soh & Nur Hummairah Design: Phoenix Design Pte. Ltd. Joe Sidek Printer: Phoenix Design Pte. Ltd. Distributed by the Culture Academy Singapore Published in June 2019 by Culture Academy Singapore, Anchors and Bridges: The Work of the Singapore National 37 61 Stamford Road #02-08 Stamford Court Singapore 178892 Arts Council in Cultural Diversity © 2019 Kenneth Kwok National Heritage Board. All rights reserved. National Heritage Board shall not be held liable for any damages, disputes, loss, injury or The Artist’s Role in Society 44 inconvenience arising in connection with the contents of this publication. Jumaldi Alfi No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the The Catalytic Effect of Creative Place-making 53 prior written permission from Culture Academy Singapore, a division of National Heritage Board, which is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Adib Jalal ISBN 978-981-14-1438-1 Organised By: Supported By: MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR, PREFACE CULTURE ACADEMY Dr Kenson Kwok This publication is a compilation of the papers This conference would not have been Board Member, National Gallery Singapore and that were presented at the Culture Academy successful and thought provoking without Singapore’s Conference on “Reviving and the support of many people. We would like Founding Director, Asian Civilisations Museum Revitalising Cities: The Role of Arts and to thank our partners, The British Council Culture” held on 7th December 2017. (Singapore) and the University of Melbourne. We are also grateful to our Culture Academy Arts and Culture provide us with many Steering Committee members without whose therapeutic and intangible benefits. Very advice and support this event would not have often, we do not realise that they form our been possible. We also thank the Ministry of cultural DNA and that they are social levellers Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and This international conference discussed the role Multi-Disciplinarity – understood by everyone and appreciated by our sister agencies within the MCCY family for of arts and culture in the revitalisation of cities, anyone regardless of their socio-economic or their strong support and guidance. how arts and culture can breathe new life into The diverse perspectives brought to the educational background. familiar environments and create liveable places conference by the speakers underlined the Our thanks also to our Keynote Speaker, Mr for citizens and communities. importance of a multi-disciplinary and multi- Arts and culture have always been a simple and Douglas Gautier, CEO and Artistic Director dimensional approach to any revitalisation effective way of telling and remembering the of the Adelaide Festival Centre and all our The speakers ranged from Singapore’s culture programme. Many different kinds of skills are stories of an individual, his or her family or speakers and moderators, local and from minister, arts festival directors from Australia needed to revitalise spaces, places and cities, families, and even the shared memories of a overseas who readily accepted our invitation to and Malaysia, an Australian museum director, an and through that process – as pointed out by community or nation. Arts and culture provide be part of this conference. assistant chief executive of Singapore’s National Ms Grace Fu, Singapore’s Minister for Culture, the “heartbeat” that brings people from diverse Arts Council, a contemporary artist from Community and Youth– to build communities. backgrounds together as well as tell us more Finally, our thanks to Dr Kenson Kwok, Board Indonesia, and a Singapore architect/place- Arts practitioners, policy makers, sources of about who we are as an individual, community Member, National Gallery Singapore and maker. The case studies ranged in scale from funding support, social scientists and activists, and a nation. Most importantly, they create Founding Director, Asian Civilisations Museum, small interventions to the urban scape and pop- all have a part to play. liveable and enduring spaces for people. who aptly rounded up the conference and also ups which have had the effect of incubators, to contributed the Preface for this publication. arts centres, annual arts festivals, a new museum People-Centred Approach, Listening To This is why the Culture Academy Singapore and cultural policy. The Community chose this theme; How arts and culture can be embraced to revive and revitalise cities and spaces. All the speakers were in agreement on the An important point made by several of the importance of urban revitalisation through speakers, and implicit in all the presentations, The many papers and roundtable discussions arts and culture as a building block for social was that any revitalisation proposal must start provided participants with much food for cohesion, place-identity (whether at the level of with the intended beneficiaries, the community thought and amongst the many takeaways the neighbourhood, the city or the nation), and of citizens. The community is a stakeholder that was the important sharing and discussion the promotion of civil society. needs to be engaged, and listening to the citizenry of new ideas that everyone could take back ensures that there are benefits for them and not to try out in their respective places of work. The key ingredients for a successful revitalisation only for elite consumers or those who need to More importantly, it also was a platform for programme are summarised below. show a return on cultural investment. Another networking and meeting new colleagues and interesting point that emerged was that listening for discussion of new collaborations on urban Thangamma Karthigesu (Ms) to communities can also be a way of deriving planning and rejuvenation of spaces. Director, Culture Academy Singapore content that will give the cultural offering a more distinctive local or even unique character. 2 3 Several speakers emphasised that the Retaining the original character and soul of Infrastructure Sustainability listening needs to take place not only pre- a place implementation, but on an on-going basis, The importance of good infrastructure came All of the above will contribute to sustainability. given that populations in many parts of the A recurrent concern in the papers and in for some differences in perspective. Well- Assistance and support, listening to what developed world are becoming increasingly discussions was that in the process of revitalising equipped performing spaces are certainly good the community wants and values, mediating diverse, with corresponding changes in values a space or area, the original character of an area to have. Yet the lack of such infrastructure between various stakeholders, promoting a and preferences, even in rural areas – like the and its community might be eroded or even need not be an impediment, as suggested by the sense of community ownership, encouraging Shepparton example - that were formerly changed beyond recognition. The process of example of Penang. Innovative use of urban incubators, good branding and a unique relatively homogenous. gentrification of old neighbourhoods was a case space as performing arts venues can open up proposition, follow-up and research, all come in point, as was new developments that are not parts of cities that citizens have never seen, or into play. However, communication

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