A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE VISUAL ARTS IN SINGAPORE

courtesy of the National Arts Council

1.1       At a glance, the number of visual arts exhibitions has been steadily increasing over the past 11years with the number of exhibitions reaching an all time high of 520 in 2000.  The sharp increase in exhibitions between 1999 and 2000 is partly due to the opening of new exhibition spaces such as ARTrium@ MITA, Sculpture Square and Paragon Gallery.

1.2       The number of exhibitions in 2001 is close to 520.  This is heartening, as it indicates that the tremendous growth of the visual arts scene in 2000 was not a one-off event and was maintained in 2001.

1.3       The number of visual art and photographic societies and companies has also over the years increased gradually, thus contributing to the visual arts landscape.

2.                  Number of Local Visual Art Exhibitions on the Rise

¹Includes exhibitions jointly organised by both local and foreign artists/ arts groups

2.1       In 1999, foreign exhibitions in Singapore outnumbered local exhibitions.  However, this situation has changed since 2000 with local exhibitions comprising a significant proportion of visual arts exhibitions in Singapore.  This trend is expected to continue.

3.                  Organisers of Visual Art Exhibitions

               ¹ Includes NAC, NHB and other government agencies

² Includes cultural institutes, clan associations and individual organisers, hotels, shopping malls and other

  commercially run companies

3.1       Commercial galleries remain the main organisers of visual arts exhibitions.   Together with visual arts groups, they organise more than half of the visual arts exhibitions in Singapore.

3.2              People’s Association (PA) is fast becoming an important partner in bringing the visual arts to the heartlanders.  PA currently organises about 7% of visual arts exhibitions in Singapore, up by 5% points since 1998.

3.3              Educational Institutes have also consistently contributed to the number of visual arts exhibitions here. About 10% of exhibitions (between 1998-2001) are organised by arts institutions and schools.

4                    Venue Utilisation

              ¹Includes spaces under NAC’s Arts Housing Scheme, e.g. Sculpture Square, Singapore Chinese Calligraphy             

               Centre, Telok Kurau Studios, Selegie Arts Centre, etc

² Includes spaces within government buildings, e.g. ARTrium @ MITA

³ Includes spaces within cultural institution buildings such as Goethe Institute, Alliance Francaise

⁴Includes galleries and atrium spaces within shopping malls and other venues, e.g. Orchard Point 

  Exhibition Hall, Paragon Gallery, Raffles City Shopping Centre, Plastique Kinetic Worms, etc

4.1       Commercial galleries are the key venues for visual art exhibitions in Singapore.  On average (between 1999-2001), 33% total exhibitions were held within the premises of commercial galleries.  The data shows signs of slight decline, however.

4.2       Visual Arts Housing premises such as Sculpture Square, Singapore Chinese Calligraphy Centre, Selegie Arts Centre and Substation Art Gallery remain important venues for visual art exhibitions.  On average (between 1998-2001), 14% of exhibitions were held at these spaces.

4.3       Community Clubs are rising in popularity as venues for visual arts exhibitions.  This is a desirable trend as it provides increased opportunities for Singaporeans to experience and appreciate the visual arts.  It has also been observed that an increased number of Community Clubs (CC) have built good exhibition venues within their premises.  These include CCs such as Braddell Heights and Tanjong Pagar.

4.4              ARTrium @ MITA has become an important venue for the showcase of visual art exhibitions as seen in the table under the category “government buildings”.  Its popularity is attributed to reasonable rental rates, good security and excellent location. 

5          Government Support for the Visual Arts

1         This includes art exhibitions organised by People’s Association, NAC (as part of Nokia Singapore Art)    

       Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore Art Museum and those funded by NAC.

5.1       Percentage Visual Art Exhibitions Funded by Government

The government has consistently funded 20-35% of all visual art exhibitions (local and foreign) in the past 4 years. This trend seems to be an increasing one.

5.2      NAC Support to Artists and Arts Groups

¹ Statistics are not available

5.2.1    With the injection of additional Renaissance City funds for the arts (which includes the visual arts) in 2000, the average quantum of NAC grant per exhibition has increased significantly. Fewer projects were funded in 2001, but at a higher quantum each.  The number of projects supported was dependent on the merit of proposals received. 

5.2.2    It is important to note that in 2001, NAC funded a number of exhibitions through Nokia Singapore Art, which the above table does not take into account.

6          Other Indicators

Number of Visual Arts Programmes Consumed by Schools through NAC’s Arts Education Programme

6.1              Statistics show that the total number of visual arts programmes consumed by schools through NAC’s Arts Education Programme (AEP) has increased significantly over the years.  Visual arts programmes was the second most popular programme with schools in the past 3 years.  New initiatives such as the introduction of AEP programmes in Film and Multimedia (which include Animation programmes) in 1999 and the Artist-in School (AIS) scheme in 2000 have contributed to schools’ interest in the visual arts.

6.2       While the local visual arts scene is becoming more vibrant, artists are increasingly representing Singapore at significant visual arts events abroad.  2001 marked Singapore’s inaugural participation at the prestigious 49^th Venice Biennale.  This year, Lim Tzay Chuen, Matthew Ngui and visual arts group Plastique Kinetic Worms participated at the 4^th Gwanju Biennale.  In addition, local visual artist Hong Sek Chern participated at the 25^th So Paolo Bienal and Singapore’s new media art group, Tsunamii.net was selected to participate in Documenta XI in Germany this year.

76.         Forecast for 2002

7.1                          The number of visual art exhibitions is expected to maintain within the 500 range. 

7.2              While a number of well-utilised exhibition spaces have recently ceased operations, new exhibition venues have become available for booking since last year. These venues include Singapore Conference Hall (Exhibition Hall, Concourse and Sectional Practice Hall), The Visiting Exhibition Gallery (at NUS Museum Building), Ngee Ann Cultural Centre Exhibition Hall (at Ngee Ann Kong Si), Braddell Heights CC and Tanjong Pagar Art Gallery.