Arts & Culture Flashcards
Going to see arts is expensive
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Broadway tickets to watch shows like The Lion King or Hamilton typically sell at SGD$199, while each part of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child go for $330.
• Entrance to the Singapore Art Museum and seasonal exhibitions at the National Gallery cost more than a day’s worth of sustenance— $30.
The 2021 Singaporean Biennale, which was meant to showcase Singaporean art to Singaporeans, was locked behind a $25 paywall, while the ironically named Art in the Commons required a fee of $12 to peruse.
The arts are a luxury, not a necessity
COVID19 Straits Times survey non-essential worker
• Most Syrian artists have moved abroad to places where people have the time of day appreciate their artistic output. Hrair Sarkissian (London), Khaled Takreti (New York), Tammam Azzam (Dubai)— their paintings reference the situation in Syria, but crucially do not speak to Syrians themselves, to whom art is not a priority.
to many artists, the universality of the arts— in both its accessibility and its relevance— is an ideal they are committed to.
- Banksy, an enigmatic persona credited for a range of satirical and subversive illustrations in England. His art is accessible to everyone by nature— since it appears on the walls of public buildings and tunnels, but also by design— since he intends it to carry a political message to the masses
- When Banksy original Girl With Balloon was auctioned off for 1.4mil in 2018 before it promptly self-destructed by descending into a shredder hidden in its frame. This was an anti-capitalist statement that the arts are public property, never to be owned by any one individual.
- His museum in Croydon is open to visitors free-of-charge, demonstrating the not-uncommon ethos among artists that art belongs to the people.
- Art installations in Singapore that residents of any social status can enjoy:
- Orchard Road: Nutmeg and Mace by Kumari Nahappan
- Tiong Bahru: Murals painted by Yip Yew Chong
- MRT station art installations: murals at Marymount, inscriptions on floor of Botanic, sculptures at KAP
Singapore governments recognises the practical value of the arts
• Even unabashedly pragmatic SG has:
Education
• Incorporated arts into the common syllabus in recognition of its universally empowering effects
• Set up specialist schools LaSalle and NAFA
Initiatives
• National Art Council’s Arts in Your Neighbourhood initiative, which showcases creative output of local craftsman in heartland areas for all to appreciate
• 1997 Busking Scheme to “enliven city life” and “energise urban spaces”
Access to arts spaces
• National Heritage Board grants local citizens and residents free access to major galleries and museums, preventing predatory ticket prices from being a disincentive
Buying art is expensive
• In 2015, Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes D’Alger (Version ‘O’) was auctioned off for a whopping USD$179.3 million, compared to in 1997 when it had sold for $31.9 million.
In 2019, Claude Monet’s Meules was auctioned off for $110.7 million, 44 times higher than its previous record.
Governments in many countries recognise the practical value of the arts
- In more liberal countries:
- US: National Endowment for the Arts, federal agency that provides fellowships and grants for artists
- UK: Department for Culture, Media and Sport fully funds the British Museum, National Gallery, and National Portrait Gallery, ensuring they are completely free to public
