Arts creation in the performing, visual and literary spheres will receive a major boost of $3.5 million over the next five years, with the launch of the Arts Creation Fund (ACF) by the National Arts Council (NAC). As part of the third phase of the Renaissance City Plan, the ACF is aimed at growing the country’s trove of original, high-quality performing, visual and literary arts works that draw on experiences in Singapore and Asia, encourage artists to challenge artistic frontiers and raise the profile of Singapore arts on the national and international stage.
Said Mr Lee Suan Hiang, Chief Executive Officer, NAC, “Like other global arts cities, our collective ethos is defined and expressed through inspiring works of art or stories that bear the unique stamp of our culture. While we have achieved some progress in developing homegrown content, we need to enlarge the pool of works that are Singaporean and Asian – reflecting our distinctive multicultural identity as well as our Asian context. However, we also recognise that the creation of new works may require new investment and facilitation. With the Arts Creation Fund, we aim to grow the body of significant home-grown works that will enrich our cultural legacy and contribute to the richness and diversity of the Singapore’s arts scene, while opening opportunities for artists to create new works and reach new heights in their artistic development.”
Designed as an initiative to seed quality proposals in their germination phase, the ACF will have an open call for proposals from practising artists who are Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents. Proposals will be evaluated based on their artistic merit, their contribution to the legacy of the local arts scene, and applicants’ demonstration of sound financial and project management abilities. Successful applicants are eligible for up to $50,000 in grant support. The grant quantum may vary depending on the scale and complexity of the proposal.
Upon completion of their projects, successful applicants will be expected to present a manuscript or a mini-showcase accompanied by a post-show dialogue, or public lecture or reading where applicable. While the ACF is targeted at the creation, development and incubation phase of a project, applicants are encouraged to identify potential presentation platforms or publishers, at the proposal stage. Depending on the outcome of the project, NAC may facilitate contact between artists and festival directors, agents or publishers to take the work further. To encourage greater support for the creation process, NAC will also seek strategic partnerships with organisations to develop programmes or platforms that generate new works.
The open call begins on 14 November 2008.