JC2 GP LECTURI T'RM 3 W'EK S

Question Analvsis

context: UnspeciTied

Argume nt

Argument 4

Argument 5

Acknowledgement

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th9-Ar!5 he sciences that make us a_tlef p_efSSnIDo Vou agree?::====Gl. Key Words :,. ' ...ii , ii; ;! I ,, i

NOT- compar ison, choiceBLfTtR-ambiguous ) Context, better in whar way?Suggest: make one more humane, kind, tl^oughtful, work toimprove one's lile

er oerson

the Arts, he sciences that will make us a

, Arguments to

Dosho

progress:

To progress: Culturally. Arguments to show how the Arts can

progress culturally

l-More funding necessary for arts scene to flourish

PAIRON OF IHE ARTS

WHILE reclpints of the sponsorchlps have benefited subslantially, an undelying sense that rnole can be done byihe privaie seclor jn suppod ofthe localarls scene stillexisls.

Beneficiadesin200TWercspreadacrossVaiolscalegones_iromanslnslilUtiongllkeNanyangAcademyo'FineArls (NAFA) and the young Tatent Devetopmenl Fundio schoLa6h ps such 3s lhe shell NAc scholaGhip forlhe Artsand Georqetle Chen Ads Scholarchip to ads groups llke The Theatre Practice, Wild Rice Drama Bdx and The

Olher beneflcia es were events like the Singapore Arts Festival. Dans Feslival and Singapore W lers Festivalcommunity Arls,Ieatuing lhe DistdctAds F; ival by NTUC Faiprice was another area which reaped benefitslntereslino y, in many cases, beneliciaies seem to be chosen on the basis of svnchronicitv or simllariiv in identitvbetlveen the sponsor and recipieni.

'Fundlng ls a continuous process.lt is allaboutthe ideniityof both padies growing intandem"savs NaialieHennedige, adistic direclorof Cake Theatrical Prcductions which is one ollhe recipienls ofsponsorchip

vvtLlianr l-tm. chiel ereclrive ofiicerof localst\4E old chanlt Kee, sha.es how it decided lo sponsor a chinese muslcal

rvlr Lin addeil: 'lhe srory also louches on lhe ups and downs oi venlu rrg ovelseas dea ng wrlir cuilure andsurvival. . simitarto old chang Kee."

Fundlng is especially imporlantfor non prolitcompanles inclLrding TheTheat Praciice becausethev lelv heavilvonind ivid;at volu nteers such as students flom secondary schoot, iunior college and university as wellas ptofessionals.

''For s ponsorsh ip for our maln slage prograrn mes, ihe suppo( allows us to spend rnore ilme more effo{ and aflordus wilh more resources io prodlce belter wotks,'said generalrnanager oi The Theatre Praclice Koh Wee Giap

Cake TheaticalProduciions, which sees up loihree maln season produclions, has similarly been able to focus onoiher prctects with lhe help of sponso6hips One such prciecl is Paradise Allev is a free annual outdool pedormancewhlch brings theatrc into common spaces and promises passerc-bv a visualdelighl

Nonelhetess, an undertying consensus exisls among recipients from the vadous categories thal there is room fortheprivale sectorto contribute more in support oflhe localarts scene

'\ryhat we have now is definilely not enough for lhe localarts scenelo creale more dive6e and good wo* We mn'ljust do commercial produciiona in order 6 survive

- we also need to do wo ihat is meant lor a smaller audience

iterefore less box 6fiice lnlake) but impodant io challengelhe adsts, and to strelch the audience. saidMrKoh'

''Like R&D in science and medicine. ads needs the'lab for newworks, iorexpeiments, and for the oppodunities iofa l. [4r Koh added.t\,1r Lim agreed: Ads is something allseciors have lo be involved in, forthefulure arts create a culture unjque to anyindividuaicountry. A younq counlry like ours needs a lot of privale and governmenlal supporl for Io"1 ads '

Framing S'pore as arts capital

MINISTRY OF INFORI,4ATION, COMN,4UNICATIONS &THE ARTS

SINGAPORE ls making iis mark as a global citv for lhe ads, with Foftes magazine lisling lhe muntry as among 10 ofthe world s cultu re capitals.

Quoling {iom the article yesierday, Rear-Admjral (NS) LuiTuck Yew said il declared thal while manv percelveSingap;re as a steile business centre, ils culturalpesence in the East is now undeniable"'

The Senior Minisler of Siale for lnformalion, Communlcations and the Arls (l,,lica) ciled the arlicie published lastmonth io showthat Singapore has come a long way in its bid io bea globalal1s capilal.

A key measure, he said, is lhe vibrancy of the arls and culturalscene here slnce the Renaissance Cily Plan (RCP)was unveiled in 2000, a masterplan to develop the locala'1s and cullure induslry.

ln the past decade, the numberotaris aclivities has quadrupled to more than 27,000 events a year, with licket saleshilting $46 million last year.

One in three Singaporeans altends at least one arls evenl annually, ihree iimes the paidcipation rate 10 yea6 ago.

RADM Lui also pledged sustained s'rpporl for the arls despite lhe downturn.

Itwas made in response to [,1s Penny Low {Pasir Ris-Punggo]GRC) and Nominaied N,lP Gautam Baneiee, borh ofwhom had urged lhe Governrnentto continue investing in lhe al1s even in a recession.

'We undersland the diffrculties lhatlocalarts groups willface and are committed 10 sustaining the aris during thisdownturn," he said duing ihe debate on his minislry's budget in Paniament.

Overlhe nen year, lVica wjll injecl an additional$8 million to suppo( arts and cullure aciivities. ttwittbe overandabove theaverage annuallunding oI $23.25 million lrom the ihird phase oilhe RCP scheme announced in December.

To dothis, l,lica willsuppodthe creation of oiginalarlislic contentthrough measures tikethe NationatAds Counc]ts(NACs) lnlemational Residency Scheme, which willbe launched this month.About 92 million will be sel aside in the nexl five years lo altraci regional adisls to collaborate with toca airlsts as wettas support local a sis abroad.

It4ore funding will be pumped in if lhe scheme is successful, he added.

The NAC willalso invesl $3 5 million in ihe next five years to build a body of new works wiih locatand Asjan ftavour ioappealio audiences here and overseas.

Two, buildlng capabililies and talent.

Mica wilcontinueto provideseed flnding to businesses, hesaid, citing toctcompany Vee V tnleractive as an earlyrecipient. ll is now producing an lntenet TV documenlary on Singapores Pioneer Artists.

Groomins talenl also remains a key pdorily dudns toush times, he assured DrOng Seh Hong (Marine parade GRC),who wanted l\,lica lo conlinue its aft schobrships and butsanes.RADM Luisaid NAC'S fimncialaid for scholarchips and bur.saries has increased by30 percenl in lhe tastfive years,with $1.02 million given to 71 people lasl year.

Three, enhancing institutions and inflastructure.

[4ica and the Tote Board will inc.ease iunding lorthe developmenl and mainrenance of setected heritage sjles suchas the Malay Heritage Centre, lhe Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorjal Hatland the proposed tndian He age Centre, he

roJr. elqaorng lhe conrnunrly.

The ministrywillslep up community oulrcach effons io broaden access to the arts, he said, adding:.Ads and culturehave a valuable role lo play in developing a more gracious and inclusjve sociery lo tide us over these d iflicutt times.',

Govt seed funding scheme to nurture a s businessesPians alsolo foster growth olgalledes, auclion houses, speciatised seruices

THE governmeni will iniroduce seed lunding schemes io help develop localarc businesses and integraie ihem tntothe Arts Housing Scheme as part ofthe lhid phaseofihe Renaissance City Plan (RCp ttl)

2

The move !s pa( of a push to grow lhe clusier" eltect of lhe ads seclor so there will be a complete value chainSenior [4in ster of Staieior Education and lnfomailon, Communications and TheAris. LuiTuck Yew. said atthelaunch oflhe plan's public repon yeslerday.

Besjdesseedfunding,theMlnistryoflnformaiion,CommunicalionsandtheArts(['4ica),lheNaiionarArisCouncjl(NAC) and Naiioml iteitase Boa;d (N HB) will padner the Economic Development Board io help gmw lhe localbase;l au;ion houses. galleiea and speciallsed arl servjces such as slorage, logislics and pmfessional conservaiion

The amounl of seed funding has not been revealed. But i. September, NHB launched an $8 milion Heriiage lndustrylncentive Programme (HlzP)to help develop ihe heilage seclor overthe next five vearsRCP lll, announced by [4ica Minisier Lee Boon Yang in Februarythis vear, is Singaporc's arls and coliualmaslerplan for 2008-2015. A total oI $115 mlljion will be allocated over the next five vea.s to help develop

'ontent and an

ecosystem and lo engage lhe communily.

RCPlllaimstobondSingaporeansbygivinglhemasenseottootedness'lhroughtheadsandcultu/lrLuisaidyesterday. Anolher aim is lo allracl loreign talenl by plomollng a vlbra ans environment

Content ls the core of lhe arls and culture, said MrLui. So RCP lllwillintroduce new conient cteation funds loencourage grealer Asian conlenl creation in Singapore or by Singaporeans

l.i^a,,rlL.,i..h.nAillsiR.qrds^.vS.F.r.r.ri..ir.,r.r.n:l.r-1qfi'r^.:.r'rl.sS":'.rc'n

To help develop a dynamic ecosystem,lhe 33,000 sq m Arls Housing Schemewilibe enlarged two years from now

When the school oI ihe Ads vacates its cu.rent campus al Goodman Road in 2010, an extm 15 000 sq m of aitshousing space wlll be created.

Holsing wlll be provided not only for anisis blt oiher players in the arts ecosystem, such as ari businesses orspeciallsed arl services.

RCP lllwas built on the slccess of the ptevious Renaissance Cily Plan, ilr Luisald "lfvou look at the slatistics andhard fiqures, lthink weve done quitewell," he sajd

Mica has released the fircl Singapore clrllural Siatisiics Report, which glves figurcs on the groMh of ihe culluralsector irom 2003io 2007. covedng arts, heitage, libraries and film.

'What is signlficant s thai there has been subslantial increase in aris attendance ln lhe I'4alay communily, amongpeople aged 35-49, BDB onetothree-room dwellerc and thosewlh'O leveleducation and below 'Mr tuisaid'

Asforan anlicipated drop in corporale sponsorship otihe arls next year, l\,4ica willcontinueto cullivate relationshipswith companies while looking ai how to make corpo.ate sponsoFhip schemes more atlraclive he said

Bul lhis year will regisier signiflcant coniributions, wilh a $12 rnillion donation by Ngee Ann Kongsito lhe Schoolofthe Arts and lhe donation of$66 milllon of works by renowned artist Wu Guanzhong lo SingaporeArt l\'4useum

Mica is looking at ways 1o encourage members ol the public lo make small donalions to the arts ln (US Presidenl'elecl) Barack bbamais campaign, ieopl made small contribulions bulihese engendered a sense ofownership," MrLuisaid. We thlnk lt's impo(ant for all Sinoaporeans lo feelengaged

RCP lll aims io bond Slngaporcans by giving them a sense ol tooledness' through lhe ans and culture Anolher aimis to allraclforeiqn lalent by promoting a vibnt arts environment.

Highlghts oI Singapore's Cultutal Stalistics 2003-2007

TicketedattendancesJolperfomingartseventshavehitl'5million'withticketsa|esofmoreihan94Smillion'

Performancs atlhe Esplanade grossed $39 million in 2007, more than doubleihe amount in 2003.

The n umber of visilors lo museums trebled from 20031o more lhan 5.2 million in 2007.

Contributions to arls and cullure, in cash and kind. rcse lo $47 7 mil on last year, from $29.5 million in 2004

Key projects lor RCP lllinclude:The NalionalAd Gallery, openinq in 2013.

Ihe $ 1 80 milllon .eturbishmenl of Victoria Thealre and Viclo a Conce( Hall, which stads in ear y 201 0. Facilities andspacewillbe enhanced io beller harmonisewiih cultural insiiiutions in lhe Empress Place llisloric Clusier and lheCivic Districl.

Enlarging the Ads Housing Scheme trom 33,000 sq m 1o 48,000 sq m by 2010.

Key investments overthe next five years in the RCP lll include:

$3.5 million fo.an Ans Crcation Fund lo support lhe crcaUon and incubation of new works.q5 rnilllon for an Arl< f.r arl .ommr nilv cngaqernFni rr2n

Spotiighi back on iocal artsNOTTHE LAST WORD

The Renaissance City Plan lllto shift focus to S pore culture, history

AFTER months of doomsday repons aboul economic lurmoil- and thes more where that carne from -

theRenaissance Cily Plan lll(RCP lil) released bythe N4inistry of tnformation. Comrnunicalions and the Arls (N,4ica) tateast month was a comforling nole io end 2008 on.

As lears aboul cutbacks and retrenchments in allsecloF of the economy conlinue io makelhe news, a(sprcciiiionerc inleruiewed by The Stmiis Times expressed oplimism that the covernments tongierm vision forruduring ihe development of Sin@pore s ads scene remains on lrack, with $115 million being pumped inio the adsand culture industry over the next live years.

The main lhemes of lhe RCP lllremain consistentwith those stated in the two previous iterations otrhis rnasteDtanforihe localarts and culiu industry.

Theflrst Renaissance City Reponwas released in 2000 and lhesecond instalment in 2004 was named RenaissanceCily2.0.

Encouraging S ingaporeans engagement with the ads and supporting ihe endeavours ol Singaporean arlists havebeen lhe key thrusts ofallthree RCP initiatives.

Bulthe most recent phase oi this prcjecl does sem to focus moreon local devetopment, with tess emphasis on iheoveEeas exposureof and acclaim gamered by home-grcwn artists and how a vlbrant arc scene can help attraclforeign talent- allhough theseelements are still presenl.

New components of RCP lll include a Singapore Cultural Statistics survey, which aims to provide m;re rnformahonaboutthe arls industryio praclitioners, palrcns and consumers,

Among itsfindings: Arts attendance levels among lhree-room HDB dwellels, holders ofO]evetor tnslituie otTechnical Educaljon qualiticallons, membeE oi the [4alay community and those aged 35 to 49 had atl increasedsignilicantly between 2002 and 2005.

The Esplanade was singled out for having attracted "more than six million visitors yearly, of which onty 30 per centare lourisls , while the Schooloflhe Ads was lauded ior its innovative, made-in-Singapore cuficutum.

New schemes to encouEgethe crealion of more home-grown conlent bySingaporean arlists are ptanned. Atso, a

tI

"lighied palhway" approach is taken in localschools, aimed at encouraging studenis who take up arls relaled coursesand co-cutricular activilies lo transil suc.essfully into lhe cultural workforce , instead of leaving these iniereslsbehind once they grad uate.

Asldeircm developing the centralL{arina Bay and Bras Basah areas into a cultul entetrainment distrlcl and acrlive induslries clusier respectively, [,4ica also plans lowork with lhe HDB and Urban Redeveloprnenl ALrihority toexplore new rnodels of town planning and deslgn thal integrale ads and c!lture lnlo the physicaland experiential

Perhaps lhe pivot, as I perceive ii, inevitably reflects lheway theworld has changed since 2000, wilh more economicnL5dp a1d ralarld ond sc niny

At firci glance, the word libelal" seems to refer io a particular polilical ideology, while 'a{s makes us think of thefinearts a valuabletield ofsludy, but nol obviously deeplyconnected lociiizenship.

To undersland what we rnean by liberalads", itis helpfultogo backto its Laiin origin -

ades liberaes, which can belilerally lranslated as "theskills of freedorn . A liberalarts education 3t its deepest aims 1o leach students the skillslhey need ro function effecliveiy in a democracy. Seen in lhese tenns, the con.ection lo cilizenship becomes self-

I am a physical chemist, and uniiifive yearc ago spent my enlirecareer at rcsearch univeGities Haruard, Berkeleyand, for28 years, the Unlversityof Chicago. Why did I come to Claremont in 2003 to become prcsident of PomonaCollege? For a very simple reason: because I believe deeply in the core values oi liberaleducalion. Sometimespeople are surpnsed to hearthat a scientisl is a prcsidentofa libelalads college. bul there is no contradiction al all:The sclences are an essenlial component ola liberalarls education.

A devastating crilique of society and educalion by the 1glh-century sociologist Max Weber is relevant here. Weberwas concerned aboul lhe lyranny of bureaucracy in Bismarck's Gemanyand Victotun England, but hjs cornmentsspeak io 2lslcentury Amedca and Singapore as well.

''in a modem stale, the aclual.ule. is necessarily and unavoidabiy ihe bureaucracy. hesaid, "sincepowerrsexercised...lhrough the rouiines of administralion. Even more halshly, Weber said: 'Theworld could one day beflled with nothlng bul lhose liltle cogs, little men clinging to little jobs...

- a state of affairs which js.. playing an eveF

increasin.r oad in rh" e^ir! .f.'tr oresonr admjnist4tj\/6 c./ctd- .na A.D..!. ri .r l- 6r..rr.- rhi -_n r-.'_ '

e\.llcaiing i,re cu i vared man who can siand ouiside of a burearcraUc itructLrre, crtique it and Vansform t. Thrs, rome, is lhe cenll pLreose of liberal educalion

Whal are lhe core principles for excellence in liberal education?

First, education should aim high bul also make excellence inclusive, not lhe province of a nanow elite group of

Second, sludenls need to have welllhoughi out plans ofsludy a compassfortheir learning pmcess th.oLgh college.Th d, students should be immersed in lhe arts of inquiryand innovation analysis, discovery, probtem-sotving and

Fourth, we should teach ourstudents byengaging lhe big questions thal cross disciplin3ry boundanes.

Fitlh, ourstudents should be prepared foriheir rcles as cit2ens who can connect thek knowledge with choices and

Sixlh, personaland social responsibility should be emphasised in every field ofstudy so thatwefosterthe civic, inleFculluralandethical leaminqof alloursiudents.

And finally, we must develop wals lo assess our sludenls ability to apply their learnlng lo complex problems.

What does lhis rnean forhigher education today in the Unded States and in Singapore? First. it means that we needlo break down barriers beiween disciplines in our educational systems. Theold modelof brcad education thmughhigh schooland narrowtraining in a singlefleld in our coJleqes and universities s noi adequateior the modern wodd.

The lrulycreative leaders of lhe future will bing percpeciives fiom widely ditferentfields to bear on problems. Thestudyofart can help the scientistto see lhewodd in a differenl wayjthe exploration of literalure can givetheeconomist a broader percpective on the realworld.

A second impoknt conclusion about highereducalion isthalwe musl recognise that we are notonly educaling ourstudents to move lnto prcfessions; we are also preparing cilizens who can help the world make \,!ise decisions.Education for rcsponsible cilizenship needs io be a core goal.

As lechnical chailenges iniluence our daily lives more each year, everyone needs a morc advanced undeEtanding oflhe scientilic method, and ihequantitative meaning of probabililyand uncerlainiy. As we become globally inleFconnecled, every college graduale needs to understand notonly economics and politics, but also rellgion and culture.

Civicengagement needslo be not just a theoretical subject rcad about in books, but a vitalacrivity rhat connects our

students during their years on our campuses 1o the centralproblems ofour age

Mvtomer co eaque at the univercly ol chicgo, Prcfessor Madha Nussbaum, has wfitten profoundly on this subject.ni,ou,ui eOrcutol,. ,n"

"aid, shoutd devote its;ff to "jotting ihe imaginaiion out of ils complacency and getting il lo

lake seriously the reality of lives at a distance".

This is ourchallenge in Amefica -

and itis you.s in Singapore as well

Hooking young studenls to theatre for life

THE King Lear Prcject by Ho Tzu Nyen, showing lhis week as parl ofthe SingaporeAds Festival, istartrom aconvenlional slagjng of Shakespeare s iamous play.

The first night is an audition, ihe second revoLves around rehearsa s of lhe p{ay s noloriously difficult scenes, and thehsl nightleatures a poslshow discusslon between lhe actors and audiences

Bul this has nol deterd Serangoon Junior Collese lilerature ieacher Melissa Chew rrom booking 194lickers toreach oilhe lhree nlghls, fiiling up a third olthe DGma Cenlre Theatre al lhe NationalLibrary each night.

[,4iss Chew,25, saysi "King Lear is one of our A]evel texls and itwould be good for the students to be exposed todifferenl inlerprel3tions of the work.

"Also, lthink this piecewoLrld give them a unjque insighl into how artistic decisions are made.

Students are an emerging and sizeable-Iorce ln lhe theatre-going ma*et.

rt is tetrin. rh.l hr. rhdiia ..nninias sr,.5 .s 116 stn^

ri , ,!cij! , Jr, i, !ui Lrl ioLrirr-oIe,tr:ir.t jiu\rs.Most ollhe school-going crowd applyforthe Toie Board Arts Glant, adminisiered by lhe NalionatAds Councits (NAC)Arts Education Prcgramme. lt was set up in 1995 to subsidise up lo 60 per cent of the tjcket price lor sludents.

So tor a show ai the Singapore Arts Festival, for example, a studeni would have to pay only $16 for a gS0 tickei afterfaclodng in a 20 percent sludent discounl on iop or the subsidy

lv4ore schools are maklng use or this granl now, compared to 10 years ago, an NAC spokesman said, addjng ihal lhenumber of studenls panicipating in the prcgramme has jumped f.om 39 per cent ln 1997 to 60 per cent in 2006_

Its hard to lgnore the burgeoning trend Lasi year, srudenls snapped up 4,500 tickets ior SRT,S A M idsumrn er Nighl'sDream, and the performances oi King Lear and TheSeagullby The Royal Shakespeare Company, which the thealrecomPanY brought in.

Students also accounted for 3,072 tickets io Wib Rice's Beauty Wond earlier lhis year, making up aboul t0 per cent

They made up more than hall theaudience lor shows in smattelsized venues, ltke TNS' Ott Centre at rhe 200-seatEsplanade Theatrc Sludio and Survivor Singapore althe 38&seal Jubitee Hat astyear.

lndustryplayers attribute the increase 1o faciors like higher production quality in toc:tshows and ihe awareness ofthe imporlance of arts educalion.

Some schools, such as Ratfles lnstltution (R1) and Swiss Cottage Secondary School, make it computsory for rheirlileralure students to atlend ai least one performance a year.

I\4iss Felicia Kuo,27, Rl's literature subjecl head, says:"lfs been a lonqslandino tmdiiion to expose ourstudenis to

The schoolchooses the shows based on relevance to lhe cufficulum. For instance,lhe entire Scondary.t cohortwatched Wlld Rice's AnimalFarm in 2002, as il was part ofthe syllabus

She adds: "More rccenily, bemuse we were studying black comedy, we booked 100 tickets for our upper secondarystudents to catch young &Wibs Hypochondiac and 50 forSRT's The Ptttowman.

Yeap Choon How, 16,3 Secondary4 siudent ai Rl, watched Wild Rice's Bliihe Spirit lasl yearwith his schoolmates ltwas thefirsl time he had walched a play.

He says thal thealre-going is "an expeince we need .

'To see and synthesise whaiwe leamt in lhe classrcom with whal is on slage is such an enjoyable experlence," he

But lls not just the independenl schools lhat wanl ln. Accoding lo the NAC, 13 government and govemmenlaidedschools boughtlickets forSingapore Arls Festivalshows this year.

Ma!4lower Second ary School in Ang 40 Kio,lor example, is enthusiasiicallyjumpins in ontheaclion.

l,liss Je:n f,4ok, 36, the schools arts activjly coordinator, sladed laking studenls to showsfour years ago.

For ihls year's Singapore Ads Fesiival, she block booked a lolal ol l0T lickeis for the ballei The Architecture OfSilence and The Lord OtThe Rings Symphony. Outsde thefestival.lhe sludenls have also been to see [,4oon Bird byl-the3tre and Hamlet byTNT Bitain this year.

She c.,/s "Fnr tr'.4^,i,!. .:rn1 afiod lt lhe schoi! he rs rh^r ilrrh rh. 'n.l.r ...s

4!-i,.j.r., - r-- J,!.pJ,;!,i,!._,Jn.rJrti!J,r.-:!,Lar^\i!!::Lo.:i

and have a belter Lrnderclanding of lhework.'

Secondary 3 student Chua Jia Oi, 15, slepped jnlo the Esplanade theatre for the tilst time when she and herschoolmates walched The Architecture OI Sllence, a contemporary ballet plece accompanied by 65 musicians and 80

She says: 'Jt was so njce 1o see lhe dancerc who were so organised and flexible h was very differenl fiom what Ilearnt in dance cJass, and Ienjoyed it very much. lt was an amazing expedence.l

Her schoolmates, Chloe Pek, 16, and Lim Yen, 14, also enjoyed ihemselves.

''Forbidden City by SRT was my favoudte, says Chloe, who has seen shows as vaned as Ofi Centr and lvoon Bird.

Yen adds: " l really liked Hamlet by TNT B tain, although l d idn't understand some parts.

Once lheystalr, they canl slop, says [,4iss Sukhjeet Kaur,29, lileralure leacherat Swlss Collage Secondary, whoselileraiure and drama club siudents tch lhetolour plals a year.

She says with a laugh: Belore,lhad lo literally beg the studenls lo come to shows, nowii'son a firsl come{irsLseNed basis. Four yearc ago, we didn'l even have a dma dub, nowthe upper secondary studenis are putling onplays like Stella Kons Birds OfA Feather."

Gaurav Kripalani, SRT'S ariistic director, says: ffyou getlhe two yeaFold and the 14 yearold inlo thelheatre andthey enjoy themselves, iheyare hooked for life.

''Itwillspark oft iheir interest in lhe arts and theywillstarl seeking more shows lowatch, generatrng;ur nen wave of

STATE OF THE ARTSNOT loo long ago, the best option ior a Singaporcan artist seeking lo grace lheworld stage was to get professional

The late choreographer Goh Choo San staried leaming dance atthe Singapore BalleiAcademy, but honed his cmitat lhe Dr.rlch Naiional Ballet before he achieved woidwlde fame for his work al The Washinglon Ballet n the 1 970sand 1980s.

The laie drama doyen Kuo Pao Kun, a recipienl of Frances Chevalier de IOrder des Ans et des Leltres knighthood,firsl dipped his toes inio theatre wilh the Rediffusion Mandarin Drama Group in the 1950s, but soughi out furtherstudies at Sydney's Nationallnstltute of DramaticArt in 1961.

Both Andrew Gn and A,shley lsham, homegrown fash ion designers making waves abroad, received theirlraining atLondon s CentralSaint Madins College of Art and Design.

And violinist N4in Lee, who has performed wilh prestigious orchestras all overihe woid, is a graduale of lhe YaleUniversily School of Music as wellas lhe Unive6ilyof l\,4ichigan.

But increasinqly. localarts instlutions are producing alumniwho burnjust as bdghtly in lhe inlemationalarena.

Bothpop star Kit Chan and avant gadejewe lery designer Shing Lee, whose pieces are sold in niche Europeanbouliques, attended LasalleColleoeof lheAris.

UOB art competition evolving with the timesTHIS yea/s UOB Painting oi the Year {POY) has taken off, wilh enlries beingjudged ihis week and the results 10 beannounced on saluday.

Willthewlnner spark a round of controversy like lastyear? The headline in a newspaperlhe nexi daythen had read''Grisly images win top pize".

The winnlng entry, tor the filst time in the compeiilion's history, was photographs -

lhree 1m by 1m black-and-whlteprints of cow, chicken and pig organs affanged adistically.

Some people said lhatihe photos were gruesomeand morbid;olhers lhoughttheywerc more grotesque than adistic.

Butlhere were also thosewho saw ihe entry as a thoughtfLrl piece that deserved the top prize in a comperitionmoving towards a progrcssive and contempomry slant.

ln response 10 the debale, the arlist behind thework, studenl JoelYuen, put itihis way: "Controversy is a good thing,provided thal ihe questions and discussions raised are rlevanl lowads thegrcvvth of lhe arls "

ln 2006, Namiko Ctun Takahashiwon the mmpetition wilh an oilpainling of a nude. This too had ils own share ofdissenting views. even ihough nude paintings have been showcased eversincethe beginning of aczdemic painlings.

Though these p3inlings may pale in compaison to Chris Ofili's NoWoman No Cry, a painting standing on !!o dded,vamished lumps of elephant dung while a thlrd ls used as the pendant of the necklace, or Tracey Emin s The Bed,showing her unmade bed, they do auggest thal edgy and provocative works may be the oder of the day.

However, Kwok Kian Chow, chief judge lor thls yeafs POY, points out: The judges have taken a more contemporaryview, deiinitely, bul nol in the sense of choosing a radicalwork. lt is a wa)s abouttheadists peEona I expression andlhe qualtyof lhe woft.

The contempory view is tnslated to a change in thejudging process and award structure of the competition rhis

There are four main caiegories -

Reprcsentational, Abstracl, Traditional Chinese lnk, and Photography. UOB used toaward one lop prize for every calegory, and then thetop pdze- Painiing oflhe Year.

This yea.. the bank decided to glve ouifour platinum awards, as wellas the iop Painting ofthe Year award,acknowledging thetive besl works in the whole competilion regardless of calegory. Hence, allfive works might comefrom the same category

The mosi promising young adlsl aw3rd and hlghly commended awardsfor each age grcup remain unchanged

Mr Kwok, who is also direclorol SlngaporeAns Museum and N3tionalArt Gallery Singaporc, says: "Caiegories oflype oI ad aresllll presentto acl as reiercnces, as lhe indlvldualcalegodes represent the tditional siruclure thatencompasses allart However. we do noi \rvant ihe categories lo be binding."

Transcendina cateqoies, orfixed boxes , s one that is thoughlwellby people in the artwodd.

Llm Qinyi. assistant curclor al lhe NUS Art l\.llseum, salsi "Conlemporaryad pclices ate no longer read in relaiionio catego.ies such as painling or sculplure. Anisls are uslng a range of melhods lo facilitate an engagementwlih the

Says POY 2006 winner IVs Chan: "Competitions have changed and evolved since Day One We are now seelngwo.ks lhai cannolfit in so easily lnto categodes, such as abstrccl painting with Chinese ink. or even painting on a

''This shows thal lhe (organise6) are not close-minded We are looking ai the contenl, e)Qression ot the adlst and lhe.cr.n.r -.rl n^t "6 .h 6. r i.ir: l.

'Conlempory arl, especia Lly, does not fli into a box. lt !s about the mind and the expression ot ideas lherefore theare no boundaies. Perhaps lheywould conslder an open calegory."

Anoiher updale on the competition this year is thai lhewinnerwould be given a one_month Residence Prcgramme atthe Fukuoka Aslan Art Museum (FAA[4), ifthewinnrng enlry is deemed to be ot exceptional slandard

t\4s Chan sa): lguess for Singapore,10 see a nude painiingwin isground brcaklng UOB POY ls trving 1o PUsh theenvelope. notalw;vs choosinq ihesafeoplion lsee thal as weLlin lhe addition ofihe arllsl sidencv al FAAM ThiSresidency progmmrne is veryfoMard looking and ground breaking in itself, as UOB is looking into lheiuture anddeve opmeni of the ariist

lndeed,lhe slint ln the wotld's only arl museum thatfocuseson Asian modem 3rt shows lhe impodance ol coporalesupporl for lhe a s beyond just prize money[,4r Kwok says: ll is fudher engagement wilh ihe modern a.l history of Asia Creativily is all about looking backward

Goh Beng Kwan,lhefilst winner ofthe compelilion back in 1982, says: "The residency in Japan shows thal UOB islaking a regional slanl and shows that lhis cornpeiition is getting more highly regarded in Asia

Russell Pensyl, associale chair (academic) ofthe schoolofart design and media ai Nanvang TechnologicalUnivetsity, sald: A corn petition like ihis serves 10 gradually evolve the ads ll is very encouraging that a majorSingaporean coForation has seen ihis as a valuable oulreach eflort "

So aslhe competition evolves, don't be surprised totind even morc grcund brcaking changes.

As MrYuen,last yeals winner, put it: lf we stick to iradition alone, withoul cutting edge ideas without being up todaie, lihink lt is going to be qulte stifling iorlhe arts scene."

[,4r Goh, who is also a recipientofthe CulturalMedallion, adds: "Nowadays youngeradisls ate moredaring vibraniand aggressive Thls novel development olour artists is beneficial, andthe artsceneshallbe letttothe voungetgeneration to develop.

Wmpping up, Mr Kwok explains: "Art challenges ihe wavwe look al lhings tfit helps us see things in newwavs' lhenad wouldh;ve tulfilled jts purpose. We think ih3l by challensing our viewers bv engasins our viewerc' a ce'lain new

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