Backed by the President’s Challenge and MCCY, the funding aims to support multicultural productions and ecosystem development while evolving local cultural identities.
National Arts Council and President’s Challenge Introduced a $20 Million Multicultural Arts Programme Grant
Singapore is reshaping how its diverse communities create and experience art. In a coordinated policy push announced on July 15, the National Arts Council and the President’s Challenge introduced a $20 million Multicultural Arts Programme Grant designed to champion multiculturalism and fund major artistic projects alongside ecosystem development initiatives.
Funding Structures and Grant Parameters
President’s Challenge Multiculturalism Panel Will Advise on How the S$20 Million Fund Is Distributed
The newly established President’s Challenge Multiculturalism Panel will advise on how the S$20 million fund is distributed. Co-chaired by Teoh Zsin Woon, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), and Venka Purushothaman, president of Lasalle College of the Arts, the 12-member panel includes cultural leaders, artists, and educators such as Esplanade chief executive Yvonne Tham, film-maker Boo Junfeng, and composer-in-residence for the Singapore Chinese Orchestra Wang Chenwei.
Malay Studies Lecturers Azhar Ibrahim and Suriani Suratman Are Among the 10 Panel Members
The other 10 panel members are artist and former Singapore Art Museum director Susie Lingham; Malay studies lecturers Azhar Ibrahim and Suriani Suratman, who is also a ceramic artist; Bhaskar’s Arts Academy director Meenakshy Bhaskar; theatremaker and founder of Drama Box Kok Heng Leun; co-founder of Nadi Singapura Riduan Zalani; and founder of Pasat Merdu Felix Phang. The arts grant, funded by the President’s Challenge and the MCCY, opens for applications from July 15 to Sept 15.
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam Said in a Press Statement of the Grant’s Objectives
It offers funding of up to $500,000 for multicultural productions and up to $300,000 for ecosystem development projects. Successful applicants for this round will be notified by Dec 30. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in a press statement of the grant’s objectives: “We are evolving our multiculturalism. It will have to grow naturally, not match a set template, as artists take forward their own traditions, create together, and sometimes even cross over to master another culture. What hopefully emerges in time will be a deeper, and distinctly Singaporean, multicultural identity.”
Applications for the grant run from July 15 to Sept 15. Successful applicants will be notified by Dec 30, with grants offering up to $500,000 for multicultural productions and up to $300,000 for ecosystem development projects. Co-chair Venka Purushothaman told The Straits Times his role would be to tease out different definitions of multiculturalism from the diverse panel spanning cultural leaders, arts educators and artists.
Worth a look
