Date:
9 Jan 2001
Time:
7.00 pm
Venue:
MCDS Singa Room
Present:
11 members
1.1
The chairperson, Professor Yu Chun Yee, invited members to introduce
themselves. He noted that the group was a diverse one as members came from
various backgrounds, including visual and performance arts, and he hoped that
this would result in a cross-fertilisation of ideas.
1.2
As the present group is rather small, the chairperson urged the members
to invite friends or colleagues who have interests in arts and culture to join
the group. In particular, he would like to see representatives from the literary
arts.
2.1
The chairperson asked for nominations and invited Mr Leong Chun Hong
(Miao Hua Chinese Art Society) to be the vice-chairperson. Mr Leong Chun Hong
will assume the role of the chairperson should Professor Yu be
absent.
2.2
The secretary of the group, who will record minutes of the meetings,
shall be appointed in the next meeting.
3.1
After careful consideration, the group decided to focus their discussion
on two general issues: (a) Making appreciation of arts and culture an integral
part of life for every Singaporean, and (b) Increasing funding for arts and
culture
The
group felt that the appreciation of arts and culture can be inculcated in the
life of every Singaporean through the following ways:
4.1
Promoting arts education:
·
The
members asserted that arts education should start from young, preferably from
primary school, especially in view of the pervasive influence of popular
culture. If the appreciation of arts is not instilled in the young generation
during their formative years, they might grow up having a limited and stunted
perception of arts and culture, or of life in general. The members hoped that
with the 30% reduction in the content of the school curriculum, the arts could
be incorporated as a tool to cultivate creativity in our schools. They opined
that arts education would fail if parents, teachers and students did not realise
that arts education was crucial to the overall development in a person. They
urged the Ministry of Education to seriously consider making arts education a
part of the core curriculum.
·
There
were several suggestions on how the arts could be promoted in our education
system. Some suggested that students be encouraged to take an appreciation
course as part of their studies and given credits for attending a play or a
concert. Others felt that the Government must acknowledge the importance of
promoting the study of the arts at the tertiary level. Some expressed concerns
on the ways the arts and heritage were being taught to our students. They felt
that there should be ways to make the appreciation of the arts a fun and
interesting experience.
·
The
group also felt very strongly that teachers trained to teach arts subjects
should concentrate and specialise on their arts subjects, and not be deployed to
teach other non-arts subjects, such as languages or
sciences.
4.2
Making arts and culture more accessible and intelligible to the mass
public
·
The
group was concerned that the ordinary man on the street might find fine arts too
difficult or formidable to grasp. Thus, they suggested that artists should
portray their works in a more palatable fashion to the public. Media channels
like television and radio could also be used to promote and popularise the
appreciation of arts and culture. Some even suggested the setting up of websites
to promote arts and culture.
·
One
member commented that housing board heartlanders might be more concerned with
pressing bread-and-butter issues then with appreciating arts and culture. It
will take time for the arts appreciation to be internalised into the lives of
Singaporeans. He cautioned against using an over pragmatic or practical approach
to achieve this objective. He felt that a softer and indirect manner might be
better and more natural.
5.1
In a commercialised and results-driven society as Singapore, it is
difficult for the arts groups to obtain and justify sponsorship. Some members
commented that it was mainly due to efforts of individuals who keep arts alive
in Singapore. They lamented that although we had many talented people in the
arts, few of them developed the arts as a career because of lack of funding.
They urged the government to give more funds to more artists to develop their
talents on a full time basis, instead of giving funds on a project basis.
Otherwise, smaller arts groups are often left out of the economic
pie.
5.2
One member cautioned that in order to get more government funds, artists
might have to shape their works to fit government guidelines and thus compromise
their artistic license and integrity.
6.1
Members agreed to meet at bimonthly intervals, and the next meeting is
scheduled on 7 March 2001.
6.2
The meeting ended at 9.30 pm.
Drafted
by:
Yeo Wee Seng (Executive officer, Feedback Unit)
Approved
by:
Prof Yu Chun Yee (Chairperson)
